Youth Partnership for Peace and Development

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YPPD Applauds the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA)

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Youth Partnership for Peace and Development being very keen to following up on the African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) initiative, we very much appreciate the fact the First Ladies on the African continent. Noting that  Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma, responded to the invitation of her Ghanaian counterpart, Dr. Nana Dramani Mahawa, who is the current President of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), by attending the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual and Health Rights held in the Ghanaian capital of Accra from 9-10 February. Even though the event did not clearly spell the sexual health needs of other sexually active group of adolescents such as those in the LGBTI category, we feel that this will be a great start to ensuring that as we reach young people at scale, we also continue doing so with those in the sexual minorities category. Mrs. Koroma also actively participated in the launch of OAFLA’s ‘All-In-Campaign Against Adolescent HIV/AIDS’ on 11th February. Eight First Ladies from Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mali and Sierra Leone were in attendance, while First Ladies from Burkina Faso, Gambia, Madagascar, Rwanda and Swaziland sent representatives to the event. The First Lady of Ghana used the occasion to also launch Ghana’s Initiative on Ending Child Marriage by 2020 on 10th February. The grand opening ceremony of the impressive four-day event was graced by Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who declared the conference open. His statement was preceded by an opening address that was delivered by her wife, the First Lady of Ghana, Dr. Nana Lordina Dramani Mahama, who emphasised the need for healthy, educated and skilled adolescents and youth, especially girls, so that African countries could reap the demographic dividend; a new development concept that has been introduced by UNFPA. She called on African countries to invest in the health of young adolescents and to provide an environment that is open and free for discussion, as well as to avail adolescents with access to sexual and reproductive services and accurate information. She ended her remarks by stating that ignoring the youth will leave them open to vices such as lawlessness and extremism. Other speakers included Dr. Sidiki Kalokoh, Commissioner for Social Affairs at the African Union; Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA; and a representative of the Executive Director of UNAIDS. All the speakers commended the African First Ladies for their hard work in the health sector in particular, both in their home countries and within OAFLA. In one refrain, all the speakers called for an expanded role for OAFLA beyond HIV/AIDS. This call was also echoed by H.E. President John Mahama, who stated that the African Union must give this expanded role for African First Ladies a serious thought because they have played pivotal roles in development under the auspices of OAFLA, and in their home countries, that have impacted the lives of many segments of the population. As an organization, the Youth Partnership for Peace and development with continue following up at the national level particularly with the implementation of the event’s major outcomes while ensuring the the needs of various categories of gender and sexual orientation like trans-genders are fully taken on board.

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Helping Young People in Liberia with ICT Skills

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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Our youth are not failing the system; the system is failing our youth. Ironically, the very youth who are being treated the worst are the young people who are going to lead us out of this nightmare. These are cross-section of youth benefiting from YPPD Computer Training program in Paynesville, Monrovia, with the total of 35 young people undergoing a 4 months intensive inclusive computer skills training from various communities around Paynesville. photos from the training center in Monrovia, Liberia. This is unfolding in our district, the Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) Liberia is butressing the government’s effort in her capacity development agenda for young Liberians. YPPD’s Community Inclusive Skills Training program is gradually creating impacts in the lives of the youth in this district and beyond. The organization has just received another donation of 39 refurbished laptops from her partners in the USA for the expansion of our ICT hub for youth of Liberia. We are grateful to all like-minded partners and friends who are standing by us to make the change we want to see. Youth Capacity Building and Empowerment is our #1 priority. YPPD Empowering Youth for Change.

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Action/2015 Sierra Leone Concludes National Stakeholders Forum

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Stakeholders on Thursday, 5th February held a one-day consultative Forum in Freetown on Action/2015 which seeks to fight against poverty, inequality and climate change. Youth Partnership for Peace and Development (YPPD) in collaboration in partnership with the Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) is coordinating this initiative at the national level together with the Action 2015 Taskforce. The Forum was organized by Youth Partnership for Peace Development (YPPD) in collaboration with Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) at the Civil Service Training College in Freetown.Sierra Leone Action/2015 Campaign Coordinator, Musa Ansumana Soko, said Action 2015 is a global movement of citizens set by various institutions around the world that hopes to build a global movement for change. ‘’In 2015, two inter-governmental processes on climate change and the post-2015 sustainable development agenda provide a powerful opportunity for collective and decentralized large-scale, public-facing actions aimed at compelling governments at all levels to commit to ambitious and transformative action to end poverty, address inequality and ensure sustainable development,’’ he said. According to the Senior Planning Officer at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, M.K Lebbie, the high level participation of youths in the forum underscored the great importance they attached to the post 2015 development agenda. He said one needs to know that the world has undergone far-reaching changes in the past two years, adding that significant progress in many fields that are important for human welfare has been made through national and international efforts. ‘’Developing countries, including Sierra Leone, are still facing serious economic difficulties and an unfavorable international economic environment, and the number of people living in poverty has increased,’’ he stated. Lebbie noted that the key challenges for government are to ensure that commitments by partners and private sectors are realised in a timely and transparent manner. Representative of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Aiah Wurie Kembay, stated that EPA-SL in an institution charged with the responsibility for the effective protection and management of Sierra Leone’s environment, adding that environment and development are in extricable. ‘’Development is a process of improving the quality of all human lives,” he said.He said empowerment as a policy approach to sustainable development should be prioritized in all sectors within Sierra Leone. Sahr Kendema of the Campaign for Good Governance (CGG) said development has been a relative term as most countries across the world share similar characteristic.He said most of these countries are underdeveloped because the problem of poverty, inequality, environmental problems, injustice, accountability, rule of law and illiteracy has not been met.He disclosed that most countries are yet to achieve all the goals set out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

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Youth Opinion on the Abortion Bill in Sierra Leone by Mohamed Kanneh

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Mohamed Kanneh Program Coordinator at the West African Youth Network and Debate Coach Following the current debates with keen interest on the Safe Abortion bill that was recently passed in parliament, what still keeps impenetrable to me is the reason why religious leaders should serve as an impediment for the Bill to become a law.In this piece, I shall attempt to transliterate relevant provision(s) in the Holy Quran for my readers since it’s one of the Holy Books that’s difficult to understand by English readers. Sierra Leone is a circular state and I am afraid for religious people not to cause problem in the near future. What has religious leaders got to do with Safe Abortion Bill? I always ask myself! And have we not ever heard about religious leaders who send their daughters overseas to do abortion for fear of what their followers will say? God says Hypocrisy is forbidden!Right now, if we start talking about placing condoms in mosques and Churches a lot of people will be dissatisfied and object. But in my opinion, just give it a try; I think they will get disappeared. I have the opinion that not all religious leaders are against the Safe Abortion Bill.Going through the religious books, I have not seen where the Holy Bible talks about abortion, but it does say when a human being’s life begins.Genesis 2:7 is clearest. The first human became a “living being” (nefesh hayah, “a living breath”) when God blew into its nostrils and it started to breathe. Human life begins when you start breathing. It ends when you stop. That’s why the Hebrew word often translated “spirit” (ruah) — “life force” might be a better translation — literally means “wind” or “breath.”The Holy Quran on the other hand is silence about abortion but it thus provides the following:“Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a great sin. (The Noble Quran, 17:31)”“Say: “Come, I will rehearse what God hath (really) prohibited you from”: Join not anything as equal with Him; be good to your parents; kill not your children on a plea of want;- We provide sustenance for you and for them;- come not nigh to shameful deeds. Whether open or secret; take not life, which God hath made sacred, EXCEPT BY WAY OF JUSTICE AND LAW: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom. (The Noble Quran, 6:151)”“O Prophet! When believing women come to thee to take the oath of fealty to thee, that they will not associate in worship any other thing whatever with God, that they will not steal, that they will not commit adultery (or fornication), that they will not kill their children, that they will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood, and that they will not disobey thee in any just matter,- then do thou receive their fealty, and pray to God for the forgiveness (of their sins): for God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (The Noble Quran, 60:12)”Before these Noble Verses were revealed, the pagan Arabs (before Islam) used to literally bury their daughters at the age of 4 or less alive in the desert, because:(1) Daughters’ birth brought shame to the family, and the mother had “defied” the husband’s demand to bear him a son; or(2) The family was so poor that the parents would fear that someday they would have to sell their children as slaves to others.While abortion clinics did not exist 1500 or more years ago, but people as it is apparent today were able to cause a woman to miscarry her child by either striking her in the tummy, causing her to have lots of fear, or mess with the vagina until the child is pulled out.While the Noble Verses above are talking about all children in general, and Noble Verse 17:31 says that it is a great sin, we have to further investigate what the word “children” here includes. Does it include only the newly born children, or does it also include the foetus?Hadiths claim that after the first 120 days of the Foetus formation, Allah Almighty blows from His Spirit into it (Similar also the Biblical version Genesis 2:7).Are we really talking about a life? At what point does a life begin? Is terminating a fetus, which can neither feel nor think and is not conscious of its own “existence,” really commensurate with the killing of a person? If you affirm that human life is a quality independent of, and prior to, thought and feeling, you leave yourself the awkward task of explaining what truly “human” is.Women should have control over their own bodies – they have to carry the child during pregnancy and undergo childbirth. No one else carries the child for her; it will be her responsibility alone, and thus she should have the sole right to decide. If a woman does not want to go through the full nine months and subsequent birth, then she should have the right to choose not to do so. There are few – if any – other cases where something with such profound consequences is forced upon a human being against her own will. To appeal to child’s right to life is circular – whether a fetus has right or not, or can really be called a “child”, is exactly what is at issue. Everyone agrees that children have rights and shouldn’t be killed. Not everyone agrees that fetuses of two, four, eight, or even eighteen weeks are children.If terminating a fetus is killing can we say all human beings that use condoms are kidnappers?Not only is banning abortion a problem in theory, offending against a woman’s right to choose, it is also a practical problem. A ban would not stop abortion but would drive it once again underground and into conditions where the health and safety of the woman are almost certainly at risk. Women would circumvent the ban by travelling to

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In Sierra Leone, CITIZENS CALL FOR BOLD ACTION AHEAD OF UN CLIMATE SUMMIT (COP21) IN PARIS

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On, 29th November, citizens of Sierra Leone join hundreds-of-thousands of people around the Globe taking to the streets ahead of the UN Climate summit in Paris. As part of the Global Climate March citizens will call on governments to speed up action on climate change by signing an ambitious climate agreement. Highlights of some of the 2,000 mobilisations organised across the globe include: In Freetown Sierra Leone, the Youth Partnership will mobilize citizens to raise their voices against Poverty, Inequalities and Climate Change through a mass public rally that will call on governments for concrete actions to address climate change; In Uganda, thousands will rally in the streets of the capital Kampala, echoing the call for climate action from the Pope, who will be in the country as part of his first trip to Africa. Sâo Paulo, Brazil will see a huge gathering on 29th November with people showcasing their own solutions to climate change issues. The congregation will start marching towards one of the city´s iconic parks where speeches and music will unite the participants. In New Delhi, India and in some other cities throughout the country, a Global Climate Walk is planned, with yoga, biking, and marching in seven cities. The main activity will be in New Delhi, where on Sunday 29th November morning, people from across society will join together for the climate. The summit in Paris is the second of two unique UN summits in 2015, which together provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change. At the UNGA in September, world leaders committed to a new set of Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Now leaders face their first test on whether they are serious about making these goals a reality. Addressing climate change, and ending poverty and inequalities are two sides of the same coin. We cannot deliver sustainable development without tackling climate change, and we cannot tackle climate change without addressing the root causes of poverty, inequality and unsustainable development patterns. If leaders want to fully implement the newly adopted Global Goals, tackling inequality and ending poverty within a generation, they will need to drastically address climate change impacts. The impact of climate change is already affecting people in all corners of the world, with the most vulnerable being hit hardest. Storms are strengthening, droughts are lasting longer, and floods are worsening – all of which will make it much harder for affected communities to survive. A strong agreement in Paris could help poorer countries reduce carbon pollution and help vulnerable communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Global Climate March will see development organisations, climate movements, the young and old, faith groups, indigenous people, trade unions and many more march together. From the Amazon to the megacities of the South, from the streets of America to the squares of Europe, from villages in Africa and Asia to low-lying island communities in the Pacific – in cities, towns and villages across the world citizens are marching for change and highlighting how decisions in Paris will have an impact nationally. Climate Change is affecting every corner of the world; from Sierra Leone to the UK and from Vietnam to Nepal. We must the work collaboratively in addressing the devastating consequences of Climate Change and ensuring that we put national adaption and mitigation strategies together with sound policies that addresses its impact.” “This weekend hundreds and thousands of people are calling for action to fight climate change – one of the defining issues of our time. In Paris, governments must agree a robust, universal agreement which signals the end of fossil fuel emissions by 2050, the main cause of climate change. Now is the time for a strong deal for climate action. Climate change affects us all and we are uniting today from all walks of life to demand action. Our calls must not be ignored.’’ A new international climate agreement in Paris could: Set the stage for the achievement of the Global Goals in coming years. Send a strong signal that the age of dirty fossil fuels is over. Set us on a path to a safer, fairer and more sustainable future for all. END About action/2015: action/2015, is one of the world’s largest civil society campaigns made up of over 2000 organisations, networks and coalitions from 150 countries. To date, more than 30 million actions have been taken in over 100 countries as part of the campaign since its launch in January 2015. We are united by the belief that 2015 is a critical year for progress in the fight against climate change, poverty and inequality.

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