OFFICIAL ADDRESS OF FIRST LADY BOAKAI AT OAFLAD CLIMATE RESILIENCE CAMPAIGN LAUNCH IN FREETOWN, SL.

Описание: Freetown, Sierra Leone | December 12, 2025

Your Excellencies, Distinguished First Ladies of Africa,
Honorable Ministers, Leaders of the United Nations system,
Partners in Development, Advocates for Justice, and Friends of
Africa—

It is a profound honor to be with you here today in Freetown for this deeply significant gathering—a celebration of vision, solidarity, and shared resolve.

In October of this year, I was unable to address you during the campaign launch in New York. But today, I stand before you bearing warm greetings from the people of Liberia and from my husband of 53 years, His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai—a man who, like your President, understands the cost of peace and the value of partnership.

Liberia and Sierra Leone are neighbors—and we are twin flames in Africa’s historical struggle for freedom, born of repatriated dreams and united by a legacy of resilience. From the ashes of conflict to the frontlines of climate adaptation, our nations have walked side by side. And today, we stand shoulder to shoulder once more—lifting the daughters of Africa so they may never again be left behind.

I stand here as the First Lady of Liberia, but more importantly as a sister among sisters, a daughter of Africa, and a voice for women and girls whose resilience has lit the path through every dark storm we have known.

And speaking of lighting the path, let me pause to say—when it comes to this movement, there are two kinds of First Ladies in Africa: those who bring grace, and those who bring fire. And then… There is Sierra Leone’s First Lady, who brings both—with heels on!

My dear sister, you are young, vibrant, and unstoppable. In Liberia, they call me the “oldest” First Lady—but I say this with pride: age brings wisdom, but clearly youth brings Wi-Fi, energy, and no off switch!

We thank God for the way you’ve kept the engine of advocacy running full speed—sometimes I wonder if you sleep at all. You are leading this campaign with vigor and setting it ablaze with purpose, power, and passion.

And that, my sisters, is the beauty of this movement: some of us bring fire, some bring wisdom—and when we come together, we are unstoppable.

As a Liberian proverb reminds us: “One stick of broom can be broken, but the bundle is strong.” And if I may add, many of us First Ladies know this truth intimately. Most of us do not even operate with statutory budgets. Yet we keep sweeping, supporting, and building—giving more than we have, fueled by purpose. That is why we choose to go far—together.

This campaign we are advancing today transcends a policy—it is a movement, a moral awakening. Its theme—Building Resilience for Women and Girls in the Face of Climate Change and Conflict—is both urgent and transformational. It reflects the lived realities of African women and girls, navigating overlapping crises that stretch their strength but never break their spirit.

We are meeting at a moment when climate change and conflict are colliding with devastating force. And this is not theoretical— it is deeply personal, especially for women:
▪ It is disrupting maternal and reproductive health.
▪ It is escalating gender-based violence.
▪ It is displacing families, shuttering schools, and shrinking women’s economic dreams.

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