A Fierce Champion for Women Braves Death Threats and Job Loss She has a broad smile and open, friendly face. But Liberian journalist Mae Azango has the fierce and courageous heart of a warrior. Although she has received death threats and lost her job over her discussion of sensitive topics, she remains a staunch advocate…
Featured Stories
Breastfeeding Myths: Liberia in Top 5 for Baby Deaths, ‘Difficult Problems’ linger
Forkpah Town, Clay Ashland, Tiny Pewee Wamah tries to hold the piece of boiled cassava his mother hands to him, but his tiny trembling hands soon let go and the cassava falls to the bright red earth. The 14-month-old baby tries to find strength to cry but his voice soon fades. By New Narratives fellow…
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…
NN’s Wade Williams Wins Journalist of the Year
New Narratives fellow and FrontPage Africa newsroom chief Wade Williams has been awarded the prestigious Journalist of the Year award at Liberia’s annual media awards. Wade is only the second woman to win the award. The UN’s Eva Flomo won the award in 2011. Wade has been with the New Narratives program since January 2011….
Editor Rodney Sieh Talks About His Groundbreaking Paper FrontPage Africa
[ylwm_vimeo]73421957[/ylwm_vimeo] This video was produced by Multimedia Photography and Design graduate students Jessica Suarez, Jim Tuttle and Kristina Subsara as part of freerodney.org …
Lawless Liberia: Legal Failure Renews Global Calls For Female Genital Cut Law
The case of Ruth Berry Peal has prompted renewed calls from anti-FGC activists for the Liberian government to join that 24 other African countries that have passed laws that specifically make female genital cutting illegal. No such law exists in Liberia at present, prompting lawyers acting on behalf of clients like Berry Peal to pursue…
Living in Fear: After Liberia’s First FGC Conviction, Victim Still Harassed, Haunted
In January this year Ruth Berry Peal and her family thought their three year ordeal was over. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that made the Bomi mother-of-eight the first woman in Liberia to win a conviction for forceful initiation into the Sande society. Three months later Berry Peal is still separated from…
NN’s Wade Williams at UN luncheon in New York City featuring Jeffrey Sachs
NN’s Wade Williams of FrontPage Africa speaks at a UN luncheon in New York City featuring Jeffrey Sachs during her Dag Hammarskjold fellowship. Hear speech here. From Dag Hammarskjold Fund for Journalists release: 2012 Annual Luncheon JEFFREY SACHS HONORED BY U.N. JOURNALISTS The Dag Hammarskjöld Fund for Journalists honored Dr. Jeffrey Sachs with their Inspiration…
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 Reporting Prompts Govt to Announce Elimination of Female Genital Cutting Day
In the wake of the international uproar prompted by death threats against NN Country Manager Mae Azango, the Liberian government has taken the unprecedented step of announcing February 6 will be “Intensifying Efforts for Elimination of Female Genital Cutting” Day. Before the breakthrough reporting by Azango in FrontPage Africa and NN fellow Tetee Gebro for…
Rapists’ Nation? Rape Still Stalking Liberia’s Kids; 1 in 10 Victims Age 5 And Under
“The boy is my neighbor’s son,” says the grandmother. “We eat and play together. They came to me begging I agreed not to go to court. That court thing can waste time and money. I just want my little girl to be all right.” – A grandmother to rape victim. Published in FrontPage Africa on…
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…
Mae Azango’s Acceptance Speech at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Awards
“Ladies and Gentlemen. This is my shortest speech ever, because I can talk non-stop for hours without knowing it, but I will try my best to keep it short and simple, (KISS) as journalism requires. Please see video of speech here I am delighted and grateful that the Committee has chosen to recognize my work with…
NN’s Mae Azango Awarded CPJ Press Freedom Award in New York
New York – FrontPage Africa’s Mae Azango was awarded the Committee to Protect Journalists’ prestigious Press Freedom Award at a glittering ceremony in New York Tuesday night. The ceremony was attended by America’s media elite including the New Yorker’s David Remnick and CPJ board member Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post. Azango was one of…
NN Executive Director Prue Clarke argues aid world undercuts development by ignoring media
By not supporting local media, the donor world fails to engage local populations in the development process and give them the information they need to drive change themselves. By Prue Clarke, Executive Director, New Narratives | Wednesday at 3:18 PM See original post here. Mae Azango is one courageous reporter. But she is also a…
NN’s Mae Azango Wins Major Canadian Press Freedom Award
Please see CJFE’s announcement below: CJFE announces 2012 International Press Freedom Award Winners 2012 International Press Freedom Award winner Mae Azango (CNW Group/Canadian Journalists for Free Expression) Media Mae Azango (Liberia) and Rami Jarrah (Syria) risked their lives to report the news in their countries TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2012 /CNW/ – Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)…
NN’s Tecee Boley Named IJNET Journalist of the Month
New Narratives is delighted our senior fellow Tecee Boley has been named the International Journalists’ Network (IJNET) Journalist of the Month. Tecee joined NN in July 2010 and has since notched up a string of scoops and awards including a Pulitzer Center grant to cover Water and Sanitation issues and Liberia’s Development Reporter of the…
NN’s Mae Azango Wins Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award
New Narratives is delighted one of our senior fellows Mae Azango has been chosen as one of four international journalists to receive the 2012 Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award. The award recognizes Mae’s courage in reporting earlier this year on the health risks of female genital cutting in traditional societies in her…
165 Years Young And Counting: What Have We Really Got To Celebrate?
We Liberians know how to throw a good party. Whether we live in zinc shacks or in immaculate mansions, we thrive on celebration. I’ve been back in Monrovia from London only three weeks now and have already attended four graduation parties and one baby shower. For us, life is an endless party. That’s what…
NN’s Prue Clarke in The Guardian on How Donors Limit Impact by Not Funding Media
Mae Azango is one courageous reporter. But she is also a potent weapon in the fight for human rights. Azango’s reporting on female genital cutting (FGC) in her native Liberia brought death threats and sent her and her nine-year-old daughter into hiding. Three weeks later, the Liberian government, having never dared speak publicly about the traditional practice, had taken steps to…