The Female Journalists Association of Liberia (FeJAL) and the Liberia Feminist Forum (LFF) have expressed disenchantments by the horrifying accounts released to the public recently about how girls are being sexually abused at the internationally acclaimed Non-Governmental Organization, the More Than Me Academy (MTM) in Central Monrovia.
In separate releases issued in Monrovia over the weekend, the two female advocacy groups described the situation as being totally “unimaginable and a complete wickedness” perpetuated by the More Than Me administration against innocent girls.
The two groups are calling on the Government of Liberia to immediately launch a full-scale investigation into the matter and take the necessary persecutory actions that will deter would-be violators of childhood abuse.
“We are deeply concerned about the well-being of the girls therefore as a media advocate for girls and women in Liberia, we are calling on government to engage the founder of MTM, Katie Meyler, through her home country to ensure that her NGO is not only ordered shut down immediately but the license given her to run 20 public schools under the Liberia Education Advancement Program (LEAP) program be revoked without further delays.
FeJAL wants the Government to ensure that she is charged, prosecuted and takes full responsibility for the damaged lives and future especially of those who were allegedly infected by HIV. We demand that the government goes a step further by investigating how staffers are recruited so as to relieve the entire board and turn the school over to the Ministry of Education,” FeJAL stated in her released.
As for LFF, they are calling on the government to among other things, immediately revoke the accreditation of More Than Me (MTM) Academy and their management of schools under the Government of Liberia-Ministry of Education’s Liberia Education Advancement Program (LEAP).
The group is also calling on the government to reassign all nineteen (19) public schools under the management of More Than Me (MTM) Academy within the LEAP program and appoint a Trustee to take over the affairs of More Than Me (MTM) Academy inaugural school on Ashmun Street which is at the center of the allegations.
“We demand a response from the Government of Liberia to our recommendations and the “UNPROTECTED” report no later than Wednesday, October 17, 2018. We are prepared to hold the government accountable in the event that no action is taken to protect these girls…We also remind the Liberian government to use this as an opportunity to confirm its commitment to Liberian women and girls. We affirm our position against the proposed amendment to the New Rape Law and call on the National Legislature to pass the Domestic Violence Bill. The More Than Me incident reaffirms the critical need for these laws to protect Liberian women and girls from these horrifying and inhumane experiences,” LFF maintained through her official statement.
