Pam Belcher Taylor: May in action
The municipality of Paynesville in Liberia is among those that do not hesitate to trust the fairer sex to ensure the leadership of the town hall. After Mrs. Cyvette M. Gibson, who served as mayor from 2012 to January 2018, it is Ms. Pam Belcher Taylor‘s turn to don the town hall’s scarf, following her appointment in February 2018.
Paynesville is a suburb East of Monrovia, Liberia. It is the largest city in Liberia with approximately 320,000 inhabitants. In taking charge of the city, Pam Belcher Taylor had to tackle the problems of waste collection as a priority. Three months after taking office, the municipal team set out to install garbage bins in strategic areas of the city as well as awareness nameplates. She also presented these main actions to her peers during the 3rd edition of the Forum of Territorial Managers and Training Institutes targeting Territorial Governments in Africa (FAMI), organized by the African Local Government Academy (ALGA) of UCLG Africa held from June 10-14, 2019 in Ifrane (Morocco).
The place of young people and women is also one of the key priorities of the Mayor. On May 21, 2021, one of the flagship projects of his term in office was launched with the construction of the bookstore in favor of youth (Liberian Learning Center). Begun in 2019 with fundraising, the launch of the construction works served as a framework for the municipal team to explain their wish to leave the structure as a legacy for future generations. The Liberian Learning Center is a collaborative project of the Canadian charity Empowerment Squared in partnership with the Rotary Club International, Paynesville City Corporation (PCC), Mc CallumSather, and the Hamilton Public Library. “As we all know, libraries help to develop students’ vocabulary, improve their comprehension and develop the habit of reading silently,” Pam Taylor already explained in 2019 when the project started.
During the month of May 2021, another action in the field of education was implemented by the mayor in partnership with the Orange Foundation and EDU Care Liberia, with the launch of the Orange Digital Schools initiative in the town of Paynesville. Seven schools has benefited from this project. Each school received a kit containing: 50 tablets, 50 tablet cases, 50 headsets, 10 multi-socket adapters, 2 dust-proof cases with padlock, 1 projector and 1 projector screen, 1 Bluetooth speaker, 1 solar energy system, and 2 Raspberry servers with thousands of free educational materials. The project offers children who have no books and no internet digital access to education for equal opportunities and digital inclusion. Speaking briefly at one of the beneficiary schools (Vine International Bilingual Christian School), Mayor Taylor encouraged the young people who are the future leaders to take advantage of this opportunity and learn to the maximum of their abilities.
Focusing on proximity to the people, Ms. Taylor kicked off the Muscat FC city team soccer match on May 7.
It should be noted that in 2019, Ms. Pam Belcher-Taylor made her city adhere to the ‘Campaign of African cities with zero tolerance to violence against women and girls‘, led by the Network of Locally Elected Women of Africa (REFELA). Paynesville was one of the first cities to join the campaign.
Express Bio
Mayor Pam Belcher-Taylor was born in 1963 in the Republic of Liberia, where she grew up and received her primary and secondary education. She continued her education in the United States, where she obtained a university degree in business administration and a professional degree in cosmetology. Ms. Taylor returned to school in 2010 and studied biology and obtained a professional degree in landscaping. She was appointed Mayor of the City of Paynesville in February 2018. In 1998, Mayor Taylor was recruited as the International Coordinator for the Office of the First Lady of the Republic of Liberia. That same year, she founded Elijah’s Hair Studio in Monrovia, Liberia. In 2006, she worked as Deputy Project Coordinator for the Aid to Africa Program in Monrovia, Liberia. Ms. Belcher-Taylor has served as President of the Liberia Water Producers Association, a member of the Liberia Copyright Board, a member of the ECOWAS Manufacturers Association, and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mayor Belcher-Taylor is married to Boimah S. Taylor and together they have four children.
Follow the news of the Mayor on the Facebook page of the municipality here .
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