The Physically Challenged Candidate Running For Office
Our coverage of election-related activities is not only about presidential candidates. We are also spotlighting representative candidates and their platforms for their constituents. …
Journalism
Candidate Wants To Boost Representation Of Liberia’s Million People With Disabilities
If resilience were all that was needed to win election, Samuel Dean would win in a landslide. The 45-year-old, who is contesting the Montserrado County District #8 seat against sitting representative Acarous Moses Gray, has had an extraordinary journey—escaping wartime Liberia as a teenager, being shot by police in New York City and, finally, using his payout to help hundreds of Liberians with disabilities….
Liberia’s First-time Voters Overwhelmingly Back a War Crimes Court Survey Finds
As Liberia commemorates 20 years since the end of the civil conflict that left devastated the country and left 250,000 people dead, a survey of first-time voters conducted in two of the country’s biggest counties found overwhelming support for a court….
In Liberia Drug Addiction Is Becoming A Major Problem. Here’s What Presidential Candidates Plan to Do About It
Drug abuse is a growing problem in Liberia. There is no reliable data on user numbers but one study, by the United Nations Population Fund, found a staggering one in five Liberian youth take narcotics. …
As Drug Addiction Reaches a Crisis Liberia’s Presidential Candidates Promise Tough Remedies
In 2012 Cecelia’s life fell apart. Struggling to take care of nine children after the sudden death of her husband, she turned to her oldest son, then in his early 20s, for help. But he was lost to the family, a year into a drug addiction that was destroying his life….
Call for Applications: Journalism Fellowships, Liberia
Journalists with at least three years experience are invited to apply to join New Narratives as reporting fellows for one year projects on a range of topics including governance, democracy, human trafficking, gender-based violence, climate change, pollution, biodiversity and land rights. Funding is provided by Swedish International Development Assistance, the US State Department, Wellspring Philanthropic…
Air pollution: the growing threat to our food supply
Though it has not received much attention until now, air pollution has become a huge challenge around the globe, with significant implications for human life. The last few years have been hard on Saeed Jafat and his family. The 45-year-old maize farmer has no irrigation system or underground water supply. He depends entirely on the once-a-year rainy…
Wood dust: The silent killer of Ghanaian woodworkers
Wood dust has become a silent killer causing a range of health problems….
Fish Smoking: The Livelihood Causing Pain and Death in Coastal Communities in Ghana
When his mother fell ill and started coughing incessantly, Kojo Ansong and his siblings thought it was a minor infection that would go away with some over-the-counter medication. It didn’t. Sixty two-year-old Christiana Ntiamoah’s coughs became raspier, more frequent and she sometimes coughed up blood….
DEADLY TROTROS: How Ghana’s Most Popular Mode of Transport is Wreaking Havoc on Our Health
Israel Nkegbe never imagined a time when he would feel afraid to leave his house. Once a strong and commanding chief police inspector he now struggles just to breathe. The world outside his house is filled with dangers: toxic air pollutants that could trigger an attack that takes his life. A year ago the 63-year-old…
Ghana’s Air Quality Crisis: Asthma Burden Worsens as Air Quality Deteriorates
In the bustling streets of Accra, the daily spectacle of cars ensnared in traffic jams is a sight all too common. Yet, amid this urban hustle, a disquieting reality looms – a shroud of dense, noxious fumes billows from the exhaust pipes of countless vehicles….
Air Pollution – Enemy of Children, Elderly and the Vulnerable
In Ghana, a growing menace lurks in the air, imperilling the most susceptible members of the population—children and the elderly. This silent and invisible adversary, air pollution, has raised alarms among health experts who urge both the government and citizens to take immediate action….
Liberia: Presidential Candidate Cummings’ Business Experience is Unrivaled but is it Enough to Win Over Voters?
Alexander Cummings, a former Coca-Cola executive, touts his global business acumen as crucial for Liberia’s economic revival in the upcoming presidential race, facing incumbent President George Weah and others….
Survey Finds One in Three Liberians Do Not Trust the Biometric Voter Registration System for October’s Elections
A survey by New Narratives reveals deep mistrust among Liberian voters towards the new Biometric Voter Registration system, marred by glitches and double registrations, ahead of October’s manual voting….
Liberia: Trafficking Victims Await Restitutions, as Ex-NSA Agent Appeals 25-Year Sentence, Another Trial Indefinitely Suspended, Amid Drama Over Lack of Lawyer for Defendant
Victims of Arthur Chan-Chan’s trafficking have not received court-ordered restitutions, while the Liberian government, despite denials, faces criticism for failing to provide for the survivors’ welfare….
Liberia’s Traffic Deaths Among the Highest in the World, So Why Did the Government Halt a $50m Facility Meant to Make Roads Safer?
Liberia’s traffic tragedy claims lives like Lucky’s, highlighting the nation’s alarming road fatality rate, as vehicles with defects continue to operate without proper checks from a ready but unused traffic management facility….
In Rural Liberia, Where Police Lack Cars Or Equipment, Criminals Rule
Residents of Grand Bassa County say they are living in fear as a state of lawlessness takes over the county. Police – with no vehicles, fuel or other resources – say they are powerless to enforce the law. As a result, serious crimes are going on with no effort to arrest perpetrators….
Liberia: As Funding For Prisons Drops 85 Percent Under Weah Government Endless Pre-Trial Detentions Are Devastating Lives
Jerry Zeah’s search for a better life in Monrovia ended in a prison cell, untried for a crime he denies, as he faces a justice system delay stretching beyond his alleged offense’s sentence….
President’s School Chairs Arrive In Rural Schools, But There Aren’t Nearly Enough
In Buchanan’s overcrowded Four Houses Public School, kindergarteners like 7-year-old Sarah struggle to learn while seated on the floor, amidst dire shortages of chairs, tables, and a deteriorating classroom structure….
Liberia: As Schools Outsourcing Experiment Falters Teachers Say It’s Time to Give Counties Control
In part two of this two-part series with New Narratives Eric Opa Doue finds widespread opposition from teachers and civil society to government’s privatization of schools and a plea to government to abandon the scheme and let counties take charge….
Liberia: Students Dropping Out of School in Rivercess Due to Lack of Teachers
Jacob Beegar, 15, faces a grim future in Kporkon, Liberia, as the prolonged closure of his school since 2020 forces him to forsake education for farm labor, dimming his hopes of escaping poverty….