The works of six young, female writers have been published in a new book about Liberia.
The “Sexy Like A Book (Book one) Enchanting Voices” anthology is an effort of the Martha Juah Educational Foundation’s, an academic imitative designed to inspire young women and girls to improve their perspective on reading, literacy and education.
The book is a product of the Sexy Like A Book Poetry Competition for Liberian Girls, which encourages girls to write and tell their stories their way; and a collaboration between the Foundation and Village Tales Publishing.
The six young writers, between the ages of 13 -22 years old, are:
Lisa Harris of the University of Liberia, Marshad Beyslow of Stella Maris Polytechnic, Victoria Daye, former student of Ricks Institute, Odell Garkpah of the Christian Martyrs Academy, Faith Gray, a recent graduate of Ricks Institute, and Maxita George of Ricks Institute.
The launched anthology–featuring poems and essays, capturing some of the pressing issues in the Liberian society today, including politics–took place over the weekend in Sinkor, during the foundation’s 2nd Annual “Books, Cupcakes and Conversations” event.
100% of the proceeds from the book will go towards scaling up efforts, and providing scholarships and educational resources to Liberian girls, particularly those in rural communities
The six published authors–one of them represented by her sister–had two rounds of reading each, while they took exhaustive rounds of questioning from a cheerful audience.
“If I become President of Liberia, I will strengthen our health facilities… I’d be the people’s President… “
Another piece in the anthology written by Harris reads: “If I were the President of Liberia, I would ensure that education is priority number one. When a nation is educated, the livelihood and living conditions of its citizens are greatly improved.”
The Founder of the Foundation, Patrice Juah said that the Sexy Like A Book initiative was a response to a global call for girls’ education.
“So Sexy Like A Book helps in combating the high rate of illiteracy in Liberia by cultivating a culture of reading, that transcends the classrooms and motivates girls to be intelligent, poised and creative visionaries, who contribute to their world,” the former Miss Liberia added.
The Martha Juah Educational Foundation is a charitable organization founded by Juah in 2008 to assist girls in rural Liberia to achieve their education through mentorship, scholarships and the provision of educational resources. Sexy Like A Book was launched in 2015 to inspire young girls to improve on reading, literacy and education in general.
“All along when people used the word ‘sexy’ I thought it was only about being dressed half-naked but, now I know that you can be sexy in so many ways, including being smart, true to yourself and believing in who you are,” C. Samgie Peters, a 17-year-old Sexy Like A Book mentee and student of the Seventh Day Adventist High School, recaps the theme of the initiative.