A young Sierra Leonean female leader, Mariatu Esther Kabba has taken on her social media to send strong message to young people on International Youth Day. Read her message below.
*Dear Sierra Leonean youths,
It’s International Youth Day Celebration…
Today, like every other day, Let’s use remind ourselves that we have greater roles in making or breaking our beloved country, Sierra Leone. And as well, we could bear the greater consequences if we decide to choose the latter. The bitter eleven years civil war could have enable us with enough lessons on this, but how unfortunate*
*I know that times are hard and our so-called politicians are unintentional about our country’s development, but we can decide to act as the bigger persons by choosing an alternative root rather than violence to constructively communicate our dissatisfactions.*
*Remember, it’s our generation and our opportunity to fix the past by choosing to do the needful. Thus, we must strive to make the most of this opportunity and era*
*Dear young Sierra Leoneans, power is in our hands! Its about time we awake to the power we posses as young people!*
*Yes, we have the power to seat back and reflect on our civic social responsibilities as citizens and start doing the needful*
*We have the power to use our voices, our offline social and personal communities, our social media handles and other online platforms to constructively speak true to power*
*We have the power to collaborate with our fellow young people to begin our leadership journey by starting to solve the smaller problems in our communities*
*We have the power to refuse being used as harmful protesters!*
*We can refuse to be consciousely or subconsciously used to destroy lives and properties. Nobody deserves to be killed for selfish reasons*
*We can deviate from spreading false information via online and offline platforms*
*We are patriots and must strive to work all way possible to obey laws and regulations*
*Lets keep the peace and constructively speak true to power, while we reflect on our roles and responsibilities too, as young leaders*
*Remember, it’s our generation and we have the power to change the narrative and make our society better!*
*Happy International Youth Day, young people of Sierra Leone*
©️ *MARIATU ESTHER KABBA*
Mariatu KABBA is a 2021 Mandela Washington Fellow with more than eight years’ experience in broadcast journalism.
Her innovative radio programming skills give voice to the marginalized as she relates inspiring stories of women and girls who push boundaries to make a mark in traditionally male-dominated areas. Currently, Mariatu is a radio mentor at BBC Media Action Sierra Leone, where she works with community stations to enhance programming, gender mainstreaming, and safeguarding.
Known for her community service, peacebuilding, and gender activism, Mariatu is the co-founder and executive director of Strong Women, Strong Girls Sierra Leone, a non-profit mentorship initiative that strengthens the socioeconomic status of women and girls.
An avid writer with an interest in social accountability issues, Mariatu holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, and Civil Leadership certificate from Rutgers University-State University of New Jersey and a Certificate in Conflict Transformation from Global Unites Masters Academy where she emerged as one of the top 15 Graduates of the first cohort.
Mariatu is motivated to champion issues affecting the growth of women and girls and to provide them with the leadership skills to be successful in life. She is open to possible partnerships and collaborations that can expand her initiative to more regions across Africa and the world at large.
