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….
Women Entrepreneurs Take Liberian Business to a New Level
It is often said that the growth of a nation depends on the economy and the ability of its people to venture into the private sector. Since the war, petty trading is fast becoming the main form of employment for many Liberians. Some are taking it to the next level – entrepreneurship. But this new…
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…
“My Ink Is Too Important for Politicians,” NN’s Mae Azango tells Nobel Laureates
NN’s Country Manager Mae Azango told visiting Nobel Laureates in Liberia this week that she writes about ordinary Liberians because politicians will just get fatter on her words. “I want to spend my ink on ordinary people,” Mae Azango told the Nobel Women’s Initiative “Women Forging Peace” Delegation in Liberia this week. See the Initiative’s spotlight on…
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…
Letter of Support from an Appreciative Reader
Letter from Liberian reader, Flomo Freeman to New Narratives: Today is a very all important one to extend thanks and appreciations to staff and team members at New Narratives media institution. You all are doing an amazing and sacrificial job that many people would otherwise do in a society where many parts remain inaccessible and…
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…
The Negro Clause in Liberia’s Constitution Is Not Racist; It Is Protectionary
There is a subculture in Liberia that, though highly visible and active, is almost never discussed – like an unacknowledged elephant in the room. (See original post here.) It consists of Lebanese businessmen and their families who started migrating to West Africa in the 1950s and found a home in Liberia. It consists of thin,…
Wildlife At Risk: Experts Warn Hunting, Deforestation Killing Liberia’s Future
Monrovia – Dalida squirms on the lap of a woman at a restaurant bar on Tubman Boulevard. (See original post here.) The young chimpanzee was captured just two weeks after her birth. Now four weeks old she wears diapers and a T-shirt instead of sleeping with her mom tonight in a tree in Liberia’s fast-diminishing…
Crisis Point? In Monrovia, Half A Million Gallons Water Lost to Broken Pipe
The Liberian government submitted information to the World Health Organization and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program that estimated eight percent of households in urban areas have pipe borne water and 88 percent have access to an improved water source. Ironically the nation’s capital has been out of water for a long time, which, coupled with other…