-Pleads for Help
By Shallon S. Gonlor
shallonsgonlor@gmail.com
NIMBA COUNTY, Liberia — A 12-year-old boy in Nimba County’s Electoral District #2 is appealing for urgent medical assistance as he battles a debilitating and undiagnosed illness. Augustine Marta, a resident of Gboa Gbalasonnon Town, detailed his condition in an interview with WomenVoices Newspaper on Saturday, March 21, 2026. He described suffering from a combination of back pain, side pain, and full-body weakness. He can be contacted through our Nimba County Correspondent on: +231 7781 91516/
+231 8814 71044.
“I can feel back pain, side pain, and weakness in my body,” Augustine said. According to him, his health struggles began years ago while living with his late uncle in Monrovia. His condition worsened upon his return to his hometown in 2023. However, financial hardship and a lack of family support have prevented him from seeking medical care.
“I eat food to my satisfaction, but my body keeps declining,” he said. Augustine’s situation is compounded by family abandonment. He said his mother is deceased and his father has left him. He currently lives with his elderly grandmother.
“My mother is dead, father abandoned. I am only living with my old grandmother,” he said.
Augustine identified his biological father as Paye Gono, whom he said abandoned him due to his illness. “The man leave me in the sickness. He is in Monrovia,” Augustine stated. He also faces stigma from community members who have accused him of witchcraft, adding to his isolation. Despite efforts by his grandmother to use traditional herbs and the failure of modern medicines to provide improvement, his health continues to deteriorate.
Medical tests have so far revealed no probable cause for his condition. Augustine reported that his eyesight is now failing. He and his grandmother survive on what they can grow, often going to bed without food. “Sometimes when there is no food, we go to bed hungry,” he said. Maxwell Marta, the boy’s uncle, corroborated the account. He said Augustine returned from Monrovia in 2023 in poor health and was advised to eat specific foods to manage his condition, but a lack of funds prevented him from following the diet.
Augustine’s uncle and grandmother are now pleading with kind-hearted individuals and philanthropic organizations to help procure treatment for him.
The situation in Gboa Gbalasonnon Town, the hometown of former two-term District #2 Representative Prince O. S. Tokpah, reflects broader challenges. Residents report a disarrayed road network that becomes particularly difficult during rainy season.
The town lacks adequate healthcare facilities, leaving pregnant women, children, and the elderly with significant obstacles to accessing medical care. The water supply is also precarious, with only a few handpumps serving the entire community, forcing many to rely on unsafe water sources. Medical experts indicate that symptoms such as Augustine’s—including back pain, side pain, and weakness—could be associated with serious conditions such as a possible kidney infection or spinal nerve compression.
