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.

Whole-hearted, Free Service to the Poorest of the Poor!!!

On Friday, October 17, 2008, the LTAS Hosts visited the Missionaries of Charity home located on Tubman Boulevard. The show hosts (Mahmud, Janice, Bookman, Kula), led by their Coordinator Mrs. Lydia Nimley, also made a donation of two cartons of soap and a gallon of Dettol to the home.
Sister Rinette, the Administrator at the home welcomed the gesture, and thanked the Let’s Talk About Sex crew for their thoughtfulness. She chatted with the Hosts and the Coordinator for about an hour, discussing the issue of HIV/AIDS among Liberian youths, and some of the negative behaviors. She asserted that the breakdown of the family value systems in the country is one of the major contributors to the high rate of HIV prevalence as well as teenage pregnancy.Afterwards, the hosts and the coordinator were led on a guided tour of the children ward. Most of the children in the ward are orphaned by AIDS, and a few others suffer emaciation. But despite their infirmities, the children are so sanguine, that ne cannot help but love them. As they danced, sang, and played with the LTAS Hosts, one could clearly reason that being HIV positive is not a death sentence!

The Missionaries of Charity is a non-for-profit charity organization run by catholic nuns. It was founded by the venerable nun Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The Organization operates in over 150 countries around the world, with 100 houses in Africa. In Liberia, it operates a home for HIV/AIDS patients, as well as those suffering from all sorts of sicknesses. Every Saturday, the home feeds up to 950 inmates at the Monrovia Central Prison. It also feeds 350 elderly people every Tuesday, and feed hundreds of children and on a daily basis. Although nuns globally vow to chastity, poverty, and obedience; the Missionaries of Charity has added the clause “whole hearted, free service to the poorest of the poor.”

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Ma Ellen Hits 70 With the Youths!!!

October 27, 2008

What could be a more perfect way of kicking 7o years old than spending it youthfully? October 27, 2008 marked the 70th birth anniversary of Africa’s first female president, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf which also coincided with the National Youth Day celebration.
Youths from all walks of life poured into the C. Cecil Dennis Auditorium on the ground floor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to celebrate Ma Ellen’s special day. The activities included a debate competition between several High School students on the topic “Who’s Responsible for Corruption: Society or Family?” It was a thrilling debate amongst the young people, as various views were given on who’s to blame for the cancerous act. Thereafter, there was launched the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Academic Excellence Competition, with the pilot match between the St. Teresa’s Convent and William V. S. Tubman High School, which ended at a score of 80- 30 in favor of W. V. S. Tubman High School.

But the “Let’s Talk About Sex” co-hosts also used the occasion to talk to their peers about the show, and how young people can help in curbing the high rates of HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy.

Thinking that they were about to share a the news of a show that was a novelty to young people, the hosts were shocked when the hall became enraptured in the hip-hop-styled euphony of the Salt and Pepa “Let’s Talk About Sex” song that has become the show’s theme song. “Ahn Hann… let’s talk about sex, babe!” the students sang, bobbing their heads and giggling. No one knew that within so short a time, the show has such huge following!

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