Gbarnga — Each morning, as school bells ring across Gbarnga City and children in pressed uniforms hurry toward their classrooms, 10-year-old Kolu Sumo takes a different path, one that leads to the roadside.
Balancing a tray of cowskin tuborgee, she weaves between vehicles, calling out to motorists. Her classroom is no longer a school building; it is the street, a painful consequence of deepening economic hardship.
Kolu told The New Dawn newspaper that she dropped out of school three years ago when her parents could no longer afford school fees, uniforms, and basic learning materials. Like many families across Bong County, hers has been overwhelmed by rising living costs and limited income opportunities. "I can be feeling bad when I see my friend dem going and I na going. Anytime I tell my ma, she says maybe next year she will send me to school," the young girl said, her voice heavy with disappointment.
From early morning until evening, Kolu endures the scorching sun, moving between pedestrians and speeding vehicles to make daily sales that help her family survive. She admitted that the work is exhausting and often dangerous, noting that drivers sometimes speed without noticing her small frame on the road.
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Residents who observe Kolu daily say her situation highlights the growing impact of economic pressure on children in Gbarnga. They expressed concern that worsening poverty is forcing more children into street vending, exposing them to accidents, abuse, and exploitation while robbing them of their right to an education.
Education and child-protection advocates argue that the rise in child street selling is closely linked to Liberia's fragile economy, where many parents struggle to meet basic household needs. They warn that when families are forced to choose between daily survival and schooling, children inevitably pay the price.
Local education stakeholders say inflation, unemployment, and low household income have pushed vulnerable families to rely on children's labor as a coping mechanism, despite national and international laws that guarantee every child's right to education.
As the day draws to a close and students return home with schoolbags and homework, Kolu remains by the roadside, still selling her dreams of education postponed by circumstances beyond her control. She is now appealing for financial assistance, school materials, and other support to enable her return to the classroom.
Kolu's story is not an isolated case. It is a stark reflection of how economic hardship continues to steal childhoods and dim the future of many Liberian children, one missed school day at a time.
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