Participants from four women-led community-based organizations (CBOs), have applauded the Rural Integrated Center for Community Empowerment (RICCE).
The commendation followed an intensive day-long training session RICCE hosted with focused on human rights advocacy for gender equality and climate justice.
The CBOs include Western Regi4Network Association (WERWONA), Community Land Development and Management Committees (CLDMC), Project Affected Communities (PACs).
The training, according to a release, was held on Friday, August 22, 2025, at the Bomi Women Center in Tubmanburg as part of RICCE’s ongoing grassroots empowerment initiative.
It was funded by the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) forest for a just programme through the Green Forest Coalition (GFC).
RICCE is the gender technical partner of the Liberia partners of the GLA with the aimed to deepen participants’ understanding of gender, intersectionality, gender transformation, gender justice, and the critical links between natural resource governance and women’s rights.
The training, participants said, was not only educational, but transformative that helped them to reframe their views on gender justice and resource access within their respective communities.
“Before this training, I never saw how gender equality is related to how we access land and other resources,” said a participant, adding: “RICCE has opened our eyes.”
Leaders from WERWONA underscored the importance of integrating intersectionality into community advocacy, noting that women’s experiences with land rights, shift, and resource abuse often differ.
Coordinator of WERWONA, Madam Lydia Ballah said, the training was about women’s rights, specifically in land rights and concessions.
“We women need to know those things in concession agreements, and other land related issues in our communities. The training helped us to know our benefits and rights as women as well as how to advocate,” said Madam Ballah.
A representative from one of the women-led CBOs noted: “We now understand the power of advocacy rooted in human rights, and how to demand accountability through gender approaches.”
RICCE Program Manager, Madam Renee N. Gibson, used real-life situations, participatory learning tools, and community case studies to engage participants in active discussion and practical exercises.
By the end of the session, participants had committed to continue their engagements in advancing gender equity and natural resource justice.
The training meanwhile, has called for sustain momentum, and expand outreach to include more grassroots actors, particularly women and marginalized groups often excluded from land governance and decision-making processes.
Madam Gibson expressed gratitude for the passionate participation, stating: “This is what transformative community empowerment looks like when local voices lead the charge for gender justice and equitable resource management.”
She added: “The issues affecting women should be discussed by women. I therefore encouraged you to be fully involved in discussions in your respective communities by standing up and taking the needed actions for rights to be respected and your views considered.”
As the session ended, participants agreed to keep informing their communities aimed at driving change across the western region.