{"id":2754,"date":"2026-06-04T15:24:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/?p=2754"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T15:25:48","slug":"janisa-francess-momodu-hosts-youth-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/?p=2754","title":{"rendered":"Janisa Francess Momodu Hosts Youth Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Abdul Rahman Bah<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Executive Director of the Center for Gender and Social Justice, Janisa Edwina Francess Momodu Esq, has strongly called for urgent national attention toward raising responsible boys and empowering girls as part of efforts to build safer communities, reduce violence, and secure a better future for Sierra Leone\u2019s young generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She made this passionate appeal on Friday 29 May 2026 during a well-attended Youth Leadership and Engagement Symposium organized by the Center for Gender and Social Justice at the Africell American Corner on Bathurst Street, Freetown.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The symposium, held under the theme \u201cRaising Responsible Boys and Empowered Girls for Safer Communities and Stronger Futures,\u201d attracted students from several secondary schools, teachers, civil society organizations, youth advocates, media practitioners, child protection actors, gender activists, and government representatives who gathered to discuss the challenges confronting young people and the urgent need for guidance, mentorship, discipline, and responsible leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her keynote address, Janisa Edwina Francess Momodu Esq warmly welcomed participants and thanked all schools, teachers, invited guests, speakers, and members of the media for supporting the initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She described the symposium as one of the organization\u2019s most important youth engagement initiatives aimed at creating safe spaces where young people can openly discuss issues affecting their lives, communities, and future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to her, the Center for Gender and Social Justice remains fully committed to promoting justice, gender equality, human dignity, mental health awareness, child protection, and safer communities for women, girls, children, and vulnerable persons throughout Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that over the years, the organization has carried out extensive advocacy and awareness programs in schools, communities, institutions, and public spaces to combat gender-based violence, support survivors, promote legal awareness, encourage mental health conversations, and engage young people in transformative discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janisa Edwina Francess Momodu Esq noted that through years of fieldwork and community engagement, the organization has come to understand that many of the social problems affecting communities today cannot be solved simply by reacting after damage has already been done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, she stressed that prevention remains one of the most effective solutions to the growing social crisis confronting young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt requires guidance. It requires mentorship. It requires early conversations with young people before they are consumed by negative influences,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that many communities across Sierra Leone are currently struggling with increasing violence, drug abuse, peer pressure, school indiscipline, disrespect, harmful social media influence, lack of accountability, emotional instability, and weakening moral values among young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, while society continues to advocate strongly for the protection and empowerment of girls, there is also an urgent need to intentionally focus on boys and the importance of guiding them into responsible adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She clarified that the symposium was not organized to attack boys or reduce the importance of advocating for women and girls, but rather to address a major gap in societal conversations surrounding youth development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have come to realize something very serious as a society. When boys are not guided properly, everybody suffers. Families suffer, communities suffer, women and girls suffer, and the country suffers. But when boys do well, girls are safe,\u201d she emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Executive Director explained that boys who are raised with respect become men who respect women, while boys taught discipline and accountability become responsible fathers, leaders, and productive citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She warned that many of the problems currently affecting society often begin during childhood through neglected guidance, unhealthy teachings, emotional struggles, exposure to violence, and the normalization of aggression and disrespect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, some boys are raised believing that violence represents strength, disrespect represents power, and dominance defines masculinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she stressed that true manhood should be defined by responsibility, discipline, emotional maturity, integrity, and respect for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janisa Edwina Francess Momodu Esq also highlighted the emotional and psychological struggles facing many young boys today, noting that several young people are silently battling depression, anger, identity struggles, peer pressure, substance abuse, and emotional trauma without support systems or safe environments to express themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that many boys are growing up without proper mentorship and are increasingly being influenced by violent online content, criminal lifestyles, and destructive social expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drawing from the organization\u2019s experiences working on cases relating to gender-based violence and community protection, she stated that many damaged men were once damaged boys who lacked guidance, emotional support, and positive role models during their formative years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She further warned that society cannot continue demanding safer communities while refusing to teach boys about consent, accountability, emotional intelligence, discipline, peaceful conflict resolution, and respect for women and girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the boys directly, she encouraged them to reject violence, crime, intimidation, drug abuse, cultism, and harmful peer pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She reminded them that true strength is not demonstrated through aggression or fear but through discipline, self-control, responsibility, wisdom, and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe world does not only need boys who are physically strong. The world needs boys who are mentally and emotionally responsible,\u201d she told participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She further advised young boys never to allow social media or negative friendships to define their future, character, or identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, some of the strongest and most respected men in society are those who know how to control anger, protect women, respect people, and make responsible decisions even under pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to the girls present at the symposium, Janisa Edwina Francess Momodu Esq encouraged them to continue believing in themselves, pursuing education, speaking up against injustice, embracing leadership opportunities, and understanding their worth in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stressed that girls must never allow fear, intimidation, or discrimination to prevent them from achieving their dreams and aspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, empowering girls and guiding boys responsibly are complementary goals that together contribute to safer schools, peaceful homes, stronger families, and progressive communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The symposium attracted participation from eleven secondary schools across Freetown including St. Edward\u2019s Senior Secondary School, The Albert Academy, St. Joseph\u2019s Senior Secondary School, FSSG, Prince of Wales Secondary School, and Government Secondary Technical School among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was also attended by distinguished speakers and youth advocates including Ibrahim Samuel Dugba, Dolcie Mari Kailie, Fatmata Bintu Kanneh, and Mohamed Kunta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speakers delivered powerful presentations on issues including drug abuse prevention, youth leadership, gender equality, peacebuilding, mental health awareness, sexual and reproductive health rights, social responsibility, and community transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They encouraged students to avoid criminal activities, substance abuse, violence, and negative peer pressure while embracing discipline, education, peacebuilding, entrepreneurship, and responsible citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several speakers also highlighted the alarming rise in drug abuse among young people and stressed the need for stronger collaboration between schools, parents, communities, religious institutions, and civil society organizations in protecting and guiding the younger generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students who attended the symposium described the program as impactful, educational, inspiring, and life-changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many participants stated that the discussions helped them better understand the importance of leadership, self-respect, emotional control, discipline, and positive decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others expressed appreciation to the Center for Gender and Social Justice for creating a platform where young people could openly engage in discussions about the real social challenges affecting their generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teachers and school representatives also commended the organization for taking proactive steps toward addressing youth-related issues through dialogue, mentorship, and awareness creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Center for Gender and Social Justice reaffirmed its commitment to continuing youth-focused advocacy campaigns, mentorship programs, school outreach initiatives, community engagement activities, and awareness programs aimed at reducing violence, promoting gender equality, protecting vulnerable persons, and empowering the next generation of responsible leaders in Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization further called on government institutions, development partners, schools, parents, community stakeholders, and religious leaders to work collectively in shaping the minds of young people and building a society grounded in justice, equality, discipline, responsibility, peace, and mutual respect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Abdul Rahman Bah The Executive Director of the Center for Gender and Social Justice,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2754"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2758,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2754\/revisions\/2758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}