Liberia - Kimmi Weeks

Kimmi was just 16 years old when he walked into Search for Common Ground's Talking Drum Studio in Liberia. Established in Monrovia in 1997, Talking Drum Studio produces multi-media programming that is provided free of charge to existing radio stations and newspapers. The concept for the studio was based on the success of a similar radio production center set up in Burundi two years earlier.

Kimmi had an idea that was burning inside of him, and he needed Search for Common Ground's help to turn his idea into reality. He had spirit, a keen perspective and a powerful message to deliver: He believed it was time to give the children of Liberia a voice to help them recover from the trauma of seven years of civil war. Before long, he was working with Talking Drum Studio producing a weekly children's show called Golden Kids News.

The response was dramatic - people had never before heard children's voices on the radio. Their purity and innocence while reaching out to help other children in the face of terrible atrocities touched people. As one of the producers said: "Very often, adults believe that children do not have any views of their own. This is a fallacy. What we have discovered is that children do have their own fears and concerns and, given a chance, they express their thoughts very well."

Golden Kid News became an overnight success, and its message and methodology soon spread. Other agencies, including the UN, asked SFGC to produce more programs for children affected by war. SFCG's radio production studio in Sierra Leone also began producing editions of Golden Kids News. Soldiers, market people, taxi drivers - people from all walks of life began stopping by the studio to make on-air comments about the program.

In spite of death threats from the government, Kimmi went on to become a Child Ambassador for UNICEF. He is now on a full university scholarship. His remarkable vision helped to give other youth living in conflict zones a voice of their own, and in the process he taught us about the resilience of the human spirit.