Radriffa slept sideways on the bed beneath barred windows, the morning light filling the room to wake him gently. His father, Peter Toby, sat beside him listening to the crackle of a handheld radio, taking in the day"s headlines. It was quiet that morning in Monrovia, and I stood in the corner of Toby"s one-room household processing that awkward feeling that comes when you peer into someone"s intimate moments. As a twenty-five year old grad student from the U.S. I felt more than out of … [Read more...]
A Lesson in Patience and Reverence
“You’re an uncle!” I heard my mom shout through the tiny earpiece of my cellphone. “Yukiko had Emmalyn early this morning.” I had to plug my other ear in order to hear her correctly as I stared out from behind metal bars into a chaotic sea of concrete, tarps, and corrugated steel as a pair of roosters looked right back at me chuckling to themselves. I will always remember the date, August 9th, 2011, when I became an uncle, standing in the printing press room at the New Democrat as a … [Read more...]
FrontPage Africa Reporters
During a photography training focused on light, participants, David Kolleh, Tom Nyenur, Jetee best online casino J. Tarr, and others, photographed each other using various lighting conditions. Window light wins again! … [Read more...]
First frame in Clara Town
Shooting the first frame is always the hardest. I find every time, no matter where in the world I am, I have to drum up the courage and, fearing rejection, walk up and say "hi." Usually that leads to pictures; rarely do people say no. But there is something about human nature, best online casino or maybe just something about me, that wants to avoid that rejection at all cost. After it has all played out and I"m looking through the images at the end of a hard day, I can"t imagine having not … [Read more...]
Rocking The Web at the Ushahidi iLab Liberia
We're at Ushahidi iLab in Monrovia Liberia conducting training on how to update their fresh new sites, they are crafting their very first posts as I type! Here with me are Rabbie Nass, Kindness Nehwon, Arkie J. Tarr, Clarence Nah, Maik Schadler, Manfred Zbrzezny, Takun J, Nora Rahimian, Ansu Kromah and Joseph C. Weah Jr. Sites we're working … [Read more...]
Reach Out and Touch Faith
Rewind back to 1987 for a second. The clip-clopping beat in the background is Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus and I was very deeply rooted in my Pentecostal faith at First Assembly of God in Ft.Wayne, Ind. My weekends were filled with dancing at the Seventh Level nightclub, bible in hand , and of course two or three church services. The furthest my mind drifted was to bible college in Minneapolis MN, where I was to be trained as an Assembly of God youth minister. Yes people, me, a … [Read more...]
In Monrovia, you must "be the traffic"
Being a passenger in Monrovia traffic is a special experience. It’s a white-knuckle carnival ride — without the carnival glitz but with all the thrills. Our drivers — most often David Kweku and his father, Joseph — surely could meet and beat the challenge of any street in any big U.S. city. They are unflappable and oblivious, oddly good-natured about it. I had a friend some years ago who seemed immune to the cold weather, while my wife and I were freezing. “What’s your secret?” we asked. He … [Read more...]
Fufu and I
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...]
Together Liberia on UNMIL Radio
Together Liberia on UNMIL Radio by Together Liberia Trainers and participants were invited to speak on the United Nations In Liberia's (UNMIL) radio program Front page to discuss their experiences durning the training and thoughts on the state of the Liberian media. Project director Ken Harper, trainers Steve Davis and Bruce Strong were joined by participants Kindness Nehwon and Clarence Nah. … [Read more...]
Impressions
“To just have that initial interaction, to get a feel for the life and the warmth and kindness that I saw. You know initially there was this apprehension to let us photograph them, but once we spent a nbso online casino reviews little bit of time with them, there was this really incredible spirit that they had…” – Sung Park, University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication … [Read more...]
Video Vignettes from Liberia
Here are some short video pieces cut together from footage of our first few days in Liberia, taken in different spots we explored around Monrovia - our home guesthouse, a fancy hotel overlooking the ocean, and the beach lining the Sophie neighborhood in Congo town. Hopefully they give you a few tastes of some of the things, both good and bad, that we"ve been witnessing on our trip thus far. The Compound Luyken Guesthouse is located in Congo Town, a neighborhood on the Southeastern … [Read more...]
