In this Kool FM/New Narratives radio report, listeners travel to rural Liberia where the twin forces of deforestation and climate change are leaving communities dangerously exposed to more frequent and devastating windstorms. Across counties like Nimba and Rivercess, families who once relied on forests as natural barriers now find their homes and livelihoods laid bare…
Liberia
This Year’s Rainy Season Was Worst in Memory But Experts Say Worse is to Come; Call for Massive Government Investment in Adaptation
We bring listeners to communities across Liberia reeling from what many describe as the worst rainy season in memory, with floodwaters submerging homes, forcing tens of thousands from their villages, and claiming lives as experts warn these disasters signal an even more volatile climate future. Through the voices of mothers, farmers, and local leaders on…
This Year’s Rainy Season Was Worst in Memory But Experts Say Worse is to Come; Call for Massive Government Investment in Adaptation
By Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh with New Narratives ROBERTSPORT, Grand Cape Mount County – Francis Gray points to a small mound under a banana tree with a yellow flower planted on the top. The tiny grave holds the remains of his 19-month-old daughter, Linda. Linda was the center of Francis’ and her mother Amie Sheriff’s world…
Forest Communities Angered by Exclusion from Carbon Credit Negotiations
By Joseph Daniels and Khushali Haji with New Narratives As the Government of Liberia plans ahead to sell off forests for carbon credit markets, forest communities worry about livelihoods. KPATAWEE, Bong County – Bennie Vio walks slowly, a sharp machete resting on his shoulder, observing the growth of the crops he and his family planted…
Sun Finally Shines But Devastated River Cess Communities Still Trapped By Flood Waters
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives GLANYAH, River Cess – A week of relentless rainfall has plunged the traditional town of Glanyah into chaos, as rising waters swallowed homes and displaced hundreds of residents. This once-thriving community, established in the late 1970s by farmers and hunters, now faces an unprecedented crisis, with 27 houses…
Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for War Crimes Court
A Liberian civil war survivor says the deportation of former LURD commander Mayama Sesay, also known as “Black Diamond,” has left him fearing for his safety, Anthony Stephens reports in this social media video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia: Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for…
River Cess Community Blames EJ&J Logging Company for Dirty and Reduced Water Supply
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives ZAMMIE TOWN, River Cess – It is not yet midday and Odel Morris is already out of water. Most of the customers of her business, selling tea, coffee and snacks here in this rural part of the county are leaving, without being served. Morris says she has been doing for…
After Returning $50,000 National Hero Is Broke and Betrayed
By: Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh & Khushali Haji with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia – In 2021 Emmanuel Tuloe became a hero for a weary nation. When the then 19-year-old commercial bike rider found a bag of $US50,000 cash – enough to change his life forever – he did what many considered unthinkable: he gave it back. …
Visually Impaired Rural Students Trapped in Cycle of Poverty as Boakai Government Promises Improvements
By King Brown with New Narratives BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa County – Marpue Kpadoe sits on a small bamboo mat and moves her hands around in search of a bowl of water to wash her hands as she prepares to eat. The 18-year-old was born blind. She struggles to take her bowl of potato greens while her…
Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for War Crimes Court
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: In July 2003, N. says he watched armed fighters kill his sister during Liberia’s civil war—an attack he says was ordered by former rebel commander Mayama Sesay, known as “Black Diamond.” More than two decades on, he says the memory of the gunfire, the panic,…
Applications Open: Reporting Fellows, Liberia 2026
Call for Applications for our 2026 Reporting Fellowships in Liberia. Deadline for applications: January 10, 2026. Journalists with at least three years experience are invited to apply to join New Narratives as reporting fellows on a range of topics including governance, democracy, human trafficking, gender-based violence, climate change, pollution, biodiversity and land rights. Funding is…
“Excellence in Independent Journalism” Project in Liberia
“New Narratives is making a significant and meaningful contribution to the overall quantity and quality of independent journalism in Liberia by producing and diffusing high-quality reporting through media partners and other outlets. The evaluation found good evidence that many stories set the news agenda, strengthen the quality of public debate and have
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.”…
Solutions For Media Viability in Fragile Democracies: A New Project in Liberia Shows How AI and Digital Tools Can Bring New Revenue Sources to Independent Newsrooms
A groundbreaking pilot project funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, shows that AI and other new digital tools present promising new options for financial independence in West Africa’s leading newsrooms….
Experts Warn Lack of Price Information Keeps Farmers Trapped in Cycles of Exploitation by Predatory “Middlemen”
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…
Campaign to Abolish The Death Penalty Gains New Life As Human Rights Advocates Warn it Could Undermine Support for War Crimes Court
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…
As Senate Considers Bill to Legalize Abortion, Experts Say Growing Access to Abortion Pills Is Saving Lives
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…
Martina Johnson, Warlord Charles Taylor Ally, Likely to Face Trial in Belgium
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…
Liberia Extends ID Card Deadline After Chaotic Rollout, Promises Digital Solutions
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….
National ID Chaos: Frustration Grows as Banking Access and Other Services Denied Amid Enrollment Backlog. World Bank Funding For More Centers On Hold Because of Government Debt
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,…
U.S. Aid Cuts Leave Thousands Without Promised Clean Water, Prompting NGO Intervention
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…
U.S. Court Sentences Gambian Death Squad Member To More Than 67 Years for Torture
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A U.S. federal court Friday sentenced a former member of The Gambia’s feared paramilitary unit to more than 67 years in prison for acts of torture carried out under the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh. Michael Sang Correa, 46, was sentenced by Senior Judge Christine M….