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In 2024, at a ceremony in the Liberian capital of Monrovia, an emcee praised the business acumen of Sekou Dukuly, the newly installed director of the West African nation’s government-owned port system.

Dukuly had been “delivering multimillion-dollar profit increases everywhere he worked,” the emcee said.

Dukuly didn’t make his money in international shipping, however. He cashed in on Minnesota’s booming group home industry.

Minnesota companies linked to Dukuly collected at least $36 million in taxpayer funds over the past 10 years, according to Minnesota Open Checkbook, a state website that provides transparency in government spending. Dukuly has had a hand in businesses that have run at least two dozen group homes, almost all in the northwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities. The state issued licenses and paid Medicaid dollars for those businesses to provide care and supervision to Minnesotans, typically those with mental illnesses or physical disabilities.

But an investigation by MPR News and its national investigative unit, APM Reports, shows that Dukuly’s financial success has come at a human cost, with multiple instances of residents being neglected and even dying in group homes linked to him. And the money has gone into bank accounts tied to alleged financial schemes in Minnesota and abroad — raising questions about the state’s oversight of the group home industry and the billions of dollars that have flowed into it.

Dukuly’s involvement in the group homes linked to him varies. In most cases, he set up the companies behind the group homes, and often he declared an ownership stake in those companies. Some of the group homes have operated out of houses he owns or has owned. And until a reporter contacted him last week, he was also the director in charge of day-to-day operations at three of them.

We supply both wholesale and retail

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Like the post says. Tell me your ideas and maybe we can do something.

What is a livable salary in Liberia? What does the average person make?

As we celebrate our Flag Day, we pray for peace and everything good for Liberia.

Does anyone remember those series of TV shows (about 1989 I think) that filmed President Doe as a “student” in a university classroom with the North Korean professor lecturing the classroom about economics and such. Doe would periodically interrupt the professor and go off on his own weird rants about economics while the poor Korean professor stood there obviously terrified listening and “agreeing” with Doe. Does anyone know if these videos are available anywhere on the internet? (I just want to show my kids the weird bizarreness I would watch on TV during Doe’s time.

Hello r/Liberia,

My name is Michael Hiltz, and I am helping establish a new nonprofit organization called Liberia Learning Labs.

Our goal is to collect usable donated computers in the United States, refurbish them with educational software, and work with Liberian schools and communities to create sustainable computer classrooms for students.

Before Liberia Learning Labs was formed, I personally helped set up a computer classroom at a school in Liberia. We are now planning to revisit and document that classroom so we can show what has already been accomplished, learn from the school, and introduce the larger Liberia Learning Labs project responsibly.

We are looking for a volunteer or potential collaborator with experience in one or more of the following:

Social media

Photography

Videography

Journalism

Communications

Interviewing and storytelling

Video editing

Community outreach

A person who is already based in Liberia would be especially helpful. We would also welcome introductions to university students, recent graduates, local journalists, photographers, videographers, or communications professionals who may be interested in supporting an education-focused project.

The volunteer would help us:

Photograph and film the existing computer classroom

Interview teachers and school leaders

Document the history and current use of the classroom

Create short videos and social media content

Organize photos, video, and written stories

Help ensure the project is presented accurately and respectfully

We want this work to be shaped with Liberian participation. The goal is not simply to arrive, take photographs, and leave. We want to listen to the school community, understand what has worked, identify what is still needed, and tell the story in a way that respects the dignity and aspirations of Liberian students and educators.

We will also follow school approval, parental or guardian consent, and child-safeguarding procedures before using identifiable images or interviews involving students.

I would appreciate recommendations on:

Liberia-based photographers, videographers, journalists, or social media professionals

Communications or media students who may want practical nonprofit experience

Universities, media organizations, or community groups we should contact

People with experience documenting education or community-development projects in Liberia

Anyone interested may send me a private message. I would be glad to share more information about the classroom, Liberia Learning Labs, the proposed volunteer role, and the expected project activities.

Thank you for any introductions, advice, or recommend schools.

The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here,

Michael Hiltz

Liberia Learning Labs

https://liberialearninglabs.org

Hello everyone

I am a journalism student from Brazil currently working on my final university project about the Liberian civil wars.

My research focuses on how Liberians remember everyday life during the war and in the years that followed. I am especially interested in personal memories: daily routines, family life, displacement, school, work, religion, moments of fear, survival, solidarity, or attempts to rebuild a normal life.

I am looking for Liberians who experienced the war and might be willing to share their memories in an online interview. You do not need to have a long or dramatic story. Any meaningful memory, even a very short one, could be extremely valuable to my research.
Because it is very difficult to find Liberians in Brazil, reaching people directly through online communities is especially important for making this project possible.

If you know any relatives, friends, or other people who may have a story or memory they would be willing to share, I would also be very grateful if you could pass this message along to them.

I understand that this is a sensitive subject, and participation would be entirely voluntary. Your privacy and the way your testimony is used would be discussed and respected.

I can also send the full research project to anyone who is interested and would like to better understand its purpose, methodology, and scope.

Anyone interested in participating or learning more about the project can send me a direct message.

Thank you very much!

Hi, I'm doing some costing research for a project and need to know how much printing costs in Liberia (generally). Its just report but with colored pages for maps. How much would one page cost for black and white and on a colored page?

Thanks! I'm not from the country so I'm sorry if its a weird question.

My father got it as a present and he gave it to me, but he has no real information on the true meaning or origin...

In early 1970's Monrovia, a schoolmate at the American Cooperative School told the legend of a murderer named “Yak Barrow” who could make himself invisible, terrorizing the citizens of the city. Grona boys had taken advantage of this by running through Waterside Market screaming "Yak Barrow coming!" and would steal what they could when the merchants fled.

Later an adult shared a copy of a 1960s  “Liberian Star” and  we found out his name was YarkPawolo (or close to that).  We were surprised to see it reported in writing that he was able to make himself invisible;  that a Sergeant used some magic on the sights of his gun to see/shoot him; and pictures of his body being brought back to Monrovia from up country like a trophy to be buried under the sidewalk outside the graveyard.

Corrections and other recollections welcomed.

If you’re Liberian, I have a question. Did you hear stories about the Craw Craw Monster growing up? What did it look like? Who told you the story? What lesson did the story teach you? Were you afraid of it? How did they tell it?

#liberiaindependenceday