Paramount Young Women Initiative Certifies Over 100 Girls After Ten-Month Mentorship Program

June 29, 2025

By Jeremiah S. Cooper

Monrovia: More than 100 adolescent girls and young women were honored over the weekend with certificates after successfully completing a ten-month leadership and mentorship training program.

The program was organized by the Paramount Young Women Initiative (PAYOWI), a local nonprofit committed to empowering girls through education, self-confidence, and safe environments. Held under the theme “Unstoppable: Leading with Confidence, Young Women Shaping the Future,” the ceremony marked the end of what organizers described as a transformative heart-to-heart mentorship cycle.

The program, which ran throughout the academic year, targeted school-going girls and offered them life-changing tools in leadership, personal empowerment, and sexual and reproductive health. “This program is not just a curriculum, it’s a family,” said Faith Kialen,

Administrative Assistant of PAYOWI “We are building young women who are unstoppable, confident, and ready to lead. The program allows participants to understand who they are, what they can do, and how to claim their spaces in society.

 Ms. Kialen stressed that the initiative is critical in building the self-esteem and leadership potential of young girls from underprivileged backgrounds. “We support poor and first-class, poverty-driven young people. This is your opportunity to use it. Speak with confidence, act with purpose,” she told the graduates.

 Providing an overview of the ten-month program, Rachel Cole, Program Assistant of PAYOWI, emphasized that the training was designed to fill critical gaps in leadership, education, and life skills among young women.

 “Over the past year, our mentors have focused on key areas such as leadership development, personal empowerment, sexual orientation, and life skills. We have seen remarkable growth in these young women many of whom are now role models in their schools and communities,” she said.

Keynote speaker, Teta Wilson, Assistant Commissioner and Chief of Gender Affairs at the Liberia National Police, inspired the young women with a message of resilience, purpose, and unity.

“To be unstoppable doesn’t mean you won’t fail it means you rise every time you fall,” she declared. “You must choose courage over comfort, purpose over popularity, and resilience over retreat. Leadership means lifting others, using your voice, and making decisions not just for yourself, but for the generation of women coming after you.” Commissioner Wilson urged the graduates to dream big and take bold steps toward shaping their futures. “Use your voice. Speak up for your needs. Ask questions. Support one another. You are not a threat to each other you are each other’s strength,” she encouraged.

The event was also filled with testimonials and reflections from participants who praised the program for transforming their perspectives and boosting their confidence. “Women in leadership are shaping the future,” one participant shared.

“A woman who can lead her home can also lead her organization. This program showed us how powerful we are when we believe in ourselves.” The Paramount Young Women Initiative, through its sustained mentorship programs, continues to play a pivotal role in promoting gender equity and nurturing the next generation of confident, informed, and capable female leaders in Liberia.

As the organization closes another cycle, its impact echoes beyond certificates into classrooms, communities, and the hearts of the unstoppable young women.