Gbarpolu County — In Molowamu Town of Bokomu District, childhood dreams are quietly slipping away, not because children lack ability or ambition, but because the basic structures meant to support them are missing. Hidden behind impassable roads and years of official neglect, the town stands as a stark reminder of how rural Liberia continues to fall through the cracks of national development.
Molowamu is isolated both physically and socially, cut off from essential services that many communities elsewhere take for granted. The result is a cycle of hardship that begins early in life. Children drop out of school before they can properly read or write, teenage pregnancies and early marriages become common, and many young boys and girls are pushed into dangerous gold mining activities to help their families survive. Poverty tightens its grip with each passing year, leaving little hope for escape.
Education in Molowamu is limited to what the community itself has managed to build. The town has only one school, constructed through the sacrifices of residents who refused to accept that their children should grow up without learning opportunities.
The school has just three classrooms and offers classes only up to third grade. Beyond that point, formal education becomes a distant and costly dream.
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Children seeking to enter fourth grade must walk for more than an hour to reach Gbanyah Town. Those who aspire to junior or senior high school must travel all the way to Bopolu City, a journey that requires money most parents simply do not have.
This reality effectively shuts the door on education for many children, not through choice, but through circumstance. What is happening in Molowamu is not a random shortage but a pattern of systemic exclusion that leaves rural children behind.
Ten-year-old Alex Jackson is one of those affected. He is still in Kindergarten One, years behind where children his age should be. He speaks of wanting a better future, yet his environment offers no clear path to reach it.
While children in Monrovia and other urban areas progress steadily through the school system, Alex remains stuck at the starting line, held back not by intelligence or effort but by geography and neglect.
The poor condition of roads in Molowamu lies at the heart of the town's struggles. The roads are so badly damaged that they block access to schools, health facilities, markets, and any meaningful economic opportunity. During the rainy season, the town becomes even more isolated, with movement nearly impossible.
Residents say they work hard to farm and grow food, but selling their produce is another battle altogether. According to Ma Hawa, a resident of the town, farmers often cannot reach buyers because of the roads. She explains that Molowamu has no market of its own, forcing people to travel long distances just to sell what they grow.
Transport costs are crushing, with farmers paying around one thousand five hundred Liberian dollars just to hire a motorbike without goods and as much as five thousand Liberian dollars when carrying farm produce. These expenses wipe out profits and discourage production, trapping families in subsistence living.
Healthcare access is even more troubling. Molowamu has no clinic and no hospital. When someone falls seriously ill, families must walk for miles to reach the nearest town with medical services. In emergencies, this delay can mean the difference between life and death. For pregnant women, the elderly, and young children, the risks are constant and terrifying.
With education and healthcare out of reach, children are forced into adult responsibilities far too early. Many end up working in gold mines, exposed to dangerous conditions instead of sitting in classrooms. Girls are often pushed into early motherhood, not as a matter of tradition but as a consequence of poverty and limited options. Residents are clear that this situation is not cultural but economic, driven by long-standing neglect.
Ma Hawa says parents in Molowamu do not want their children to repeat the hardships they have endured. They want them in school, learning skills that can lead to better lives, not digging in mines or becoming parents before they are ready. Yet without intervention, their wishes remain out of reach.
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The situation is particularly painful given that Bokomu District is rich in gold and other natural resources. While wealth is extracted from the land, towns like Molowamu see little benefit.
Roads remain broken, public facilities are nonexistent, and basic services fail to arrive. This imbalance raises serious questions about fairness, benefit sharing, and the priorities of national development.
Residents argue that development cannot be meaningful if resource rich districts remain disconnected and underserved. They believe that the foundation of change begins with road construction. All season roads would open access to schools, allow health facilities to be built and staffed, create functioning markets, and offer children protection from exploitation.
Molowamu is not asking for sympathy or empty promises. The community is demanding practical action, starting with roads that can connect them to the rest of the country. Until that happens, children like Alex will continue to watch their dreams fade, not because they lack determination, but because opportunity cannot reach them.
