Liberia’s Trade Imbalance: The Story of the Egg

The healthy ratio between a country’s total imports and exports is one of many factors that can simulate a nation’s economy. For Liberia, their independence in 1847 was founded on trade issue, because they needed to be a sovereign nation in order to assess a tariff on exports to Great Britain as much needed revenue source. However, for most of the last 20 to 30 years this nation has been dependent on foreign aid and importation of goods such as foodstuffs since the production of locally grown or made goods was crippled by the war. This dependence created a huge trade deficit since the imports were far greater than the exports. Yet, in the last two years this gap between imports and exports has narrowed to where in 2009 the exports surpassed the imports. Nevertheless, these trends do not show the true realities of this ongoing trade imbalance that is still dependent on imports for many goods such as food that could be produced domestically. The story of the simple egg will illustrate this point.

When researching and writing this post, I could not stop hearing the popular U.S. advertising jingle “the incredible, edible egg.” It is also made me reflect on the timeless debate “what came first, the chicken or the egg?” Clearly, the “egg” is the symbol of reproduction since it is the offspring from male and female propagation, but also it is the simplest representation of economic production.

Strangely enough, the “egg” is one of the many basic items that are currently imported into Liberia. The egg along with tomatoes, onions and other imported commodities could all be easily grown and produced in this nation. Obviously, a nation should be concerned when they import more of the simple items than what they produce locally, because even a simple egg can affect an economy. This reality can be clearly shown from an interesting story that occurred in 2008 while I was managing a guest house for a NGO I had formerly served.

In February 2008, I received several U.S. guests who were staying for two to three weeks, and as part of our service we served breakfast. Unfortunately, for nine consecutive days, I was not able to buy an egg anywhere in Monrovia. This occurred during their first nine days at the guest house, so the breakfast service was lacking scrambled or fried eggs, and French toast or pancakes. Throughout this period, I checked daily with my vendors at the foreign-owned and Liberian-owned supermarkets to be told to check the next day. Near the end of this period, I learned that the container with the eggs was sitting at the port, because an extra tariff was added to these imported goods. The vendors held off on paying the extra fee causing the goods to remain unpacked and unsold at the port. It was never clear what the outcome was, but the eggs were restocked at the supermarkets and I was finally able to provide the guests a hearty breakfast.

This story recently came back to light when the supply of eggs two weeks ago was not meeting the demand, so the consumers buying in the open markets saw an increase of 25% for a single egg. What this equated to for these mostly impoverished consumers is that they saw the price went from two eggs at 15LD (Liberian Dollars) to one egg at 10LD—currently the LD and USD exchange rate is about 70 to $1. Many people from developed nations may not see this change from 10.7 cents to 14.3 cent for one egg as a major issue, but when people in developing nations are trying to survive on $1 to $2 USD a day, any increase can be a detriment to their livelihoods.

I have shared this story about the nine-day “egg drought” from 2008 with many Liberians. This story has spawned many interesting conversations about eggs, tomatoes and onions. Several Liberians have shared how one of Liberia’s wealthy elite was selling eggs for a while on his farm not too far from Monrovia, but that service no longer exists. Also, they shared how in other African nations you will find the locally grown products, like tomatoes and onions, being sold inside the supermarkets whereas in Liberia they are sold on the streets outside the major supermarkets. They further explained how the cost of these goods in Liberia are much higher since they are imported whereas in the other African nations they are far cheaper since they promote local producers.

Liberia is an unique nation; it has a relatively small population of about 3.5 million and is abundant with many natural resources along with some of the most fertile soil for agriculture. I know for most of us who enter this country from the developed world, our minds can be baffled knowing the existence of these two variables—population size and available resources. It makes us ask “why is there poverty in Liberia”, because when computing these two variables it makes no sense at all. And when you add the fact that an egg needs to be imported, this is a clear indicator that something is wrong.

Many of us who grew up in the U.S. especially in the rural areas can remember our parents buying eggs from the local farmers. Often this trade was operated by women who were sometimes called the “egg ladies” This income from the egg sales helped supplement the family farm business, since their livelihoods depended on the revenue of the crops, animals or by-products that they sold in local or commercial markets.

In Liberia, this same concept could move a farmer out of subsistent living by supplementing their current production of market goods. These farmers in turn could also supply the countless number of people, especially women surviving on sales from the open markets (i.e. informal market). From these sales, a single mother could move her children from selling on the streets to sitting in classroom. A nation that promotes local production, can also stimulate their economy.

Majority of Liberia’s population, predominately women, are working in the agriculture and informal sectors, but the income from this work does not meet all their needs. Therefore, increasing locally grown and produced goods, Liberia can decrease their dependence on these imports and also their costs. In return, Liberia and its people can benefit from producing not only goods to be sold in their markets, but also expanding into foreign markets through fair trade initiatives.

Money, Money, Money…

I recently made post on my Facebook page about this issue of “money, money, money…” after being smacked hard last week with an unexpected property tax burden from 2006. It was due to a glitch in the software program used by the company that prepared my taxes. This was a recently discovered error and the company was able to avoid responsibility, because of a provision in their lengthy legal disclaimer that most of us do not take the time to read. Well, after receiving such a blow, I decided to roll the dice in hopes a favorable solution would land as the clock rapidly tick closer to the deadline of paying this tax debt before it accrued more interest and penalties.

These are the realities that many of us face when we are unemployed and have no disposable income. When you become unemployed or poor, you will discover how some people in your life will turn away from you. For whatever their reason might be, there appears to be one variable that is the underlying reason—“money.” Well, this is the belief in Liberia, because almost everywhere you go there are taxis and buses touting the message “No Money, No Friends” and “No Money, No Respect”.

After receiving my latest financial knock-down, these messages were staring me in my face the very next day and it was like salt being poured on festering wound. It was explained to me a week later why these messages have been displayed, because so many Liberians are frustrated with the fact when they hit hard times that their friends and even respect are difficult to find, and this is why they also display “no friend for a poor man.” So when I see and hear these types of messages, it makes me wonder “when did money devalue humanity?”

Money has become an interesting aspect of life. Somehow humans have been obsessed with their love affair with money that they have come to believe it is the only key to happiness. Yet, does money truly make us happier? This is question that has been continually explored by those in the psychology field. I remember a discussion we had in my general psychology class about the correlation of these two variables of money and happiness. We examined a line graph and it showed how at first the line increased showing money and happiness correlated, but as more wealth was accumulated the line started to decrease showing less happiness.

In 2006, this correlation was studied by Two Princeton University professors, economist Alan B. Krueger and psychologist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, who collaborated with colleagues from three other universities. From their research survey “Day Reconstruction Method” which measured the quality of a person’s daily life, they found that when people reached a certain income level their tension and stress increased while their passive leisure activities decreased. So in other words more work and less play.

While working on this post, I had a phone text conversion with a Liberian friend asking me if I ever rested since I shared with him that I was busy writing on a Saturday afternoon. I explained there is no rest for anyone trying to break-free from their current stagnant economic condition. And in this advanced high-tech world, all you can do is “work, work, work…” Interestingly, this conversion reminded me of another discussion, but this one was in my cultural anthropology class. The professor explained how earlier civilizations worked up to four hours a day to ensure the community needs were met such as food supplies, and the remainder of the day was for play and rest. Since hearing this lecture, I often wonder when it was determined that we needed to “kill” ourselves for what is deemed “a good life” while enjoying so little play time. Well, I have not found that answer yet, but it seems with our desire for money and accumulation of wealth we have become slaves to our own need for “more, more, more...”

The reality of life is when money or credit has allowed us to accumulate many material items we become consumed and worried with keeping and protecting them. It is equally interesting how those who have acquired greater wealth also appear to be living behind prison walls since their homes are surrounded by electronically charged fences with video cameras, barred windows, guard dogs and security officers. When I see these types of homes, I shake my head and wonder if the people living there are truly free.

On the other hand, people primarily living in developing nations like Liberia have very little money, and credit is not an option, so they are consumed with their daily food needs, medical care, transportation and other basic life essentials. Often their possessions are not worth worrying about, because they can be sold or traded for food and such. Instead they are left hoping and praying that their current situation will change for something better.

Why have we allowed money to become the center of our lives when we are only temporary custodians of our financial and material wealth? It is fact of life that we cannot take our wealth with us when our life has expired. Therefore, we should not place more value on money over the love of our family and friends. When we remember the important and precious things in life that cannot be bought with money, we then can give greater value to our fellow human beings. This is when our life becomes more enriched by those who love us no matter what our economic condition is.

Climate Change: Focus Liberia, West Africa

Note: This article was published in the Liberian Forum on September 20, 2009 (http://www.liberianforum.com/Articles/Climate-Change-Focus-Liberia-West-Africa.html).

There has been increased international attention about concerns of climate change within Liberia. This small tropical nation in West Africa is not only home to about 3.5 million people, but also to one of the most diverse rain forests on the planet[1,2]. This vast landscape of flora and fauna has for the last six years slowly arisen from the ashes of a fiery 14 years of civil conflict that also left much of the nation’s infrastructure in ruins. Liberians have subsisted for the last two decades without publicly management systems for electricity[3], potable water[4] and waste management[5]. Without access to the basic life essentials due to rampant unemployment, many citizens are vulnerable to food insecurity[6], and poverty-related health and safety issues. In recognition of such human suffering, climate change policy-making has been broadened to include how changes in the environment impact human lives in developing nations, and how adaption and mitigation policies that protect it can be a means to reduce poverty.


The realities of environmental changes or global warming is being seen and felt by every nation on the planet. Usually the areas where the humans sustain the most impact are in developing nations leaving them homeless and relying on international aid for food, medical and shelter. For example, the 2009 rainy season has taken its toll on 16 West African countries due to widespread flooding from heavy torrential rains that has affected approximately 600,000 people. So far, 159 people have died mostly from Sierra Leone. In some areas like Burkina Faso this has been the worst flooding in 90 years. West Africa’s displacement and casualty rate is nearing the reported data from 2007 with 800,000 people affected and 300 died. Fears are looming that more heavy rain will fall on waterlogged areas causing more destruction (Basu).

This article will narrow the focus on one West African Country—Liberia. It will examine noticeable climate changes and their impacts within this tropical nation, domestic and international efforts to address these changes through policy making, and the future outlook of Liberia in protecting their entrusted environment.

The information gathered for this article comes from various sources, but mostly through climate change workshops. This writer has participated in three workshops (listed below) that were all held in Liberia on climate change that centered on making the nation carbon neutral by 2050. These workshops shared various programs for reducing carbon emissions in the energy, forestry and agriculture sectors and paying particular attention to Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS)[7] related to these conservation efforts.

• March 23-27 Conservation International (CI): Forest Carbon Project Course
• May 14 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): Livelihoods and Landscapes Strategy (LLS) Workshop
• June 24-26 United Nations Development Programme-Liberia (UNDP) and Environment Protection Agency of Liberia (EPA): National Inter-Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Change

Participants included both international and local stakeholders—scientists, conservationists, government officials, NGO representatives, educators, and rural citizens—committed to seeking equitable solutions for Liberia’s changing environment as they relate to global climate concerns.

Climate Change Impact on Liberia

On a global scale, Liberia’s contribution to the greenhouse effect is negligible. Nevertheless, within the borders of nations like Liberia, noticeable indicators demonstrate serious changes in landscape and weather patterns. This evidence proves that Liberia can no longer ignore the national issue of climate change. One such indicator of change is the reduction of its rainforest from 90% coverage of land mass in 1959 to less than 50% today[8]. Deforestation has occurred, in part, from some 960,000 trees being felled each year for cooking and heating purposes. Firewood and charcoal are primary energy sources for 99% of the population (Koffa, 8).

A second indicator of change is how Liberia is slowly losing coastal land to global warming and development of these wetlands for economic reasons. Rising global temperatures are raising sea levels and encroaching on the shores. Increasing human activities are also adversely affecting the coastal region. Sand mining for construction purpose is a major contributor to coastal erosion because low lying areas have suffered increased flooding during the last few rainy seasons. An example is Monrovia’s Sinkor District in 2007. Additionally the destruction of mangrove swamps for residential development has diminished the natural protection they provide from the flooding by ocean storm surges of the habitat of some endangered aquatic species[9].

A third indicator of change is that the rainy season begins later each year and lasts for a shorter period of time. This is creating water shortages during the dry season in prime agriculture areas such as Lofa County[10] and heightening concerns of desertification due to high levels of deforestation in the area. Previously, the rainy season has been considered April/May through October/November. This year the rainy season made its official debut in June. The normal torrential rains can occur less often but more intensive. In the first month alone, many people living in zinc or mat (thatch-palm) houses in swamp zones near suburban areas like Paynesville and other coastal regions were left without shelter when raging flood waters washed away their ramshackle dwellings.

Additional, human activities have increased Liberia’s contribution to green house gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions[11] from the high use of fossil fuels[12] for electricity and transportation. First are the generators[13] producing electricity for homes and businesses, because permanent public facilities[14,15] such as the hydro-power plants[16] were destroyed during the civil war. Many diesel generators in operation produce more harmful NOx emissions than gasoline (Eubanks, 270). No regulation yet exists to ensure that these machines are properly maintained.

Secondly, CO2 emissions from the increasing number of private and commercial vehicles clogging the streets and roads of overcrowded Monrovia are seriously affecting the air quality. About one-third of Liberia’s population now resides in the capital city. Many vehicles also operate on diesel fuel and their proper maintenance is presently unregulated. Driving along the congested roadways of Monrovia metro area means breathing in harmful particulates contained in clouds of dark gray smoke spewed out by these unmaintained cars and trucks.

Liberia is not solely responsible for its GHG problem. Over the past few years, many donated cars have arrived from the United States that are often neither fuel [gas] efficient nor environmentally friendly. These donations are directly related to the rise of U.S. gas prices and decline in book values. Many U.S. car owners receive more cash value from their old vehicle by donating it to charity as a tax deduction. This leaves Liberia as the dumping ground for unwanted U.S. vehicles, which then pollute the air or are abandoned along the roadside for the lack of spare parts available within this nation.

Mitigation and Adaption Policies

Liberia is experiencing several environmental changes that need to be addressed and managed through proper mechanisms. The main focus has been on policies of mitigation and adaptation for the forestry, energy and agriculture sectors. Said policies are intended to provide self-sustaining opportunities, primarily for rural communities since their poverty conditions are more acute than urban areas. This article summarizes, sector by sector, how this will help Liberia achieve carbon neutral status by 2050 while promoting its Poverty Reduction Strategy from the National Inter-Ministerial Dialogue (NIMD).

Forestry Sector

The main goal of the forestry sector policy is to promote sustainable forest management (SFM). In recent years Liberia has formulated policies that ensure preservation of forest lands. In 2007, one of these policy reforms the Government of Liberia implemented was the National Forest Management Strategy (NFMS) that is divided in zones known as the “3Cs”—Community, Conservation and Commercial (Koffa, 6). The government commissioned the Forest Development Authority (FDA) to regulate these zones. The primary objective for preservation is to allocate and manage Liberia’s remaining 4.39 million hectares of forest within these three zones or departments. The following is brief description of the purpose for each zone[17]:

1. Commercial Department: To restart and regulate forest activity in accordance to Liberia’s laws, FDA authorities, and National Forest Policy sustainability objectives. The goal of commercial forestry is to develop it potential to provide Liberia with significant social and economic benefits.
2. Community Department: To assist communities in realizing the benefits of forest resources and managing forest resources in a sustainable manner since trees and forests have always been an integral part of rural community livelihoods.
3. Conservation Department: To conserve Liberia’s forest biodiversity and ecological services by regulating wildlife consumption and managing the current protected areas of Sapo National Park and Nimba Nature Reserve that covers 4% of Liberia’s forest area. Additionally, to create the National Protected Area Network that will increase the current two areas through Liberia’s pledge to the Convention on Biological Diversity to “set aside at least 10% of the land area for Strict Protection and 30% of the land for protection and multiple-use for partial protection.

In addition to strategies for the 3Cs, the following mitigation policy options have been created (Koffa, 7):

1. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)—(by using community forests as carbon pools through protection and sustainable management of existing forests).
2. Enhancing carbon sinks through increasing the sequestration rate in existing and new forests.
3. Providing wood fuels as a substitute for fossil fuels (biofuel plantations for fossil fuel substitute).
4. Providing wood products for more energy intensive materials (gasification, etc.)

Energy Sector

The primary objective in the energy sector for climate change mitigation is to put in force a requirement for a reduction in fossil fuel consumption for electricity generation and include the addition of appropriate renewable energy sources that can produce and supply electricity. Energy is vital to Liberia’s economic development since it serves key areas like agriculture, communications, education, electricity, fisheries, healthcare, transportation, tourism, and other essential areas (Goanue 6-7). By introducing cleaner and more efficient energy sources, Liberia will reduce harmful CO2 emissions and supply more consumers with these affordable options.

In 2008, the Government of Liberia with the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy formulated a National Energy Policy (NEP). Complying with international efforts toward climate change mitigation, Liberia established the following NEP targets using 2009 as the base year (Goanue, 9):

1. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by the energy sector in 2015.
2. Improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2015.
3. Raising the share of renewable energy being used for electricity production from current level of 10% to 30% by 2015.
4. Increasing the level of biofuels in transport fuel to 5% by 2015.
5. Implementing a long-term strategy to make Liberia a carbon neutral country, and eventually less carbon dependent by 2050.

Agriculture Sector

Agriculture is Liberia’s main industry, employing over 70% of the nation’s labor force and contributing over 20% to its GDP. While over two-thirds of Liberians’ livelihoods depend on agriculture and other related activities, nearly 81% of this rural population is moderately vulnerable (41%) or highly vulnerable (40%) to food insecurity. The remaining populace is 11% food insecure and 9% food secure. These indicators bring up another alarming concern that 39% of children under five years are suffering from chronic malnutrition (Topor, 6).

It is the goal of the agriculture sector to create adaption policies that will increase opportunities to strengthen food security and decrease emissions of greenhouse gases by reducing deforestation, ensuring better land-use planning, and introducing state of the art agricultural practices (Topor, 4).

Currently, Liberia’s agricultural system is experiencing the impacts of climate change such as reduced soil moisture, shifts in temperature, erratic rainfall and heat waves. These changes have induced decreased crop yields, increased competition for limited resources, caused human migration in northwest and central regions of Liberia, and increased the spread of pests that caused havoc earlier this year when caterpillars destroyed several crops in northern region (Topor, 4).

The issue of climate change in the agriculture sector is a double-edge sword, because it is both a contributor of GHG and casualty of rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns. There is an urgent need for proper polices and changes otherwise Liberia will see an increase of families facing food insecurity, and this will further aggravate poverty by putting up to 80,000 children at risk of dying from malnutrition[18] (Topor, 6).

Therefore, Liberia’s House of Representatives signed and approved the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) plan in 2008 that includes the following adaption strategies (Topor, 9-10):

1. Intensification and diversification of farming practices that include adapting low land cultivation (swamp rice production) rather than current slash and burn method and adopting new farming techniques and technologies.
2. Water management system to improve the efficiency of water use for crop production in areas that have experienced cycles of water scarcity since the early 1980s, and rehabilitate existing water harvesting and irrigation systems.
3. Reduce deforestation by implementing a practice of agro-forestry/afforestation/intercropping that encourages planting of fast growing nitrogen fixing tree species to improve soil fertility and minimize land degradation.

Liberia’s Way Forward

The Liberian people are still reeling from the destruction and emotional traumas from many years of violent civil conflict. However as a nation, it must remain on course with implementing its climate change policies and strategies in combating this recent threat to their livelihoods and overall existence. The changes cited in this article relating to environment and weather patterns have been noticed and discussed by most Liberians. Therefore, the undisputed facts and evidence of climate change in Liberia can no longer be ignored, because these adverse conditions are not going to improve on their own.

Liberia is one of many nations that has been divided by cultural, tribal, religious or economic differences. However, these differences have no bearing on one essential fact that we all share this one planet. This global concern for our collective environment could be the opportunity to change the course of human history by putting our differences aside and working together to save the one place we all call home, our planet Earth.

For Liberia, this could be the ideal opportunity to lift this nation out of the ruins of war and poverty. The state of the environment in Liberia is directly related to economic development and poverty reduction. Liberia can ensure their own existence by combining nation and peace building initiatives to protect its precious habitant and ecosystem that has been forever entrusted with their people. Liberians need to forgo their differences and join hands in working together to clean up and preserve the sacred beauty of their naturally rich nation. By partnering with the international community, who are committed to conservation and cleaner/efficient energy sources, Liberia can access technical and financial support for job creation in all sectors allowing more people the opportunity to move out of poverty. By taking these efforts in saving their beloved nation, Liberians can create a new chapter for lasting peace and economic stability.
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Reference Notes:
1 Liberia contains 4.5 million hectares of lowland tropical forest, half of all remaining forest within the Upper Guinea forests of West Africa. These forests are immensely important for their biological diversity, containing the last long-term viable populations of several threatened endemic species. These forests also provide important ecosystem services and hold the potential to help reduce high levels of poverty in the country. Conservational International file:///learn/forests/Pages/projects.aspx
2 The Upper Guinean Forest zone extends across the borders of eastern Sierra Leone, southeastern Guinea, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and eastern Togo. It is considered one of the world’s priority conservation areas due to its rich biodiversity and the world’s highest diversity of mammals. The overall forest ecosystem covers around 420,000 km2 but estimations from the Conservation Priority-Setting Workshop in 1999 suggest a forest loss of almost four-fifths of the original extent (Desk Study, 14).
3 The Mount Coffee hydro-power plant (64 MW) along the St. Paul River and Yandohum micro-hydro power station (30 KW) in Lofa Country were destroyed during the war, but the Firestone hydro-power plant (4 MW) in Harbel is still in operation. (Goanue, 11).
4 In 1991, the daily treated water production for Monrovia amounted to 61,000 m3/day. After the war daily treated water production based on 2004 figures is approximately 5 800 m3/day (Desk Study, 27).
5 The only functioning sewage treatment plant is in Monrovia, but it was only intended for a population of 130,000 people thus it is unable to manage the current population of over 1 million people (Desk Study, 28).
6 Food insecurity means not having adequate food production to meet the needs of the people, access to food supplies, or ability to provide a balanced diet to reduce malnutrition in children (Fact Sheet).
7 Liberia’s Poverty Related Strategy (PRS) includes four pillars: 1) Enhancing National Security; 2) Revitalizing the Economy; 3) Strengthening Governance and Rule of Law; and 4) Rehabilitating Infrastructure and Basic Social Services—Education, Healthcare, and Water/Sanitation (At Work Together).
8 There is no known data that can estimate with any degree of accuracy the rate of forest reduction in Liberia. (Koffa, 5)
9 “Many coastal and marine environments in Liberia have suffered rapid deterioration due to a combination of increased population pressure and uncontrolled economic activities (Wiles, 12).” “It is projected that about 95km2 of land in the coastal zone of Liberia will be inundated as a result of one meter sea level rise (Wiles, 13).” Bushrod Island, Buchanan, Cestos City and Robertsport are areas on the coast where erosion is most severe (Wiles, 14).
10 The expansion of the savannah ecosystem for rice production predominately in Foya District, Lofa County, is creating the concern for the threat of desertification in Liberia (Topor, 9).
11 According to the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of Liberia (2004), CO2 emissions represent 50-60 percent of the local greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere in Liberia, of which the primary source comes from consumption of petroleum products. (Goanue, 6).
12 According to the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) in 2008 approximately 65,279,917 US gallons of refined petroleum products consisting of primarily gasoline and diesel fuel were imported to Liberia. From trend analysis conducted by LPRC from 2000-2008 consumption has more than doubled within this period—in 2003 approximately 20,000 US gallons were consumed. (Goanue, 12).
13 According the 2006 State of the Environment Report there was an estimate of about 45,000 small and medium privately operated power generating units, concentrated mainly in Monrovia.
14 According to the NEP/2008, the Emergency Power Program (EPP)—launched in 2006—was designed to re-establish public power supply by the Liberia Electricity Company producing a system composed of 9.6 MW diesel generation, 80 km of transmission and distribution network serving over 2,500 Monrovian customers and about 1,000 street lights within the first half of 2009 (Goanue, 11).
15 According to the NEP/2008, the national electricity grid, which had total installed capacity of 191 NW of power by 1989, currently generates only 9.6 MW (Goanue, 7).
16 If rebuilt the Mount Coffee Power Plant along the St. Paul River has the potential to produce about 824 MW compared to its pre-war capacity of 64 MW (Goanue, 11).
17 National Forest Management Strategy Objective (NFMS, 13). Commercial Department (NFMS, 20), Community Department (NFMS, 22), and Conservation Department (NFMS, 23).
18 A prediction that Stella Subah, nutrition adviser at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, cited in article in the New Democrat in 2009.

Works Cited:

At Work Together. United Nations. 2008. 09 June 2009. http://unliberia.org/doc/atworktogether_uninliberia.pdf

Basu, Moni. West Africa flooding affects 600,000, U.N. reports. CNN.com. 09 September 2009.
10 September 2009. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/09/08/west.africa.flooding/index.html

Desk Study on the Environment in Liberia. United Nations Environmental Programme. Switzerland. 2004.

Eubanks, Lucy Pryde and et al. Chemistry in Context : Applying Chemistry to Society 6th ed. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, New York. 2009.

Fact Sheet: Food Security and Nutrition in Liberia. Joint Programme of the Government of Liberia and United Nations. 2008. 09 June 2009. http://unliberia.org/doc/FSNemail.pdf

Goanue, Augustus V. National Issue Paper : Assessing and Developing Policy Options for Addressing Climate Change Mitigation Across the Energy Sector of Liberia. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). June 2009.

Koffa, Samuel N. Evaluating Investment and Financial Flows of Forestry Sector Issues in Climate Change Mitigation in Liberia. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 21 May 2009

Liberia’s Network of Protected Areas. Conservation International. Saving Forest/Projects. 2009.

National Forest Management Strategy (NFMS). Forest Development Authority. Monrovia, Liberia. 2007

Topor, Wollor E. Priorities and Challenges of Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change—A Focus on the Liberian Agricultural Sector (An Issue Paper). United Nations Development Program (UNDP) : Liberia Global Project Team. 20 May 2009.

Wiles Sr., David L. Zone Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change in Liberia. Climate Change Unit/Environmental Protection Agency. Monrovia, Liberia. April 2005.

The Untold Stories of the Dead: A Reality of Poverty

I know you saw me as you drove by that fateful day. There I was laying face-down on the wet and muddy driveway with my face turned away from you. You could not divert your eyes from seeing my dull listless body and my blood-soaked hair. You pondered whether my bashed-in head was the cause of my untimely demise as you imagined someone beating me severely with a blunt object until my limp body slumped to the ground. Here I lay lifeless…fully clothed without shoes surrounded by several onlookers as they contemplated who I was.

Was I a rogue who was attempting to rob someone? Was I a son returning home after caring for my ailing mother? Was I a father coming home after a long day of working and hustling to provide for my wife and children eagerly waiting my arrival? By just looking at my decaying body you and the many onlookers could not determine who I really was or even why my life was cut short.

As you continued your journey to town, I know many questions filled your head because you were haunted by what you had witnessed. Let me paraphrase these questions for you. “Did the war desensitize everyone to where [my] body could lie uncovered alongside the road for several hours as if no one cared? Did any of the onlookers consider that it could have been them lying there, instead of [me]? Did I brutally die somewhere else where [my] body was moved later and placed along this busy highway? Did [I] have any identification so that [my] family could be notified?”

These are questions that I cannot answer for you, because I died with no witnesses or at least ones that were willing to talk. I was someone who was still young and I had so many possibilities waiting to be discovered. However, my life story ended when I took my last feeble…shallow…breath. Now I am just a mere statistic, a number on a report that marks a person who had a name, a life and a future.

This story was based on an actual scene that I passed on my way town last week. It clearly illustrates how death is a cold harsh reality in Liberia and many other developing nations. In fact, dying is an everyday occurrence for most people living in the southern hemisphere. Children die of treatable diseases like malaria, because pharmaceutical companies find saving their lives not profitable. Mothers and fathers are dying of terminal diseases such as cancer, because their hospitals or clinics lack the necessary diagnostic equipment (i.e. ultrasound) for early detection and life-saving treatment. And many more people die because they are food insecure (i.e. hunger and malnutrition), live in areas that are prone to flooding or drought, and lack safe drinking water and proper sanitation.

As someone from the northern hemisphere and a prosperous developed nation, I could easily surmise that the Liberian people have been desensitized by death, because of what they saw or experienced in the long and brutal civil war. Instead, I have witnessed people being overwhelmed with loved ones dying that extending sympathy to a stranger lying along the roadside can be difficult.

I recently saw how one family in my neighborhood was impacted by an untimely death of their mother, who was in her 50’s. It was a Monday morning when I heard a woman across the street wailing in total despair. I knew right away it was their mother, because she had recently been diagnosed with cancer though I did not know the extent of her condition. So, I rushed over to the house and found one of her adult daughters crying and pleading with God, because their mother suffered all night in excruciating pain. I asked a neighbor in the room, if she had been given any pain medication like morphine. Sadly, this woman was not prescribed anything.

I then walked down the hall to the mother’s bedroom and as I entered there she was lying awake on the mattress surrounded by her family. I could see the pain in her face as she struggled to resist it. I noticed one woman was calmly telling her to let go that she did not need to struggle anymore. As I listened to this woman coaching the mother, I looked around the room at the faces of each person, and I quickly noticed that we all shared the same look of helplessness. I went to work that day just mortified knowing this woman had to suffer in so much pain and there was nothing I could do to ease it. That afternoon, I received a phone call that the mother had just died and I was grateful for that blessing since this entire family had suffered greatly.

When I came home that night I visited my neighbors to sympathize with them. This is where I learned how they spent over five months taking their mother to one hospital or clinic after another, but with no accurate diagnosis. They finally went to JFK (i.e. John F. Kennedy) Hospital, one of Liberia’s better medical centers, and this is where the doctors determined it was terminal cancer. It is difficult for any family to watch someone die of cancer, but it was more difficult for this family knowing that if it could have been detected earlier with proper equipment their mother could still be alive. Instead this family had to sit and watch their mother’s body waste away from cancer.

Liberia’s medical sector is still below standard, because of the war’s devastation and the lack of resources to rebuild the system to better serve the healthcare needs of its people. In fact, diagnostic equipment or at least operable ones are pretty scarce in Liberia leaving many to die miserably from treatable diseases because they were not detected early. Also, the pain-numbing narcotics such as morphine are usually not available in the nation. Regardless if Liberia had the right medical equipment or supplies, the fact remains that most Liberians are unable to afford the specialized diagnostic tests, and the life-saving or pain management treatments. So, this is how poverty becomes their death sentence, and their plight is usually oblivious to those who live in developed nations.

Since my first visit to Liberia in 1998, I have been unable to escape the reality of poverty, because it is staring me in the face everywhere I turn. I have analyzed this realization and discovered how people of developed nations can ignore the problem of poverty by simply diverting their attention away from it. In countries like the United States, the impoverished areas are usually isolated in inner-city neighborhoods, rural areas or Native American Reservations like Pine Ridge, South Dakota, the poorest area of the U.S. So this makes it easy for many people to avoid places of poverty as if they do not exist. I believe this point was summarized well by this quote from Mark Twain:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.”

I have discovered from my own experience that when we leave our comfort zones, we become more aware of the world around us. It doesn’t mean that everyone has to travel to war-torn developing nations like Liberia, because there are areas nearby that can give a glimpse to the suffering and uncertainty people face in developing nations. In fact, one can easily compare the poverty related issues for the people living on the Pine Ridge Reservation with those in Liberia and how it is very similar to a “third world country.” It is when we enter this “world” that we discover the “real world” for so many people living in continuous peril.

The stories of the young man lying along the roadside and the woman with cancer could happen anywhere in this world. Death is the reality for everyone, because it happens to every living thing on this plant. And yet, it is justifiable that nearly one half of the world’s population living in abject poverty is dying because they lack the basic life essentials that the other half of the world’s population possesses? This is a question that those of us living predominately in the northern hemisphere and in developed (i.e. first-world) nations need to ask ourselves.

Connecting to Liberia and the United States of America

As promised the answers have been posted to last weeks puzzles. Please click on the link below to verify your answers.

Answers to Liberia's 15 Counties Puzzles

I hope everyone did well with this activity!

Warning: Use Caution When Uttering “Always” and “Never”

This morning my driver and I got into an interesting conversation about comparative cultures. As a African, he viewed how God blessed the people of Europe and the U.S. with the ability and the opportunity to be scientists and engineers. He saw them as brilliant people, because they developed the cures for diseases and invented the technologies that simplify life whereas for the people in Africa this will never happen. I countered his belief by saying, “Africans have also been blessed with these same skills and talents, but are denied the opportunity to use them by humankind and not by God.” Then he followed by saying, “In Europe and the U.S. the people are all united, and this also will never happen in Africa.” I also countered this belief by saying, “Even before the countries in Europe united they had long history of killing and conquering one another, and so it is possible for Africans to come together such as in the cases of Rwanda and South Africa. These are two nations that are trying to make positive changes for their people as they put aside their differences.”

Throughout our conservation the word “never” was consistently used when he talked about the current state of Africans. I finally paused for a moment to ask him “isn’t your belief that with God all things are possible which we also see written on so many taxi bumpers?” He answered yes. So then I followed with “how can you say things will ‘never’ change in Africa if you believe God makes anything possible.” He responded by saying, “you are right”, but soon after the “nevers” continued to leave his lips as if they were automatically programmed responses.

The words “never” and its opposite “always” are excessively used in our vocabulary. They are often the trigger words that spark explosive arguments between friends and loved ones with statements like “You ALWAYS do that!” or “I NEVER said that!” These two words can also damage the mind sets of those living in the developing world who see things as impossible by saying “Africans will never change” or “the people in Europe and the U.S. will always have it better than we do." Unfortunately, these are statements that I have commonly heard uttered by many Africans, because these beliefs have become ingrained into their psyche.

Interestingly, these same words can also play a critical role in damaging a witness testimony in a legal suit if one is not paying attention to how they respond to questions. In 2003, I was deposed as part of a civil action against the estate that I had been appointed as the personal representative. During the preparation for this deposition, my attorney coached me on the process such as “only answer what was asked” — “if not clear on what was said, ask the question to be repeated” — “be careful when using the words ‘always’ and ‘never’ and similar ones like ‘all.’” He explained why he cautioned me on the usage of these words by saying “it only takes ONE time or ONE incident to prove what was stated as wrong.” So, as I sat through my eight-hour deposition I was very focused on what was being asked and what words were coming out of my own month. When this process was over I was extremely exhausted by this intense concentration and went home with a severe headache. Before this lawsuit I had no idea how these simple words had such an impact on our lives.

From that moment I started noticing how these are very prominent words in our vocabulary, and how often they can be uttered in a day or even in one conversation. It is very challenging to not over use these words since they seem to slip off our tongue with ease. And even though I am not a perfect practitioner of limiting the use of these words, I do try to sensitize others to their meaning and how they can be damaging.

It is important that we realize that our commonly used vocabulary can program our brain in how we see or think about the world around us. It is when we understand this reality that we can start purging the words in our vocabulary that is limiting or oppressing our way of thinking. Therefore, the words like “never” and “always” can be filed along with sayings like “This is Africa” in a folder called “WORDS NOT TO LIVE BY.”