*** SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT ***

In this debut edition of our “Supporter Spotlight” series, we feature Lisa White, Senior Radio Producer at UNMIL Radio. Ms. White is a native of New Jersey, USA, and she worked at the United Nations Radio in New York before joining UNMIL Radio. In 1993, she graduated from the California State University at Fresno with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, and in 2000 she received a Master’s degree in Political Science with concentration in International Relations from Long Island University in Brooklyn. Lisa is the official producer of the Let’s Talk About Sex radio show at UNMIL Radio.

Hear why Lisa White supports LTAS:

“[I support LTAS] because its goal is very important; to educate young people here in Liberia about making good choices, particularly when it comes to sexual activity. And, I like the program- and the mission- because it gives young people correct information. So, it’s a place where young people can come and listen to other young people like themselves, who are doing good things; giving them great information about how to stay safe, how to make the right choices in their lives, and how to be happy.”

Message to young people:

“I encourage all young people to really focus on developing themselves and their talents, and to delay sexual activity for a while until they get to know really who they are and what it is that they want for their lives, and achieve something.”

*** LTAS SPOTLIGHT ***

In the LTAS Spotlight this month (March 2009) is LTAS Host Mahmud Johnson. Mahmud has been appointed as the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA) 2009 National Focal Point for Liberia. The GYCA is a youth-led, UNAIDS and UNFPA supported alliance of over 5000 young leaders and adult allies working in over 150 countries worldwide. Of the 2.5 million people infected yearly, young people account for 40 percent of new infections. GYCA empowers young leaders with the skills, knowledge, resources and opportunities they need to scale up HIV/AIDS interventions amongst their peers.
Mahmud was selected from a pool of Liberian youths who applied earlier this year for the post.

LTAS Introduces New Drama Series

2009 ushers in new things for the LTAS show. A potent addition to the radio show is the new 5-minute weekly “Let’s Talk About Sex” drama series that will portray real life issues that affect the young people of Liberia.
Drawing a cast of some of the finest up-and-coming young actors and actresses in Liberia, the LTAS drama series has a line-up, which includes Yadel Nimley, Bookman Muapoe (acted in Liberian movie “Juetey” as the village prince), Raisa Mathies, Janice Pratt (produced her own movie), Mahmud Johnson (acted in Liberian Movie “Complex Decision”), Emmanuel “EJ” Gittens, Kula Fofana, gospel singer Princess Pitman, and ace Liberian writer and actress– and now the LTAS Coordinator- Lydia Nimley.

From focus group discussions and surveys done, the LTAS crew has found out that a larger portion of our audience enjoys and understands the “Myth vs. Reality” segment, which was a one minute colloquial drama on the show. Hence, that segment has been expanded into a full series that will be aired in weekly episodes.
Watch out as LTAS gets bigger and better each passing day!

BDOTC Comes Live with LTAS!

Friday, January 30, 2009 was another day of fun and experience sharing for the LTAS hosts, as they were the official guests at the General Assembly of the Business and Domestic Occupational Training Center (BDOTC) along the ELWA Road. At the Center, the Hosts talked to the audience about the show, and got a lot of good responses. They also performed role-plays along with the participants on issues of HIV/AIDS transmission, condom use, and abortion.
The hosts used the time to talk to the audience, which also consisted of older women, on the importance of sex education between parents and children. As the hosts left the premises, it was evident that they had indeed made an impact, as the attendees of the program could not stop congratulating them and asking about the show. A riot was almost caused when the hosts began to distribute their HIV prevention brochures.

The center is a vocational training institute sponsored by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which trains young women in areas of pastry, hotel management, tailoring, computer science, et al.

“And Still I Rise” ~ LTAS Hosts Glow At National Women’s Concert

Lights. Camera. Action! It was entertainment at its peak at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion on Saturday January, 31, 2009, and LTAS Hosts Janice Pratt and Bookman Muapoe, and PSI/ SmartChoice® Outreach Intern Princess Pitman were at the center of it all.
“And Still I Rise,” adapted from a poem by the highly-acclaimed African-American poet and actress, Maya Angelou, was the title of the women’s concert, organized by UNMIL in collaboration with the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism, PSI-Liberia, and other organizations.
The evening, which brought together women and young girls from all sectors of the Liberian society- ranging from market women to H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf- was one of pure bliss, as local female artistes lit the stage performing hit renditions of songs from the 70’s and 80’s such as Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” “Invincible Woman,” etc, as well as contemporary hits such as Whitney Houston’s “On my Own,” Beyonce’s “Listen,” Julie Endee’s “Jigga, Jigga,” et al.
Performing a rendition of Whitney Houston’s “On my Own” was SmartChoice® Outreach Intern Princess Pittman. The Liberian gospel music icon who now works with the PSI/Liberia, wowed the audience and received a standing ovation.
The night was also lighted by a live drama performance. The star of the drama was LTAS host, Janice Pratt, who gracefully played the role of Lovetta, a promiscuous young woman, who later turns into a good girl. Janice who is known as the “quiet one” amongst her co-hosts stunned everyone, including her PSI colleagues with her compelling delivery of her character.
With the LTAS show gradually taking over Monrovia, more and more people are becoming fans of the show on a daily basis

LTAS Hosts Participate in Virtual Dialogue Videoconference

On Thursday, January 22, 2998, the four LTAS co-hosts, Janice, Mahmud, Kula, and Bookman, joined sixteen other prominent Liberian youths in what was the first edition of a three-part series of virtual dialogues aimed at engaging women and young people on issues pertinent to women’s leadership and empowerment. It was a pre-event of International Women’s Colloquium on Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security, which will be co-covened by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and President Tarja Halonen of Finland.

The dialogue, which brought together women leaders, youth activists, and students, joined Liberian women leaders and youths to their counterparts in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Tanzania, Egypt, and Sierra Leone via a videoconference.

Moderated by Counselor Yvette Chesson Wureh of Liberia, who is the Manager of the International Women’s Colloquium, the videoconference started off with the introduction of various moderators in the other participating countries, amongst which were Dr. Leila Takla, Board Member of the Suzanne Mubarak Women’s International Peace Movement in Egypt; Ms. Sri Danti, Deputy Minister for Gender Mainstreaming Affairs, Ministry of Women Empowerment in Indonesia; Mr. Ayoub Rioba, veteran Tanzanian journalist, who is now a lecturer of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Dar-es-Salam; and Dr. Neela Gunasekera, Chairperson of the National Committee on Women in the Ministry of Child Development and Women Empowerment in Sri Lanka.

After the introductions, Cllr. Chesson-Wureh interviewed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on a wide range of issues relative to women’s leadership and empowerment. Thereafter, the various countries formed breakaway groups to have discussions on what actions need to be put into place to ensure that women are able to genuinely compete with their male counterparts.

The youths identified factors such as early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, male chauvinism, tradition, and illiteracy as major impediments to women’s empowerment and leadership. Their ideas and recommendations were documented in a two-page paper that was presented to the Colloquium Manager for deliberations during the International Women’s Colloquium, which will be a meeting of women from all around the world who would be coming together to share success stories and best practices on women’s leadership, empowerment, and security.

At the end of videoconference, the Liberian youths had the opportunity to interact one-on-one with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, as Cllr. Chesson read each person’s brief biography and the work that they do. LTAS Host Mahmud Johnson used the opportunity to present the PSI/ LTAS IEC packet to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Written by Mahmud Johnson

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Practice What You Preach!!

Wednesday, 12 November 2008


“Practice what you preach” has now become a hackneyed expression in contemporary Liberia, yea the world. But the actual connotation of this phrase came to life on Friday, November 6, 2008 when the four youthful co-hosts of the “Let’s Talk About Sex” Radio show (Janice Pratt, Mahmud Johnson, Kula Fofana, and Bookman Muapoe) turned out at the Monrovia YMCA/ Merlin youth drop-in center to get tested for HIV/AIDS.

Within less than fifteen minutes, each person's result was out. Are you curious about their results? IT IS PRIVATE!!! But, honestly, it is painless.

The phobia of getting tested for HIV amongst Liberian youths is one that is alarming. Many misconceptions exist about the authenticity of the HIV test amongst young people, with some arguing that if a strand of another infection or disease exists in one’s body, it would warrant a positive test. This is wrong, and countless medical and health practitioners have said so.It is important for one to know his/her HIV status, because early diagnosis creates the opportunity for an HIV positive person to start early treatment, and change his/her risky behaviors that could expose him/her more to the HIV virus.

For more information on Voluntary Counseling and Testing referrals in Liberia, please call our LTAS hotline: 06 668 370 or email us at ltas@psiliberia.org.

We welcome your comments and suggestions on the show. To post a comment, you need to have a gmail account. We have created an open gmail account for all of our bloggers. When you click the “post comment” link below, and the window pops up, enter: ‘ltasblogger’ the username field, and ‘monrovia’ in the password field. However, to sign up for a personal gmail account, click here.