Leymah Gbowee  spoke at the Alfond Sports Center's Warden Arena last Wednesday, September 16th. Her speech, Leading Change Through Activism — The Liberian Women’s Experience, set the table by asking the audience to imagine their seventeen year old daughter, fresh out of high school, awaiting her first day of university."... All of the sudden, shooting erupts, and she is responsible for a household of eight people by noon, and by 6 PM, almost fifty persons...One minute you're a child, and the next minute, you're an adult." This, Gbowee explained, was her experience as a seventeen year old. All of her dreams of being a doctor were taken from her when war struck her home country of Liberia.

            She spoke about the atrocities that took place in that time. Having to take care of her family because her mother was too traumatized to function and her father went missing. Hearing about members of her graduating class that had been massacred along with their families. Members of her church that had been sexually assaulted and murdered.  Recalling an African proverb, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." Before she knew it, these same people turned on each other based on ethnicity, and religion. Understandably, this made her angry

            Gbowee held that anger for a long time until she "found her way back" from that anger. "...I found my way back in a very cynical way. I learned that God has a sense of humor..."   She found herself working with ex-child soldiers, the same people that were responsible for the death and destruction in her community. She told a story of three boys: Sam Johnson, who was conscripted after being left by his mother and his younger siblings at only 8 years old, Joseph Kali, and Magee, who were both conscripted at the age of 12. All were amputees by the time Gbowee had met them years later, Sam missing an arm, Joseph and Magee both missing a leg, she realized that they had lost just as much, if not more, than she had "It made me question where I put my anger...these children are victims as much as I am a victim"

            After moving on to southeast Liberia, Gbowee started a group called the Christian Women's Peace Initiative, starting with the object of praying for peace, but later started the Peace Outreach Project, going from community to community with the goal of inspiring Liberian women to take action, passing out flyers at morgues, market places, and churches. After nine months, the group increased from 20 to over 300 women. From there, they began the Mass Action Campaign. Their first press release was paid for by donations. They signed their names and risked being jailed all in the name of peace, because "...the prize of peace, was even worth the lives we lived."

            In 2003 a peace treaty was signed and the war came to an end. Gbowee continued to fight for women's rights and in 2005, Liberia was able to elect Africa's first female president. She said through all of her activism she learned "If you stand firm on what you believe, you're bound to succeed." Her message was inspirational to say the least, motivating people to stand up and fight against the evil in the world. "Activism for change isn't necessarily ending wars. Activism for change isn't necessarily putting your life on the line. Activism for change is giving people hope when they have none left. It's giving back to humanity."

            When asked how she would overcome fear of the unknown, she responded with by saying a person should never let fear of what may or may not happen stop one from doing the right thing. She was asked about her thoughts about the immigration crisis in Europe. "It's pathetic" she stated, saying that war should not be the only suitable reason for immigration and refugees from countries that were destroyed by war and never rebuilt. She responded to a question about Leopoldo Lopez, a Venezuelan opposition leader being sentenced to 14 years for encouraging peaceful protest by saying that someone has to be the sacrificial lamb. "We shouldn't always be looking for a savior, because all people that have done great things were just ordinary people who got pissed off."   Gbowee also claimed her happiness stemmed from young people and the tenacity they have to create change.

            Gbowee is founder of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa. She was the founding head of the Liberian Reconciliation Initiative.. She is also a founding member and former Liberia coordinator of Women in Peacebuilding Network/West Africa Network for Peacebuilding .She is currently named a Distinguished Fellow in Social Justice at Barnard College. Her leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace is chronicled in her memoir, Mighty Be Our Powers, and in the documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell.