ULAA OFFICIALS VISIT TO LIBERIA
ULAA NATIONAL EXECUTIVE VP CARTER, CHAIRMAN SIEH OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS & DELEGATION BACK IN THE UNITED STATES AFTER A SUCCESSFUL VISIT TO LIBERIA IN THESE EXTRAORDINARY TIMES, AND PROMPTLY RETURNED FUNDS EARMARKED FOR ULAA CALDWELL RECREATIONAL CENTER
(Monrovia, Liberia, 4/19/21): The ULAA delegation spearheaded by the National Executive Vice President, Frank Carter including Chairman Alfred Sieh of the National Board of Directors and Board Member, Conrad Nyenkan safely returned to the United States on April18, 2021 after three weeks of an impressive and successful visit to the homeland, Liberia.
The ULAA officials while in Monrovia were opportune to meet and engaged in meaningful dialogues with President’s Weah Legal Counselor, Cllr. Barnard, Secretary of the Senate, Hon. Singbeh, Senator Prince Moye, Representative Acarious Gray of Montserrado County Caucus, Hon. Eugene Fahngon , Deputy Minister for Public Affairs, Ministry of Information, Deputy Speaker, J. Fonati Koffa, Senator Dillon, Sen Saah Joseph, Chairman, Committee on Executive, and Senator Varney Sherman, Chairman on Judiciary. They also galvanized efforts by these government and legislative officials with the ultimate objective of shared vision and unflagging determination for building consensus & mobilization for dual citizenship in support of natural born Liberians. The dialogues were rooted and guided around the perspective for the “Once A Liberian Always A Liberian” doctrine. Subsequent meetings were held with Madam Estelle Liberty Kemoh, Deputy Director General for Administration, LBS and also with Isaac Redd, Deputy Director of Broadcasting. Appearances were made on some of the popular Morning Talk Shows in Monrovia to educate the listening public on the objectives of the trip. Another highlight of the trip was a meeting with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Francis KorKpor. VP Carter and Chairman Sieh pledged ULAA’s commitment to play an increasingly important role in the area of soliciting training resources in the USA for lawyers in Liberia.
Throughout the course of the trip, the ULAA officials demonstrated extraordinary resilience, dedication and rose to the challenge of showcasing and charting an innovative ambition for the construction of a learning resource center which will serve as a hybrid learning model to be guided by the tenets of comfort, connection and learning. According to Chairman Sieh, “ULAA is trying to set up this project in order to improve Liberian students’ capacities in the sciences.” Another important development that took place was a meeting with the Dean of the Cabinet, Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at which time Chairman Sieh expressed high appreciation for the steadfast efforts of the Minister and his team in undertaking appropriate measures to restore Liberian’s Passport image and other broad range of national issues were addressed as well. The delegation noted ULAA appreciation and gratitude to President Weah through the Foreign Minister for his tireless efforts to keep the dual citizenship debate alive.
Another accomplishment of the trip was a meeting with the Governor of Central Bank of Liberia, Aloysius Tarlue for the establishment of a diaspora Liberian Bank. Amid the challenges, Governor Tarlue and the leadership of the Liberian Business Association embraced and welcomed the idea and expressed their commitment for its realization.
All-in-all, VP Carter stated, “I’m immensely proud that the entire mission to Liberia was one hundred percent sponsored and paid for by the delegation and not a single penny was taken from ULAA treasury. The amount of $4000 (four thousand dollars) allocated and authorized by the Board of Directors and the Administration for the purchase of land to construct the ULAA Caldwell Recreational Building (ULAA Center) was promptly deposited back into Union’s account upon our return to the United States due to some prevailing circumstances surrounding the land purchase.”
Finally, perhaps our diasporic relationships and politics can get much more complex, it is critical to consider and express our sincere spirit of passionate gratitude to VP Frank Carter, Chairman Alfred Sieh and Board Member Conrad Nyenkan for this unprecedented mission to launch new efforts and strengthening of ULAA’s roots for a learning center in Liberia, exploring the possibility of a diasporic banking system, fostering a winning and collaborative capacity for dual citizenship campaign. There’s a glimmer of hope, let’s keep the fight on. Thank you, VP Carter, Chairman Sieh & Hon. Nyenkan for proudly representing the Union in the homeland!
