The Gwobee Peace Foundation Africa: Providing young Liberians with education and leadership opportunities to lead the next generation
On September 16th, Sarah Jewell, the Executive Director of the Gwobee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA), was welcomed to the IIHS Virtual World Cafe by Tiffany Hayes, Curator. The GPFA, as a peacebuilding organization, has made and continues to make deft efforts to promote sustainable peace and empower the women of Liberia. The GPFA, founded by Liberian peace activist and Nobel Peace Laureate, Leymah Gwobee seeks to provide the young generation of Liberia with education and leadership opportunities to build community empowerment by mobilizing resources to support the grassroots organizations in West Africa.
During the hour-long session, Sarah shared great detail about the founder Leymah Gwobee, from her journey as a seventeen-year-old woman surrounded by the ‘images of war’ to becoming a global leader in peace and women’s rights, winning the 2011 Nobel Peace award Prize. She shared the efforts of the GPFA to overcome the all-pervasive human security challenges of basic education to women and the development of comprehensive leadership abilities.
Although Libera has come a long way, in large part due to the resilient efforts of the Liberian women in building sustainable peace in the region, poverty, lack of basic education, and domestic violence continue to deepen the levels of human insecurity. The Gwobee Peace Foundation Africa launched as an organization aiming to support the education of girls in Liberia and has transitioned into a holistic-based foundation focusing on the development of critical indicators. Today, education, leadership, and self-determination focused on raising peacebuilders, and democratic leaders are the core focus of the Gwobee Peace Foundation Africa.
GPFA supports equal access to education and runs a 360-degree scholarship program with more than 110 students on direct scholarship to achieve its mission. Catering to its holistic idea, it seeks to impart knowledge to parents and community members, especially women, to channel their peacebuilding experiences through intergenerational mentoring. Alongside the scholarship program, it invests in partnership schools to reach even the youngest of the generation.
Describing the organization’s work through the Community Development Program, Sarah illustrated Leymah’s life experience as a woman peace leader of the Liberian Peace Movement. At a young age, Leymah realized a woman knows her community and society in the same way as she knows her own home. Leymah believed that any societal changes needed had to be made by the mothers. It was her faith in women as leaders that Leymah, despite being an informal leader of the peace movement, would leverage through communication to collaborate and throw resistance. The Community Development Program reflects Leymah’s belief in the women as a community and their increasing role in the peace-building process.
Sarah concluded her discussion by noting her continued efforts towards the fundraising and advocacy areas of GPFA’s work. She said that, like the mission of the IIHS, the GPFA aims to equip individuals with peacebuilding knowledge, supporting a stable society, and work towards the development of the UN2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Rohini Dahiya
International Institute for Human Security
Publications Intern
