MacDella Cooper plans to be the next president of Liberia. She is the only woman running against twenty male candidates.
Background
At the age of 13, MacDella had to flee a war torn Liberia. She escaped to the bordering Ivory Coast and in 1993 was cleared to come to the United States.
She eventually received a full academic scholarship to college, and earned a degree in Electronic Communication. After graduating, she began her professional career as a fashion model and worked extensively in New York, Paris, London and Milan.
Sidebar: There’s something to be said about what it takes to some from such a devastating background and still be able to thrive. MacDella reminds us of another Liberian woman who escaped war and has now built a million dollar real estate empire.
Philanthropy
She never forgot where she came from and began donating money and resources to individuals, orphanages and women’s groups back in Liberia.
Her philanthropy birthed what is now known as “The MacDella Cooper Foundation”, a non-profit organization focused on “empowering Liberian youth, especially orphans and abandoned children, by providing education and basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter.”
Political Ambitions
In October 2016, MacDella announced her presidential ambitions. Her campaign is guided by her “Five-Star Platform of Hope and Reform”: Free Childhood Education, Universal Healthcare, Growth of the National Electric Grid, Decentralization in and Land Ownership.
From a statement on her campaign website, she says “As a former refugee who fled the civil conflict from Monrovia to Danane, in La Cote d’Ivoire in the early 1990s; I was fortunate to gain entry into the United States of America where I obtained my higher education.
As a former refugee girl, I bear testimony to the fact that education remains the greatest equalizer for hope and reform. When used constructively, education can transform anybody into somebody.”
Come October of this year, it will be interesting to see if she has what it takes to transform herself into the next President of Liberia.
