Here come the girls! Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama touch down in Liberia to begin six-day trip without the president to promote education in Africa and Spain

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Michelle Obama urged young girls to fight to stay in school after she touched down in Liberia with daughters Sasha and Malia.

The first lady led the teenagers and her mother, Marian Robinson, along a red carpet as they began a six-day trip to Africa and Spain.

During the tour, which also has a stop in Morocco before ending in the Spanish capital, Madrid, is promoting education.  

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama walks with her daughters Sasha and Malia, together with Michelle's mother Marian Robinson (right), as she arrives at the Robert International airport near Harbel, Liberia

The first lady is traveling with her mother and daughters Malia, 18, who recently graduated from high school, and Sasha, 15. Education for girls is the central theme of the first lady's trip, which also includes stops in Morocco and Spain

On her first day she urged Liberian girls to stay in school. Most drop out due to financial pressures.

She launched her 'Let Girls Learn' education initiative in March 2015, and has since travelled the globe to call for greater support for the millions of girls kept away from school or forced to abandon their studies. 

Obama met girls and young women at a project named GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) aimed at boosting active citizenship, run by the US Peace Corps in Kakata, east of the coastal capital.

Speaking about the value of women's leadership and access to education, the Harvard-trained lawyer said she was 'here to shine a big bright light on you.'

'I want you to keep fighting and stay in school,' she told the girls.

Her venture has particular poignance in Liberia, where just 37 percent of 15 to 24-year-old girls are literate, according to UN figures, and enrolment at the secondary level hovers close to 40 percent, with real participation much lower.

She was also due to visit a school in Unification Town, further inland.

The school stop would see the First Lady hold a discussion with adolescent girls 'who have faced serious obstacles in attaining an education,' according to a White House statement.

Mrs Obama's first stop was a leadership camp for girls in Liberia. The country is still recovering from the recent Ebola epidemic that left thousands dead.

'I am just so thrilled to be here with you,' the first lady told the young women at the Peace Corps-sponsored project in Kakata.

Earlier she was welcomed to Liberia's capital with a red carpet and traditional dancers wearing the red, white and blue colors of both countries' flags.

After meeting Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Mrs. Obama traveled 70 kilometers (43 miles) along a heavily potholed road to Kakata.

Malia, 18, recently graduated from high school and is taking a gap year before heading to Harvard, while Sasha is 15.

Education for girls is the central theme of the first lady's trip, which also includes stops in Morocco and Spain.

Liberia was battered by civil wars between 1989 and 2003. Then Ebola swept the country in 2014, killing more than 4,800. Teachers died and schools were closed for months.

The country was founded as part of an effort to resettle freed American slaves and has deep ties to the United States. The country's oldest vocational high school, located in Kakata, is named for the African-American civil rights activist Booker T. Washington.

The school suspended mid-term exams scheduled to start Monday 'to allow the students to give Mrs. Obama a rousing welcome to appreciate what the United States has done for us,' principal Harris Tarnue said.

Michelle Obama (left) listens to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (right) after arriving at the airport in Monrovia, Liberia

She was also welcomed by Peace Corp teachers and students at a project 43 miles from the capital city Monrovia in Kakata, Liberia

The visit to the school was the first stop on her trip to the country that was ravaged by the Ebola crisis 

'She will be a real inspiration to the young girls around here,' he said.

Mrs. Obama's previous visits to Africa as first lady have included Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Senegal and Tanzania. 

The recent Ebola outbreak in Liberia created even more challenges for girls' education in the West African country, where just one-third of girls are enrolled in secondary education. 

Liberia ranked second only to South Sudan in the share of primary school-age girls who aren't enrolled in school, a global report by UNESCO said earlier this year.

Actress Meryl Streep then will accompany Mrs. Obama in Marrakech, Morocco, on Tuesday for another conversation with adolescent girls. 

The North African country's rates for girls' education are well below regional averages, U.S. officials told reporters Friday, with a high dropout rate for girls after primary school.

In Madrid, the first lady on Thursday will speak about the Let Girls Learn initiative, launched by her and President Barack Obama last year to encourage developing nations to educate the more than 62million girls worldwide who don't attend school.

President Obama is also scheduled to visit Spain shortly after the first lady. His trip will focus on security cooperation, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters Friday.

She is seen interacting with a group of Peace Corp members during the start of her trip