Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Leymah Gbowee was the featured speaker at Rollins College’s Winter Park Institute recently. She is an internationally known activist, who played a pivotal role in ending the war in Liberia, West Africa, which lasted almost ten years. The theme of her speech was Leading Change Through Activism: The Liberian Women’s Experience.Â
Preceding Gbowee’s presentation was a two night event at Rollins College that began with the showing of a documentary of the struggle, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell,” a thought-provoking commentary on the struggle and power of women, both Christian and Muslim, when they come together for a common purpose.
Leymah bore witness to the worst of humanity, under the tyrannical power of Charles Taylor, who made himself president through fear and terror.
Mighty Be Our Powers is a memoir written by Leymah, of how sisterhood, prayer and sex changed a nation at war. The election of the first female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, was as a direct result of the organization and power that came about through the work and determination of the sisterhood, under the leadership of Leymah Gbowee.
