Published: September 24, 2026
Paynesville – Liberian diplomat and Founder of the Karishma Pelham-Raad Mentorship Program (KPR), Karishma Pelham-Raad, on Tuesday, September 23, 2026, officially launched the first cohort of her youth mentorship initiative at the Paynesville Town Hall, bringing together hundreds of young Liberians for a two-day intensive training.
By: Alphanso G. Kalama
The program, which runs under the motto “Empowering Minds. Inspiring Futures,” has enrolled 500 young people as its inaugural fellows and aims to provide mentorship, leadership development, personal growth, and practical career skills to Liberian youth.
In her opening speech, Pelham-Raad described the launch as more than an event or a two-day certificate program; it was the planting of “seeds of confidence, leadership, knowledge, resilience and hope” that will transform lives and the country.
Delivering a deeply personal reflection, the Liberian diplomat recounted her own journey through adversity, loss, and being underestimated, noting that her path from telecommunications and technology to diplomacy and international public service was shaped by mentors who believed in her and told her to “keep going.”
She said the KPR Mentorship Program was created to fill a critical gap for young Liberians who lack access to influential networks, career guidance, and confidence-building support, emphasizing that mentorship is not about creating followers, but developing future leaders.
According to her, the program is built on five key pillars: Leadership and Character, Communication and Confidence, Education, Skills and Opportunity, Resilience and Personal Development, and Tolerance, Service and Nation-Building.
Pelham-Raad told the fellows that knowledge without confidence remains unused, and confidence without character is dangerous, stressing that KPR seeks to build both competence and character, ambition and responsibility, leadership and service.
Speaking directly to the 500 fellows, she challenged them not to waste their potential or compare their journey to others on social media, urging them to read, ask questions, learn skills, embrace failure as an event not an identity, and when they succeed, to reach back and open doors for others.
Serving as keynote speaker, Grand Bassa County Senator Gbehzohngar Findley inspired participants to take their dreams seriously as he reflected on his personal journey from an engineer to becoming Foreign Minister, Senate Pro-Tempore, and now Senator.
“In order to be standing where I’m standing and people referring to me as foreign minister, former pro-temp and Senator, it wasn’t an easy journey. I was respectful, I was obedient and had purpose. I was never afraid to make mistakes,” Findley recounted, calling on youth to seek mentorship from experts in their desired career paths.
The Bassa lawmaker also cautioned that Liberia’s future lies in the hands of its youthful population and urged participants to prepare as the world becomes increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
The first cohort training continues Wednesday at the Paynesville Town Hall, with facilitators, panelists, and mentors expected to provide practical sessions on career pathways, entrepreneurship, technology, and public speaking, as part of KPR’s goal to eventually mentor thousands across Liberia.
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