Monrovia- The Liberia Association of Writers (LAW), Liberia’s premier writers’ body, which was founded on July 17, 1982, is financially crippled.
This is causing the current leadership’s inability to carry out the Association’s main national function—development of Liberia through writing.
According to the new President of LAW, Samuel G. Dweh, the current leadership, which came into office on February 10, 2018, inherited an almost empty coffer.
The institution is said to be indebted to authorities of the University of Liberia (UL) in the amount of one hundred United States Dollars (US$100) as balance for rental fee (US$300) for the venue of the 36th anniversary program (UL’s auditorium). The leadership’s integrity is at stake on this debt, not knowing how to get it.
In this predicament of LAW, rescue seems to have arrived through former Education Minister, and former Chairperson of the West African Examination (WAEC), Dr. Evelyn D.S. Kandakai (author), and Mr. Abraham Paye Conneh (author), Assistant Director of Research & Statistics at the Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection (MGCSP) of Liberia. This help is coming through a literary event tagged “Literary Benefit Recital Program”, to be held Friday, August 17, 2018, at 3:30pm, at the Monrovia Christian Fellowship Center on 9th Street, Sinkor. Several Liberian authors have been invited to read excerpts from their manuscripts and books and sell their books. VIPs—writers and non-writers—are invited.
Some 20% of the proceeds from the event will be given to the Liberian Writers’ Association, Mr. Dweh said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The event is in support of the Liberia Association of Writers. I thought about this as my way of helping LAW, which you described as financially handicapped,” Dr. Evelyn D.S. Kandakai said to LAW’s president at the venue of LAW’s 36th anniversary.