Diacallyne Diagor Garmie
2017 MCN Conference | Cuttington University
My MCN Story:
"All through my days, I had a strong desire to serve humanity, but like most youth, I was faced with indecision of where to start from. Instead of sitting and being confused, I decided to make a move.
Every time I look around, I see young people who need to be motivated in doing the right things for the sake of growth and development, I see young people who if not mentored properly will be a huge liability to the community, I see a community that needs innovative young people, I see a land that relies heavily on young people for its growth and development.
Based on these, I decided to get involved with issues that concern me as a young person. I started in high school and got involved with student leadership and helped mold the minds of fellow students in remaining peaceful, diplomatic, and development oriented. I served as Speaker for the Ganta United Methodist High School 2011 student government.
Still zealous keep serving when I enrolled at Cuttington University in Bong County Liberia, I came across likeminded young people who desired to serve the accounting student body where we were members. With this similar vision, we worked together as a team and founded the Association of Accounting Students (AAS) at Cuttington University. With time it became a recognized student organization on campus and started operation with its first core of officials including Diacallyne as Director of Program and Planning. The organization aimed at strengthening its members academically and morally for the development of the community.
One day, at the general Student Union organization meeting on campus, I was having a chat with a colleague from another organization about our organization and its programs, then he said to me 'there is a place that builds the mind of young people like you' I got concerned and asked, where is that place? He replied 'the MCN (Millennium Campus Network)'
With this information, I went home and goggled MCN and realized that it’s one of the right places for young people to build on their dreams. With this I applied to the MCC13 and MCC14, both applications were accepted but due to insufficient funding it was not impossible for me at that time. I saw the issue of funding not as a barrel but as a challenge to go get it. I refuse to give up on my dreams.
After graduation in 2014 from Cuttington University, Liberia just before the Ebola crises, I moved to a small city in Nimba County, called Saclepea . There, I worked with a local organization named CHESS-Liberia (Community Health Education and Social Services-Liberia) as a volunteered Social Mobilization Officer (SMO). We as SMOs were tasked with reaching out to community dwellers with Ebola preventive messages and teaching them about the signs and symptoms of the virus and how important it was to report if you noticed a sign and or symptom. This was done through house to house outreach, radio drama and songs.
Still with CHESS-Liberia, I later got recruited as Finance Officer for a project called Ebola Community Action Platform (E-CAP). I provided professional financial support to the project from the first to the second phase until its positive completion.
After the Ebola crisis and upon completion of the project, I moved to Ganta city Nimba County and got employed at the Ganta United Methodist Hospital as Revenue Accountant, six months later, I got promoted as Staff Accountant till present.
There, I decide to retry accomplishing my MCN dream. This time like always I got accepted again but like before, the organization had no funding for such programs, but this time it was different. I started the fund raiser with double energy and focus; it seemed the time was right for the MCN dream. The funds raiser was successful and my MCC17 journey to Rabat started.
Prior to the conference, I was looking forward to meeting a network of likeminded people concern about the global community, but my guess was wrong. At MCC17, I met a family instead. A family concerned about humanity and geared up to make the world a better place for all humanity. MCC17 for me was a dream come true and as l expected, it made me a better young leader, it motivated me to do more for the sake of the future generation, to expect failure in accomplishing you dreams but to never quit on them.
Because of the MCN, I am now more than just an accountant. I am that accountant that provides support to a team of medical and administrative officials of Ganta United Methodist Hospital and yet, still finds time to get involved with young people in order to continuously be a motivation to youths in Liberia and globally by reaching out to high school students and engaging them on youth involvement in the development process of a community, Core workers at assemblies on same topic, and same through radio broadcast upon return.
This is so because I see a lot of young people in my community have decided to keep quiet and matters concerning us. Thank God for the MCN MCC17."
Check out Diacallyne's interview at MCC17 here!