-Vulnerable Children Plead
By Shallon S. Gonlor | shallonsgonlor@gmail.com
SANNIQUELLIE, NIMBA COUNTY – Dozens of vulnerable children took to the streets of Sanniquellie this past Saturday, issuing a public and emotional appeal for assistance to secure a basic education, their chants of “We want to go to school” underscoring a persistent crisis of access despite national initiatives.
The group, comprised of out-of-school youth who cite poverty and abandonment as the primary barriers to their education, moved through the city center to draw attention to their plight. They detailed a reality where the government’s free tuition policy is rendered ineffective by ancillary costs that their families cannot bear.
“Our people don’t have money; our single mothers are suffering, so they can’t send us to school,” one child explained, a sentiment echoed throughout the group. “We need help to register, for uniforms, shoes, and books. We want our government and leaders to please help us.”
The demonstration presents a direct challenge to the effectiveness of current social safety nets. While the children articulated a clear understanding of education’s value—calling it the “key” to becoming “president, senator, minister, or anything else”—their aspirations are held hostage by immediate economic hardship.
This public outcry comes nearly two years after the Boakai administration launched the National Street Children Project, a flagship program under the Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection. Dubbed “Support A Child, Secure the Future,” the initiative was designed to provide comprehensive rehabilitation, including education, shelter, and healthcare, for Liberia’s street children.
However, the nationwide implementation of the project has yet to be fully realized, leaving a vacuum for children in counties like Nimba. The scene in Sanniquellie serves as a stark indicator that the launch of a policy has not yet translated into tangible change on the ground.
“The gap between policy declaration and operational reality is where the most vulnerable fall through the cracks,” noted a development worker familiar with child welfare issues in Liberia, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Free tuition is a critical first step, but it is not a panacea. Without addressing the full spectrum of costs—from materials to daily sustenance—and the profound poverty at home, children will continue to be excluded from the classroom.”
The children’s concern comes as Liberia’s low Girls’ Primary Education Completion Rate emerges as a critical concern in the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) latest scorecard, potentially impacting the country’s eligibility for development funding. The FY2026 assessment places Liberia in the bottom 25th percentile globally for this indicator, with a completion rate of just 59% compared to the median of 71.9%.
This educational shortfall appears connected to broader challenges in women’s economic participation detailed in the report. While Liberia scored relatively well in the overall “Women in the Economy” category, the country ranked in just the 9th percentile for “Employment Opportunity,” suggesting that limited educational access for girls may be creating persistent barriers to women’s entry into the formal workforce.
The MCC scorecard, used to determine eligibility for U.S. development grants, also highlighted concerning results in “Child Health,” where Liberia scored below the international median. These findings in social investment indicators contrast with stronger performances in economic areas like “International Market Access” (93rd percentile) and “Property and Land Rights” (67th percentile).
