Africa-Press – Liberia. Liberia’s First Lady, Kartumu Y. Boakai’s recent birthday celebration stood a bold and transformative vision: the construction of the KYB Foundation Multipurpose Complex — a project she described not just as a building, but as a life-changing symbol of hope and possibility for Liberia.
“This is not just a building. It’s a bold dream,” Madam Boakai emphasized. “It is a sanctuary for mothers, a training ground for youth, a health center for the sick, and a symbol of what we can achieve when we invest in humanity.”
The proposed complex, which became the main focus of the evening’s fundraising effort, is a cornerstone of the KYB Foundation’s mission to restore dignity through service. It promises to offer an integrated space for health care, education, empowerment, and community development.
Once completed, the facility will feature:
An Administrative Building with offices, conference rooms, and a chapel for worship with seating capacity between 75 to 100 people, the Ma Lusu Kumba Kpetu recreational center, a medical clinic with pediatric and maternal wards and an elementary school with classroom capacity for 26 to 30 students each.
It would also include a vocational training center offering various skills development opportunities, a fully qquipped event Hmhall with a seating capacity for 250 to 300 guests, residential quarters comprising five bungalow units with 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom options, an agriculture site for animal husbandry, fish farming, and crop cultivation, a sports center with a football field, basketball court, tennis court, swimming pool, gym, and children’s playground, a mini-mart, library, and ATM machine to ensure basic shopping and banking services are available on-site.
A Gala with a Greater Meaning
The birthday gala, attended by donors, diplomats, community leaders, family, and friends, was transformed into something much more — a national call to serve and uplift the most vulnerable in society through collective effort and compassion.
“What you give tonight is not just money. It is miracle material,” the First Lady declared to a room filled with supporters.
As founder of the KYB Foundation, Madam Boakai used the night not for personal celebration but for national inspiration — urging Liberians to see giving as an act of faith and purpose.
Purpose Over Comfort
In her speech marked by honesty and vision, the First Lady reflected on her own life — one rooted in humble beginnings, shaped by hardship, and guided by an unwavering desire to serve. “I come to you strengthened by trials, humbled by time, and driven by a dream far greater than myself. A dream that gave life to the KYB Foundation,” she said.
Her words were not just powerful — they were deeply personal. She shared stories of growing up with little, and the promise she made to herself to one day be a voice for the forgotten.
“I still remember the nights with no light, the classrooms with no chairs, the mothers with no medicine,” she recalled. “These memories are etched on my soul.”
KYB Foundation: Compassion in Action
Since its inception, the KYB Foundation has made a real impact — from hospital renovations and scholarships to adolescent girls’ empowerment programs. But the First Lady believes that long-term impact lies in building sustainable institutions — like the multipurpose complex — that will outlive individuals and uplift generations.
The foundation, which carries her initials, stands as a commitment to lead with compassion and build with purpose.
A Challenge to Rise, Together
While expressing appreciation for her team and supporters, Madam Boakai made it clear that applause must be followed by action.
“Let tonight not just be dinner. Let it be a beginning… A recommitment — to serve the broken, to love the forgotten, and to ensure that potential never dies in silence.”
She encouraged Liberians, especially young women, to walk on purpose and lead with courage — even when the path is difficult.
“I’m not growing old — I’m growing bolder,” she proclaimed, urging the next generation to rise, even if they have to walk alone.
Honoring Love and Loyalty
In a deeply emotional moment, the First Lady paid tribute to her husband, President Joseph Boakai Sr., for his years of quiet support and belief in her mission. “For funding my silent dreams when there were no resources… for giving me the strength to stand tall in a world that too often overlooks the soft and the compassionate,” she said.
She also praised her hardworking staff, calling them the backbone of her efforts: “pillars” and “builders of this house of impact.”
She offered her final rallying call — not just to the attendees in the room, but to every Liberian across the country: “Let us rise together — from the mansion to the market stalls, from Bomi to Maryland, from pain to possibility,” she said. “We will build. We will live. We will love. And we will leave Liberia better than we found it.”
The proposed complex, which became the main focus of the evening’s fundraising effort, is a cornerstone of the KYB Foundation’s mission to restore dignity through service.
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