Doloquee
Karishma Pelham-Raad, popularly known as Karishma De Queen, is a Liberian celebrity who broke the barrier of hardships and struggled to establish herself as one of the famous successful people in Liberia.
The Influencer has, over time, used her popularity and connections to make numerous contributions in every sector she has participated in. Today, “Societal Ills” will be highlighting some of the successes made by the Liberian celebrity.
Humanity
Karishma Pelham-Raad is the CEO of Her Royal Highness Charity Foundation – a group that catered to the well-being of the less fortunate community. The foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in January of 2018. The foundation has since begun as the beacon of hope for less fortunate Liberians.
Of recent, the charity organization partnered with the “Refuge Place International/Good Vision” to conduct a free eye medical outreach to students in District 10, Montserrado County.
Here are some of the foundation impacts since it was established:
- On December 26, 2019, the HRH Foundation launched a donation scheme that aimed to enroll 50 visually impaired kids in the “School of Blind” that was shutdown due to financial issues.
On January 15, 2020, the school re-open and the kids started their classes. This gesture only became possible through Karishma’s foundation and her team of donors who supported the initiative. - Not just paying the children’s tuition fees, Mr. Richmond Tobii (Libtelco Managing Director), through Karishma’s foundation, donated 1,000 USD to the “Liberia School of the Blind” for electricity purposes.
- On May 07, 2020, the CEO launched a GoFundMe account to raise about 10,000 USD to feed “500 needy homes” during the Corona Virus crisis.
After a series of donations, the organization supplied the first 100 people on May 22, 2020. The supplied items included a “bag of rice, a bag of flour, a gallon of oil, Clorox, soap, etc.” The donation continued up to June when the targeted numbered was reached. - Mrs. Raad also led another fund-raising campaign that fed 100 homes in Bomi County on July 25, 2020. She and her team spend Independence Day with the kids in Bomi, providing them with amazing gifts.
- We could go on name more and more.
Karishma Pelham-Raad has won many awards locally and internationally for her services to humanity. Some of the awards are “Africa’s Most Outstanding NGO Founders” at the Africa CEO Merit Awards, “Humanitarian of the Year” at the Scream African Woman Awards, “Africa’s Most Charitable Top Celebrity” at the African Goodwill Ambassador Awards, etc.
Education
Karishma graduated from high school in 2004. Like many less-fortunate kids, Karishma was forced to become a “bread winner” for her family right after her graduation at such a very young age.
Karishma, who grew up believing that acquiring post-secondary education was the most important accomplishment in an individual life, had to work in the corporate environment to provide her mom and sibling with their basic home needs.
The Queen started as a Customer Service Representative at Comium Liberia. She ascended to a Network Engineer role at Lonestar Cell MTN over her 12 plus years in the Telecommunications sector. Her stay in the sector came through the commitment that she dedicated to the workshops and hands-on training offered by the GSM Companies.
Despite her position as a Network Engineer, Karishma always kept her dream of accomplishing a post-secondary degree alive. Karishma dropped out of Stella Maris Polytechnic (SMP) on her first attempt in 2007 due to the work demand.
Being a resilient lady who had to choose between education and work, Karishma used her launch break to attend AME University after taking a transfer from Stella Maris Polytechnic. Karishma finally fulfilled her dream through all the difficulties by bagging an undergraduate degree from AMEU on November 23, 2021.
Leadership Development
On October 25, 2021, Karishma became one of the hundred members of the Cohort 8 of the “Young Political Leadership School Africa (YPLSA).” The school “convenes young politicians and youth activists with a passion for supporting good governance, policy advocacy and fostering transparency in government.”
The training lasted for five days and included participants from Liberia, Malawi, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gambia and Nigeria. Here is an excerpt of what she wrote after the training: “It has been an amazing and insightful experience learning about strategic networking, effective leadership with a focus on bridging the state and non-state drive, importance of election observation, and electoral reform, […]. The road to building a democratic society is based on knowledge, social intelligence, respect and accountabilities”.
She has also been recognized both locally and internationally by the G-100 – “a group of potential women around the world that are fighting to create more opportunities for young women.” She is serving as Liberia’s Representative.
Entertainment
Karishma De Queen is a versatile lady who has been in the entertainment sector for a very long time – although she had to take a break when she first started. From acting in her first movie in 2004 to becoming an On-Air Personality, from Event Planner to Promoter, the Influencer has well established herself in the entertainment setting of Liberia.
The Queen is the CEO of “Her Royal Highness Entertainment” – A company involved in Entertainment, Public relations, Media and Marketing. She is also the presenter of “The One Show,” which is broadcast both on the TV (KMTV Liberia) and on the radio (Capitol FM).
In her capacity as an entertainment company CEO and Radio/TV presenter, Hon. Karishma has been a major player in the industry since her reappearance in 2018. Her show has interviewed some of the heavyweights in the music industry: Diamond Platinum of Tanzania, Shatta Wale of Ghana, Abubakar of Ecofest, Rayvanny of Tanzania, Mayorkun, Kidi of Ghana and many others.
In December 2021, Karishma and her team brought White Money (BBN Season 6 winner) to Liberia for a show tagged “Music and the Stars.” The show was hosted at Tropicana Beach in Monrovia. Everyone who attended the show knows how entertaining and amazing the gathering was.
Political Journey & Ambassadorial Deals
Hon. Karishma Pelham-Raad is a member of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). On March 17, 2021, the ambassador declared her intention to contest the District #10 Representative position in 2023 – Hon Yekeh Kolubah currently occupies the position.
Her decision caused mixed reactions on social media as many people believe that the humanitarian shouldn’t have entered into politics. However, those detractors have not deterred the aspirant, as she exerts every effort to make her political journey successful.
She is currently one of the biggest brands in Liberia – serving as an ambassador for top entities like SEGA Security Firm, Aqualife Pure Drinking Water, Nicom Distillery, and others.
Final Thought
From registering two courses a semester to bagging an undergraduate degree – what a resilience from this lady? Today, Karishma’s story can be used to inspire lots of underprivileged kids, especially girls; regardless of your present situation, there is always a way out there for you. Your journey might be “long but never overdue.” Don’t give out!
