A pact (MOU) has been entered into between AIFO-Liberia, a non-for-profit institution, the Liberia Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. (LIOC), National Commission on Disability (NCD) and the Bomi Community College (BCC).
According to Luther S. Mendin, Project Officer (2) of AIFO-Liberia, who gave the presentation of the project, the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between his organization, the LIOC, NCD and Bomi Community College is aimed at ensuring that people with disability have the opportunity of acquiring skills training.
The non-legally binding MOU between the AIFO-L, LOIC, NCD and Bomi Community College, asserted AIFOI-L Project Officer, Mendin, is set for a period of twenty-seven (27) months, beginning from June 2, 2023 and ending August 31, 2025.
He disclosed that the continuation of the pact is contingent upon the availability of donor funding, in keeping with the specified period of the project.
As per the MOU, AIFO-Liberia, LOIC, NCD and Bomi Community College have all committed themselves to working in the best interest of persons with disability, and ensuring their inclusion in Liberian society through Technological Vocational Educational Training Programs (TVET).
The signing ceremony of the MOU between AIFO-L, LOIC, NCD and Bomi Community College for the cooperation with the selected TVET institutions was organized by AIFO-Liberia in collaboration with the National Commission on Disability and partners, and held at Murex Plaza, 10th Street, Monrovia.
The event was graced by stakeholders and partners, including the Director of Inclusive Education Division, MOE, Theresa W. Garwo, VODWEPEDE, Nimba University and National Union of Organizations of the Disabled (NUOD) and accessibility auditors from Bong, Lofa, Nimba and Bomi counties, among others.
On the birth of the MOU, Mendin hinted that the signing ceremony of the MOU is a result of a project initiated by AIFO-L some four years back.
As he put it, on September 1,2021 AIFO- Liberia launched a four-year full-phase CAD-L project,” Persons with Disability (PWDs) Act as Advocates and Agents of Change for an Equitable and Inclusive Liberia”.
He voiced that CAD-L aims at reforming systems and institutions in the nation state lest to mention PWDs in development processes, where PWDs act as advocates and agents of change for an equitable and inclusive society.
CAD-L, stated Mendin, coordinates the efforts of duty bearers, meaning employers, entrepreneurs, policymakers and the police, among others, rights-based holders (persons with disability and leprosy patients), organizations of persons with disabilities (PWDs), organization of women with disabilities (OWWDs) and institution s and CSOs representing them toward improving the economic independence of PWDs through access to socio-economic and sexual reproductive health rights (SHRs), lest to mention communication to advocate for their just entitlements.
The AIFO-Liberia Project Officer, Luther S. Mendin, said, in line with the MOU, his institution, LOIC, NCD and Bomi Community College (BCC), has mutually committed to acting in accordance with the spirit and intent of the pact, despite neither of the parties wanting it to be legally binding.
Accordingly, the Intermediate Output 3, concrete steps are taken by Duty Bearers and CSOs have created new opportunities for PWDs’ employment, self-employment, and entrepreneurship in the public and private sectors.
On Output 3.5, it indicates that 5 TVET centers and 33 internships are accessible and inclusive for People With Disability (PWDs), and follow by training programs for the Commission on Disability staff, relevant government agency representatives, AIFO-Liberia staff, and PWDs is tasked to conduct a TVET accessibility audit to identify existing accessibility gaps that may hinder the enrolment of PWDs in selected TVET centers, thereby denying or reducing access for them, the stated the MOU.
The CAD-L, in keeping with the MOU, also responds to the new job demand generated through Output 2.1 on Social Dialogue and 3.3 on Technical and Vocational training, and to the job opportunities generated through Output 3.1, where start-up skills acquired by PWDs are transferable into paid-job opportunities.
As per the MOU entered into between AIFO-Liberia, LOIC, NCD and Bomi Community College, AIFO-Liberia and the NCD are clothed with the task to conduct a specific and distinct accessibility audit of LOIC.
Such audit, as outlined by the MOU, encompasses several aspects of accessibility, including infrastructural, organizational culture, staff and instructors’ skills, learning materials and tools, internal and external recruitment, and policies and regulations adopted by the school to assess and manage students’ learning.
Moreover, stated the MOU, they will conduct TVET center adaptation following the accessibility audit at the LIOC as the adaptation will consider the physical structures of the institution, inclusive policy design, and knowledge on disability and inclusive development.”
“A total of six young people with disabilities who aspire to learn different technical and vocational skills at LOIC will be enrolled,” according to the MOU.
“Disability mainstreaming training,” noted the MOU,” Will be provided to dedicated LOIC staff to cater to the needs of PWD students when they join internship opportunities or are about to graduate and enter the job market.”
The MOU also craves the LOIC to provide its premises to AIFO-Liberia and NCD team of accessibility auditors to perform the accessibility audit at the institution, while LOIC will assign dedicated staff to accompany AIFO-Liberia and the NCD team of accessibility auditors during the physical accessibility audit process at the institution.
The LOIC, indicated in the MOU, will provide much-needed information relative to the overall establishment of school, including its policies, teaching staff, program delivery mechanisms, student composition, and any other information that will aid the accessibility audit process.
As spelled out by the MOU, following the accessibility audit and adaptation processes, LOIC will endeavor to increase their offering of services to PWDs ambitious to learn different technical and vocational skills for sustenance in society.
For its part, the Bomi Community College TVET Department is clothed with the responsibility to provide much needed information related to the overall establishment of the school including its policies, teaching staff, program delivery mechanisms, student composition and any other information that will aid the accessibility audit process, the MOU stressed.
Accordingly, following the accessibility audit and adaptation processes, Bomi Community College through its TVET Component will endeavor to increase their offer of services to PWDs aspiring to learn different technical and vocational skills for sustenance.
During the signing ceremony of the MOU convened at the local hotel, AIFO-Liberia Country Director, Mr. Leonardo Volpetti, signed on behalf of his organization; Amb. Daintowon Domah Pay-Bayee, Chairperson/Executive Director of NCD signed for her institution; Pastor Peter N. Toomann, Program Manager of LOIC Gbarnga Satellite, signed on behalf of LOIC, while Mr. Thomas Momo Parker, TVET Director, BCC and President of Liberia TVET Teachers and Practitioners Network, signed on behalf of the BCC.