A little something about me

Speaking at the UN on Girls Education

Ms. Kula V. Fofana was born and raised in Liberia. At age two, she was nearly forgotten on the farm in Grand Cape Mount County when the crisis broke out and rebels overtook her village. Little did she know that the most part of her life will be in abnormalities; wars, and more wars, violence, displacement and refugee intermittently. 

She is an advocate and activist on young people’s issues with emphasis on young women and girls. She heads the Paramount Young Women Initiative; an organization which seeks to advocate, educate and empower young women and girls. She has worth of experiences on young people’s issues and has worked with several youth and student organizations and has volunteer with national institutions and served in different leadership capacities.

In 2013, she led the process as National Consultant to develop the Liberian Youth Common Position on the post 2015 development Agenda. This process sought to engage Liberian youths through a robust consultation throughout the country in an effort to contribute to the Common African Position on the Post 2015 Agenda. Prior to her work as national consultant, she briefly worked with the High Level Committee of the Common African Position Monrovia’s secretariat. In 2012, she was appointed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to Co-Chair Liberia’s Vision 2030 Committee. As the only youth representative, she worked alongside fourteen (14) other members to develop the country’s postwar long term development plan. She also worked with the Ministry of Gender to establish the Adolescent Girls Unit and became the first coordinator. Her role included but not limited to: ensuring the formulation or revision of policies and advising government on adolescent girls and young women issues.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and Sociology from the African Methodist Episcopal University in Liberia and is a candidate for Master degree in Public Administration at the Cuttington Graduate School in Liberia. She has had several training in different disciplines including leadership, gender, peace and conflict mitigation and resolution, monitoring and evaluation, advocacy, sexual reproductive health and rights, gender based violence, volunteerism, governance and human security in Africa.  

In her earlier years, she was introduced to student politics and became first female student council president of the Assembly of God Mission High School. Later that year, she graduated as valedictorian in a male dominated school.  She has delivered several papers and spoken to different fora nationally and internationally.

Ms. Fofana is recipient a of several laurels including Youth Leader of the Year 2010, Young Peace Ambassador, Emerging Woman Leader, Angie Brooks Randolph Young Heroine Award, Focus & Liberian Nation Newspapers 2012 Youth Leader of the Year and Golden Image Award. She is a member of diverse professional networks including International Visitor Leadership Program of the USA, Moremi Initiative for Women Leaders in Africa, Youth Steering Committee on the International Conference on Population and Development Beyond 2014 etc. She Co-Founded the Coalition of Islamic Youth Organizations of Liberia and Sisters In Islam-Liberia.

She shares her thoughts on sociopolitical, human rights, gender and general issues in opinion pieces and believes in unity in diversity. 

She loves travelling around the world and has a strong sense of humor. Something fun about Ms. Fofana? She loves to dance and she's a yogi.