By Siaway T. Miapue with New Narratives Summary: ARTHINGTON, Montserrado— More than a year after an investigation documented the deadly risks women faced giving birth at a rural government clinic here, the facility has been renovated and equipped with a new maternity ward, officials said at a dedication ceremony this month. The Church of Jesus…
By Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro with New Narratives Summary: MOUNT BARCLAY, Montserrado County- Each morning, as the sun climbs over here, Kebbeh Kollie grips a sledgehammer and strikes stone. The sharp clang echoes through the quarry near Mount Barclay, a rhythm of survival. For three years, the 40-year-old single mother has crushed rocks to…
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sometimes led to concrete responses from public authorities. Stories and the framing of issues by New Narratives are often picked up by other media in their own reporting.”…
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A grand jury in Monrovia has indicted five women for allegedly trafficking their own children and those of their relatives to Mali and Burkina Faso. The fourteen children—seven boys and seven girls, ranging in age from eleven months to eight years—have not been identified publicly…
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: · Justice advocates say surprise bills from Senator Joseph Jallah and Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence could shield accused perpetrators and undermine years of advocacy for a war and economic crimes court. · The bills would send appeals from the War Crimes Court to Liberia’s…
This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the“Investigating Liberia” project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content….
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New NarrativesSummary: Civil society leaders said the Boakai government’s decision to “voluntarily” acceptSalvadoran immigrant Kilmar Armando Abrego García—a symbol of Trump’s hardlinedeportation agenda – violated the man’s human rights and were made under threat ofretaliation Liberia’s acceptance of Garcia came after other African countries refused to take him…
Summary: Among the many issues plaguing Liberia’s farmers, the health of the soil has long been at the top of the list. For decades, farmers have worked with little information about the nutrients, fertility, or moisture in their land, leading to low yields and widespread soil degradation. With as many as seven in every ten…
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content….
Summary: By King Brown with New Narratives TAYE TOWN, Grand Bassa County — The weeds have returned, thick and stubborn. But so has Patience Kpan. After a disastrous harvest in 2024, the 37-year-old mother of five is back on her knees weeding grass from her young rice plants. Her youngest child, a barefoot toddler, tugs…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives The Liberian government has responded to a renewed push by civil society pledging to submit a revised bill to the Legislature that would end the practice in the country. The five-month, $US84,000 initiative — funded by the British Embassy in Liberia — marks the second…
By Joyclyn Wea, senior reporter with New Narratives D. was 18 and had just entered the 12th grade in 2017 when she discovered she was pregnant. Like all teenage students, ambitious for a successful future – in her case as a banker – she feared having a baby would end her dreams. She also feared…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Martina Johnson, one of the most powerful commanders of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front for Liberia (NPFL) rebel group, is expected to go on trial in Belgium next year for atrocities allegedly committed during Liberia’s first civil war. A court is considering evidence gathered during…
By Aria Deemie, environmental reporter with New Narratives At 3 a.m. Richedna Kpanneh Tobii finally opened her books. The 21-year-old university student had learned that her densely populated neighborhood of Lakpazee, with more than 160,000 people, was only quiet enough for her to study in the middle of the night. Video clubs blasted matches past midnight….
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: For more than two decades, they lived in silence, haunted by the war. In January, seventeen Liberians summoned the courage to travel to the U.S. court in Philadelphia and testify against one of the most feared rebel commanders of Liberia’s second civil war: Laye Sekou…
Summary: By Fatu Kamara with New Narratives When Dominic Gbordoe completed high school this year, his biggest challenge wasn’t exams. It was simply seeing the blackboard. The 23-year-old found his vision starting to become blurry several years ago. By 2023 it was having a big impact on his schooling. “When I sit in the back,…
Following a chaotic rollout and mounting public frustration, the Liberian government has indefinitely suspended its controversial compulsory national identification program. The government announced the move in a press release from the Ministry of Information Monday. “The National Identification Registry (NIR) informs all public social service providers to take note and act in compliance with this…
By Tetee Gebro and Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia—The Liberian government has extended the deadline for compulsory registration of national Identification Cards by 76 days. The move followed a chaotic rollout process that had sparked national outrage. Long queues, poor communication, and limited infrastructure had triggered widespread frustration and service denials for millions….
By Joyclyn Wea and Tetee Gebro with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia — Members of Liberia’s House of Representatives are pushing for the government to make the country’s mandatory National Identification Cards free of charge in the wake of the chaos and frustration surrounding the registration process. The National Identification Registry is charging $US5 for a…
By Tetee Gebro and Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives RED LIGHT, Monrovia – Rick Scott arrived at the National Identification Registry center here on a recent morning at 5 a.m., joining a line of hopeful citizens in the predawn darkness. By evening, the 54-year-old businessman returned home empty-handed for the fourth time in a week,…
Summary: By Grace Joshua with New Narratives YARNWEILLE, Margibi county —Beatrice Paye has a firsthand experience of the impact of waterborne diseases. In April, the community leader’s eight-year-old daughter was hospitalized for a week with a dangerous case of diarrhea. Paye blames the illness on water her daughter drank from the creek here. Paye and…
