Monrovia, Liberia - First Lady, Ambassador Clar M. Weah, on Monday, June 4, 2018, officially launched her foundation, the Clar Hope Foundation.

Mrs. Weah said the Foundation was established in February this year as a result of her passion to help Liberians move towards prosperity in support of the Liberian Government’s Pro-poor Agenda.

“As First Lady and mother of the nation, I want to show Liberians that someone loves and cares about them,” she told a huge gathering during the Foundation’s launching ceremonies at the Millennium Guesthouse in Congo Town.

The First Lady observed that many Liberians, especially the less fortunate, were poor and desperately in need of help, while stressing her determination to reach out to them.

“Wherever they are…whether at the orphanages, or the old-folks home; on the streets or in the ghetto, I want to be there for them.

I want to give them hope for a brighter future and provide them a platform to transform their lives in order to contribute to the rebuilding process of Liberia,” she asserted.

The Clar Hope Foundation is a non-political initiative aimed at creating an equitable society in Liberia where women and children are healthy, provided education and fully empowered to lead a prosperous life.

The Liberian First Lady named the construction of maternity hospital, schools and the Hope Community for the less fortunate as well as advocating against gender-based violence and implementing agricultural programs among others.

The Foundation’s initiatives are hinged on four pillars namely health, education, gender equality and economic empowerment.

While urging support from participants of the program, the Ambassador Clar Weah assured that every cent given to the Foundation would be accounted for with great deal of accountability.

However, she expressed gratitude for the overwhelming financial and material contribution by an array of government officials, local and international business partners and foreign friends.

Prior to her address, a number of persons and organizations made pledges and cash donations to the success of the Foundation.

For her part, Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor and former First Lady praised the Mrs. Weah’s initiative and committed her support.

Vive President Taylor described the First Lady’s earmarked projects as a welcomed development, which would boost the government’s efforts to reduce untold suffering and hardship in the country.

She presented a check of US$2,500.00 (Two Thousand Five Hundred United States Dollars) as her initial contribution to the foundation.

Speaking earlier, the Acting Head of the Cabinet and Minister of State, Nathaniel McGill, committed his one month salary as his contribution to the Foundation’s initiatives.

Minister McGill hailed the First Lady’s determination to remain focused amid unnecessary and negative criticisms directed towards the First Lady.

The launching of the Clar Hope Foundation attracted several dignitaries including prominent business people in Liberia and from across Africa and beyond.

First Lady Weah is undertaking a number of humanitarian initiatives in three counties so far with the help of government’s allotment of half a million to her office.

Some of the major projects ongoing are the monthly program to feed the elderly, renovation of several orphanages and a school, construction of a thirty-bed residential complex for the blind and elderly among others.

While she remains appreciative of the government’s support, the allotment is far too less to meet the current humanitarian need of the country.

Therefore, in an attempt to remove the challenge of funding, which is a major impediment to delivering on the crucial needs of the people, Mrs. Weah established the Foundation.