Ever since I made plans to come to Liberia, I was intrigued by the prospect of eating the various foods of West Africa. In preparation for the trip, I downloaded Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" show on Liberia and Ghana to get a feel for the place and the food. I found the local staple to be Fufu. Funny name, interesting taste and texture. I would have to wait about a week after arriving in Monrovia to have a taste of the regional delicacy. Why the wait? Well, the place where we are staying … [Read more...]
We get a surprise at church
For the second Sunday in a row, we attended services at a Pentecostal church this past weekend. This one was a 40-minute drive outside Monrovia, right off the Atlantic. (In fact, the final stretch of “road” that carried us there was a bit of hard-packed sand no more than 25 or 30 feet from the crashing waves. (Since I can’t swim, this prompted me to get an early start on my prayers.) The service was very similar to the first week, though there were two dozen parishioners this time and not … [Read more...]
The Radio is Coming to You
During our sojourn to the seaside town of Cestos, capital of Rivercess County, we launched the Soundbooth, an audio documentary project modeled on NPR"s StoryCorps. The idea is to have two people very familiar with each other - a mother and a daughter, a teacher and a student, a pair of friends - interview each other on a story or topic relevant to their lives. StoryCorps has been doing this for a while, and has a great archive of American stories, told in conversational, intimate style. We"re … [Read more...]
Rivercess
Cestos City is located 180 miles Southeast of Monrovia. A seven hour drive on dirt roads through remote rainforest, the county’s capital sits where the River Cestos meets the Atlantic Ocean. In the early morning groups of school kids online casino begin their long journey to class, arriving in boats from across the water, then walking two miles down the only road in town. … [Read more...]
Local radio is key to Liberians’ stories
We began this week by spending two nights in Cestos, the capital of Rivercess County. One of the aims of the Together Liberia project is to give greater voice to people in communities outside of Monrovia. The print media here in particular seems to concentrate mostly on big-city politics. I have yet to see a single story on life outside of the nation’s capital. It might just be that I am not reading widely enough, but I don’t think so. I am trying to talk to as many journalists as I can, and … [Read more...]
To the media, the answer is “yes”
I continue to be amazed at the uncommon access we get here while working on our stories. Bureaucrats, as well as everyday people, haven’t caught on to what’s become the default answer to the media in America: “No.” Instead, here we ask — and our sources say “yes.” They are happy to have their stories told. Earlier this week, to start off on a set of stories about education, we walked the campus of the local high school in Cestos, south of Monrovia, without escort. And we stumbled on exactly … [Read more...]
Education in Cestos, Rivercess county
It was all about education. As media trainers, we improved the storytelling skills of our journalism students. As storytellers, our students focused on education issues in one of the poorest counties in Liberia. As foreigners, we were schooled in both the best and worst parts of traveling in Liberia. Smiles, beaches and cool breezes welcomed us to Cestos. Most locals took us in with open arms, showing us the warm hospitality of a rural community in Liberia. Unfortunately, a robber and some … [Read more...]
On the road to Rivercess …
We were told the drive to Cestos, in Rivercess County, should only take about three hours. It's roughly 180 miles. But I should have know better. Always double times and add some more. In the end, it took close to seven hours to travel to Cestos. The road was paved for half the distance. The other half was like being locked inside a pinball machine, bouncing around in the back of the van, trying to keep my head from slamming into the door. But the sights were good along the way. Here are a few … [Read more...]
Media that matters
As the Together Liberia team sets out on this project to empower Liberians to tell stories to their fellow citizens and the world, I"ve been inspired with confidence that media tools have the potential to transform lives and, potentially, the way the country operates. We"ve already seen that Liberians have taken steps to tell their own stories through the media and enable other Liberians to do the same. The Together Liberia team visited the headquarters of the Liberia Media Initiative for … [Read more...]
