Monrovia- June 28, 2022: President George M. Weah has encouraged parents of Liberia to serve as better mentors to their children in a bid to discourage the growing number of At-Risk youths ( Zogos) in the Country.

The Liberian Leader called on parents to not give in to the temptation of would – be At – Risk youths and must muster the courage to combat every vice that has the proclivity to turn their children into At-Risk youths (Zogos).

President Weah made the admonishment on Saturday, June 25, 2022, at a one-day sports jamboree held at the newly constructed Invincible Park in Sinkor, along the Tubman Boulevard under the auspices of the steering committee to “reclaim our youths”.

The steering committee is seeking to raise 13.9 Million aimed at creating profitable initiatives in technical and vocational education for Zogos over five years, with the initial 13. 9 Million to cover two years in building a state-of-the-art rehabilitation center in Bensonville, Montserrado to train zogos.

President said there is no need for parents to leave their children alone when they are trapped in becoming zogos.

He encouraged parents to brace against the temptation of their children being zogos and go further by discouraging them from venturing or staying in the streets as wayward.

“Every family has a responsibility to their children,” President Weah said. “As parents, if we leave our children vulnerable, we will bear the burns of their deviant behavior,” the Liberian Leader warned.

The President said that as a result of voluntary or involuntary abandonment by some parents towards their children they have ended up as zogos but he acknowledged that the mistake has been made and there was a need to ameliorate the menace.

President Weah then promised that as a means of solving the problem faced by the nation by the incremental At-Risk youths in the country, his government has embarked on the initiative to reclaim them and make them useful in society.

The Liberian Leader said the sports jamboree involving Liberia’s developmental partners including the United Nations in Liberia is part of a series of events and massive awareness leading to the main event of fundraising for At-Risk youths to be held this week, June 30, 2022.

President Weah expressed optimism that with the involvement of the Country’s developmental partners, the initiative to rehabilitate zogos and give them a better standard of living is achievable.

At the same time, President Weah has divulged that another sports park located in the PHP Community will be open and dedicated this year in December.

He said sports facilities will be placed across the Country in other counties as a way of providing modern recreation facilities for the citizenry.

President Weah said the modern facilities are necessary as it will help boost the physical and psychological needs of Liberians adding, exercise and recreation serve the mental purpose rightly.

It can be recalled as part of activities leading to the fundraising rally for At-risk youths, the Government of Liberia on Thursday, June 23, 2022, held its Ministry of Information, Culture Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) regular press briefing at the Pennoh Building on Center Street in Monrovia aimed at focusing on the future of the At-Risk –Youth.

During the press briefing, Jetty promised to employ over a hundred At-Risk youths when rehabilitated and trained.

The official fundraising rally will take place this Thursday, June 30, 2022, where it is expected that government will raise 13. 9 Million of United States Dollars to initiate the daunting task to rehabilitate and train At – Risk in the Country.