A HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF LIBERIA | By: Maima Dukuly

For a better future of Liberia, I hope.

I hope for a future where roads don't end in mud,

or the empty promises of our leaders.

Where every child can read and write, 

by candlelight, or proper light.

Where a girl is more than just someone’s wife,

but a doctor, a leader, a voice that protects her pride.

Where boys learn to live in peace, not how to fight,

and growing up doesn't mean losing your inner light.

I hope for health centers with more than names,

with medicine and beds, not just hollow claims.

Where mothers don't cry from things we can cure,

and dying from childbirth is rare and obscure.

I hope that truth can stand its ground,

that courts don't kneel when wealth comes around.

That corruption becomes a word in history,

and justice walks a clear path, and is not just heard.

I see a land where youth are seen,

not in the background, but in the in-between.

In Parliament, in labs, behind the lens,

in boardrooms, weaving the futures they intend.

I dream of farms that feed us all,

of schools that teach beyond the status quo.

Of leaders who lead, not loot, not lie,

who wipe their people’s tears, not their eyes.

I hope for more than the symbols we raise,

For progress felt, not just well-known.

I hope for a Liberia that’s bold and free

Not what it was, but what it must be.

And if your hope still burns for your home too,

Then know the change begins with you.

Not years from now, not far away

But in the choices we make today.