Background

Liberia and Guinea share may common characteristics: they have similar cultures, ethnic groups who speak the same dialects (Kissi, Kpelleh, Lorma, and Mano), and a porous border where anything can be smuggled across border lines. Unlike Liberia, Guinea has not experienced a full-blown civil crisis. Rather it has served as a hub for destabilization of neighboring countries, including Liberia and Sierra Leone.

(MONROVIA)- On Saturday, July 31^st, a jubilant group of 290 teachers sang and marched single file around the grounds of the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute (KRTTI) anxiously waiting for a ceremony to start. Even as the sky darkened and the rain threatened to fall, they continued to walk patiently, ever singing, ever jubilant. The 290 teachers were the 2^nd cohort of the KRTTI’s In-Service ‘C’ Certificate course to graduate from the Institute since the peace accords were signed in 2003.