Graduates and Members-Geneva Reeves-Johnson Foundation, Inc., (GREJOF)
By: Jonathan O. Grigsby, Snr. Contributor Writer
The scene was colorful, characterized with songs of praises and the clapping of hands, seeing the graduates, friends and family members including well-wishers hugged each-others, as twenty-seven(27) Liberians were awarded various certificates of completion of a short-term skills training.
They were awarded the certificates after a seven-week intensive skills training in baking and pastry, conducted by the Geneva Reeves-Johnson Foundation, Inc., (GREJOF). The Foundation is a nonprofit organization with the goal to empower youth people in Liberia by acquiring skills through Technical and Vocation Education and Training (TVET).
The ceremony on Sunday, 27 June 2026, which took place in Paynesville Town, Montserrado County, was the First Cohort initiative of theGeneva Reeves-Johnson Foundation, Inc., (GREJOF) in Liberia.
Serving as Keynote Speaker, the Officer for Trade and Commerce at the Trade and Investment Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States of America, Madam Neva P. Wesley, called forTechnical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to be considered as a national priority.
Madam Wesley believes that through the TVET sector, Liberia, as a nation grappling with high rate of unemployment, especially amongst the country’s youthful population can build a productive workforce that will immensely contribute to overall development of the country.
“Practical skills development acquired throughTechnical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), are essential to tackle unemployed Liberians, mainly the young people of Liberia, and can drive the country’s economic growth”, she noted.
Madam Wesley cautioned the graduates to put their training into practice by establishing businesses, creating jobs, and becoming agents of economic transformation in their various communities, to shift the narrative that Liberians can do better.
She stated: “What you have acquired are of value, so use them to create opportunities for ourselves and others because the future belongs to those who acquired skills and are willing to work hard.Thanks for undergoing the training, you people can go forward and be good ambassadors for the Foundation”.
Madam Wesley informed the graduates that vocational education has become an important pathway to economic empowerment, mainly for women and young people seeking financial empowerment.
The Officer for Trade and Commerce at the Trade and Investment Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the United States of America,narrated you [graduates] are the light, shine for others to see their paths through by being good examples in your various communities.
Also speaking, Program Coordinator John Gray said the Baking and Pastry Arts Proficiency Program is one of five vocational initiatives being implemented by the Foundation with no financial attachment to beneficiaries.
Mr. Gray: “The Foundation was established with a vision of empowering vulnerable and aspiring Liberians through education, vocational training, and capacity-building opportunities to enable them become independence, thereby creating opportunities for others”
He disclosed that the Foundation remains committed to expanding the skills training to other young people and women across Liberia, as a means to help the national Government to address the issue of unemployment.
Speaking on behalf of her fellow students, a member of the Graduating Class, Helena Clarke, termed the skills they have acquired as life-changing. Student Clarke urged members of the class to use their skills productively to improve their socio-economic wellbeing lives.
She thanked the Geneva Reeves-Johnson Foundation, Inc., for organizing such skills training initiatives for empowering many Liberians, who have become independent, and appealed to have the program extended to other parts of the country to have other Liberians empowered.
About Geneva Reeves-Johnson Foundation, Inc. (GREJOF)
A non-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization named in memory of the late Mrs. Geneva Reeves-Johnson who passed away on June 4, 2013 as a result of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
She had a passion for and dedicated her life to helping the less fortunate in society. She touched the lives of so many people. Mrs. Johnson was a lifelong educator who poured into the lives of countless persons.
This organization seeks to perpetuate her legacy particularly in under-privileged areas and bring smiles to so many hurting people.
This Foundation is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c) (3) of the internal revenue code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
Geneva Reeves-Johnson Foundation, Inc.
The Geneva Reeves-Johnson Foundation, Inc. was established on January 28, 2015 and registered in the State of Maryland.
It is named in honored of the late Mrs. Geneva Reeves-Johnson who passed away on June 4, 2013 in Douglasville, Georgia as a result of complications from the Alzheimer’s disease. No one in her immediate family was experienced in dealing with the disease before then.
With the knowledge, experience and assistance received during their mother’s battle with the disease, her children deemed it necessary to render assistance to other families dealing with dementia, especially in underprivileged areas.
The Foundation serves other causes as well.
Mrs. Reeves-Johnson was a philanthropist by her very nature. She grew up not having much, but no matter what little she had, Geneva was always willing to share with others in need.
It is with great honor and respect that her legacy lives on through the work of this Foundation.
