FROM THE ASHES OF WAR, A VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS: LIBERIAN CHILD ADVOCATE URGES AFRICA TO ACT FOR ITS CHILDREN

By Precious Mupenzi

• A sitting parliamentarian, 19-year-old Cyrus K Wea Jr from Liberia stands tall among a chorus of young voices at the Africa Children’s Summit as he delivers a powerful message – Africa’s children are tired of empty promises.
• Wea Jr says Liberia has the policies and the structures, but needs to have the will to implement them.
• In a wide-ranging interview, he spoke of a crumbling public education system, the marginalisation of people with disabilities, the plight of persons with albinism, and systemic failures in child protection.

Nineteen-year-old Cyrus K Wea Jr stands tall among a chorus of young voices at the Africa Children’s Summit, concluding tomorrow, 7 April 2025, in Johannesburg. With conviction far beyond his years, the young Liberian leader delivered a powerful message: Africa’s children are tired of empty promises – they want change, and they want it now.

Born in Monrovia, Liberia – a country still healing from the brutal legacy of two civil wars – Wea carries the weight of history with grace and urgency. Liberia’s last civil war, which raged between 1999 and 2003, left deep national scars.

Thousands of children, some as young as 10, were forcibly recruited as child soldiers, forced into violence, and robbed of their innocence. Today, a new generation fights not with weapons, but with words, advocacy, and an unrelenting spirit for justice.

Wea, President Emeritus of the Liberia National Children’s Parliament (2023–2024) and now a sitting parliamentarian, used the summit to highlight pressing issues facing Liberia’s children – issues that persist long after the guns have fallen silent.

“We have a beautifully crafted Children’s Law, enacted in 2011 and even amended recently, but there is no implementation,” Wea told delegates, his voice steady but impassioned. “We have the policies. We have the structures. But we do not have the will.”

Pressing issues

His comments came just days after a harrowing revelation back home.

In early April 2025, the Liberian government permanently revoked the accreditation of Americans for African Adoptions (AFAA) and its affiliated orphanage, Cradle of Hope, after a police investigation exposed horrifying abuse, including rape and physical punishment involving 30 children.

Staff reportedly beat children with wooden spoons and forced them to lift chairs above their heads for extended periods – abuses Wea says are symptomatic of deeper systemic failures in child protection.

He didn’t stop there.

In a side-line interview, Wea painted a grim picture of Liberia’s crumbling public education system, particularly in rural areas.

“Some schools go for weeks without a single teacher in class,” he said. “No one wants to send their children to government schools anymore – they are under-resourced and neglected. And when children in the rural areas miss school, the consequences are devastating.”

Inclusive infrastructure

Wea also raised the alarm over the marginalisation of persons with disabilities, noting that public spaces in Liberia remain largely inaccessible.

“Since I arrived in South Africa, I have noticed how inclusive the public infrastructure is for people with disabilities,” he said.

“In Liberia, our government buildings don’t even have ramps. Representation of people with disabilities is completely absent in our government.”

Turning to the plight of persons with albinism, Wea said stigma and discrimination run rampant. “People with albinism in Liberia are bullied and made to feel unsafe. Luckily, we don’t have the kinds of killings seen in other countries, but the stereotypes and ignorance are harmful. There is a desperate need for advocacy and community education.”

For this young change-maker, the call is clear: children must not just be seen – they must be heard. And more importantly, leaders must listen and act.

“In our country,” Wea said quietly, “if you are not in a position of power, you do not have a voice. Neither do the citizens.”

Yet, by standing before a continent’s young leaders and speaking his truth, Cyrus K Wea Jr has proven that even in a system built to silence, one voice, when raised for justice, can be powerful enough to echo across borders.

As the Africa Children’s Summit draws to a close, his message remains etched in the minds of all who heard it.