Gobachop Women Win WONGOSOL’s FOI Song Award

By Esau J. Farr

A women group from the Gobachop Filed Community has been declared winner of the WONGOSOL FOI Song Competition held in Monrovia. WONGOSOL is the Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia, a women group with a mission to build the capacity of women NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) meant to promote sustainable peace and security.

It also has a its vision to have a just and fair Liberia where women and men equally participate in and benefit from decision making in all areas. Coming from that background, WONGOSOL also advocates for the rights of women and as such, she is forming a partnership with the Carter Center in Liberia to carry out awareness on the importance and benefit of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law.

As part of the project, the two partners put out a challenge to at least eight communities four of which

made it to the grand final. After the first and second rounds of audition, the women grouping from the Gobachop Filed Community in Paynesville City emerged as winner. According to the judges headed by WIPNET Liberia Charter Coordinator, Delphine Morris and a gospel musician too for producing the best song that disseminates the message of the FOI Law. According to WONGOSOL and partner, The Carter

Center, Gobachop as the first winner will receive a cash prize of US$400, SD Cooper Road Community who came second will pocket US$300 and the women of Bernard Farm who claimed the third place from the women of Johnsonville will receive US$200.

The amounts are to be given the women to carry out projects in the implementation of the Freedom of Information Law to boost awareness on the law amongst women in their respective communities.  Speaking at the end of the exercise, Madam Lena T. Cummings said she was satisfied with the efforts of the women’s efforts describing it as a victory for all women. She then used the occasion and thanked the four finalists for the energy and time put into the exercise and said that all of them worked for the same goal of informing women about the importance and benefits of the FOI Law.

The FOI Law was passed and signed by former Liberian President, Ellen Jonson-Sirleaf in September 2010 and the Table Mountain Declaration. TNR