By Samuel Flomo, Jr.
Deputy Gender Minister for Research, Planning and Policy, Curtis V. Dorley, has bettered the lives of more than 100 residents in Walapolu Chiefdom, Sanoyea District in Bong County.
Dorley intervention was recently made through a comprehensive vocational skills training initiative, which he launched.
The three-month program, which ended on Friday, November 7, 2025, provided participants, mainly women and youth with practical income-generating skills designed to strengthen self-reliance and improve household incomes.
The training, which cost over US$1,000, covered essential livelihood areas that included soap making, bread-baking, home economics, tie and dye.
The project, Dorley said, was tailored to address the growing unemployment, and economic hardship facing rural dwellers, particularly women, who struggle to sustain their families.
At the graduation ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of Bong Progressive Entrepreneurs Incorporated, Alex Flomo, said the implementing organization, lauded Mr. Dorley for his trust in the institution.
He described the initiative as a “life-changing opportunity” that is already reshaping the economic outlook of Walapolu and neighboring communities.
This program has not only taught valuable skills, but restored dignity and hope among the locals,” Flomo told the gathering.
A good number of the graduates and community leaders echoed similar
sentiments; commended Mr. Dorley for his straight forward approach to community development, and his continuous commitment to empower the less privileged.
They promised to utilize their newly acquired skills to launch small businesses, and create employment opportunities in their respective towns.
Mr. Dorley’s gesture has been widely hailed as a shining example of effective leadership; one that prioritizes empowerment over dependency and development over promises, marking another milestone in his effort to build a more self-reliant Bong County.