Child Labor Thrives in Liberia

In 2007, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf introduced a policy mandating that all primary school-age children go to school. Parents risk fines or even being jailed if their children work on the street instead of attending school. Nearly four years later, the streets of the capital, Monrovia, are still crowded with young school-age children who work…

NN’s Robtel Pailey named to Top 99 Foreign Policy Professionals Under 33

WASHINGTON, DC:  The Diplomatic Courier and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy are pleased to announce that Robtel Pailey, Opinion Columnist with New Narratives, has been recognized on the 2013 “99 Under 33,” an international list noting the most influential foreign policy leaders under the age of 33. The complete list is available at: www.diplomaticourier.com/99Under33. See…

NN’s Robtel Pailey makes The New York Times with her piece on Children’s Role in Changing a Culture of Corruption

MONROVIA, Liberia — I remember the first time I stared corruption in the face. It was 2010, and I was chairwoman of a Liberian government committee responsible for reforming the awarding of international scholarships. We discovered that a group of 18-year-old boys had forged their national exam records to become eligible for a scholarship to…

Liberia’s Education Crisis: Water & Sanitation Problems Driving Children From School

Monrovia – Ah… O Say…! Ah… O Say…! (Battle Cry) We will make sure water and sanitation issues are addressed on this campus!”, Sarta S. Bawoh yells a battle cry as her followers answer, “say!” (Read original piece in FrontPage Africa here.)  Sarta, 18, is running for vice president of the student council of the G….

NN’s Robtel Pailey and Chase Walker Release Children’s Book on Corruption

Robtel Pailey, opinion columnist for NN and FrontPage Africa, has teamed up with NN’s photographer and FrontPage graphic designer Chase Walker, to produce a groundbreaking book designed to teach children about corruption. “Gbagba” is the story of Sundaymah and Sundaygar, two siblings who live in Grand Bassa County in Liberia. On the way to visit their…

‘Dialogue, Not a Monologue’: Liberia, Africa Youths Yearning to be Heard

I watched in amazement as stately Cameroonian 30-something, Mamadou  Kwidjim Toure, founder of pan-African youth movement “Africa 2.0”, slipped former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo a note on the elevated stage. Overhead, two wide-screen projectors magnified this exchange to an audience of over 200 at the recent Mo Ibrahim Foundation Governance weekend in Dakar, Senegal.  See…

NN’s Wade Williams on Liberia’s Entrepreneur Women

  MONROVIA, Liberia — On the outskirts of this capital city, Martha Partor runs what passes for a food processing business in this war-weary west African nation. It’s not high tech or big business. She packages local agricultural items such as pepper sauce, cassava leaf flour and potato greens powder in vacuum bags that are…

Liberia’s Water Woes: Why Clean, Safe Water Is Still Out of Reach for Many Liberians

Monrovia: “Water! Water!” Eugene Seoh shouted from his three-story apartment building on Benson Street, a main avenue in the center of Monrovia. From across the road, water vendor Jerry Worlogar looked up and nodded.  Seoh hurried down the stairs.  He stood before Worlogar’s hand-drawn cart full of white five-gallon containers. “Thirty-five \[Liberian] dollars for one…