In the early Saturday morning hours, in a dusty schoolyard in Ganta, a group of older boys gather, cracking jokes and sharing laughter. Soon a tall, slender young woman shows up. Her name is Bendorah.
Bendorah has been associated with Equip since she was a sponsored high school student back in early 2000. Bendorah has overcome the challenges of growing up in a country where girls face a lot of violence and exploitation and survived to make a difference. Starting a drama group gave her a forum to highlight the atrocities committed here in Liberia and an opportunity to influence change in Liberian society.
Bendorah confidently calls the boys in from their horseplay. Its time to act. Carefully she explains the story that they will dramatize. This is the true story of Samuel Kotoh .
Samuel Kotoh was a young motorcycle (called Kpen Kpen) taxi driver. Lured by murderers to carry them deep into the bush, he was choked from behind at a strategic location while they were still riding. The trap was set, the collaborators were on site. Samuel fought valiantly but was soon overpowered. The price of body parts and blood is high. They killed him, hung up his body on a tree, and then drained his blood, and extracted his vital organs for cannibalistic ritual purposes.
“He used to live just up there.” Bendorah motions with her hand to the neighborhood that surrounds us.
Ritualistic Killings such as this are not made up atrocities. Bendorah’s drama group is tackling a previously silent horror that has effected Liberians for centuries.
In the late 1980’s, there was absolute terror and silence about Poro killings etc. The secret societies had complete impunity. To speak out and expose them was to be killed.
Victims are neighbors, family members, acquaintances. Mothers did not dare to send their children to school if there was no clear open road, family members dared not speak out against these Poro ritualistic killings for Poro members were also part of their family.
Through Christians acting in solidarity and through the sacrifice of Christian martyrs who have given up their lives standing up against these evil practices, there has been a great breakthrough that has freed people from the grip of absolute terror of speaking out.
The actors don’t use scripts, they know the story well. With my camera in hand, it takes little formation time before, Bendorah yells “Action” and off they go, improvising dialogue and choreographing fight scenes in the moment. Two boys around 12 and a little girl no older then 6 were watching from the sidelines, and they quickly got roped into the drama. Soon everything explodes into a motorbike chase. One of the boy’s pants keep falling down as he ran, and everyone stops and has a good laugh. Perhaps this helps to not reveal the real fear and vulnerability all these children face daily. Back to the drama, there is no humor.
By now more people show up and the group swells to about 20 members.
The next story, took place in 2001. Dave and Audry were in Ganta at the time and some of their staff were part of the search party to find Wanasaywon, a 9 year old girl who went missing from Hope Academy. Wanasaywon had been lured, drugged, and then murdered. Her genitals, tongue, and vital organs were all cut from her body.
It was a few days later that a man was hunting for frogs in the swamp. He saw a group of flies hovering over one area and got suspicious. He prodded the area with a long pole, and feeling the rock, he lifted it out. The body came to the surface.
Investigation revealed it had all been overseen by a powerful, local politician who needed the to consume the sacrificed body parts with Charles Taylor, the president at that time, in order to increase their political and spiritual power.
When the citizens of Ganta heard about the body, they broke out into a riot in an attempt to bring this politician to account, because everyone loved Wanasaywon. The government had to send in a special unit to take out the body to destroy the evidence.
There was a massive cover-up. The killers were never brought to justice.
Bendorah says she recently saw one of the sons of the murderers; driving around Monrovia in a big, fancy Jeep, living a life of luxury.
Despite the heavy material that Bendorah and her ragtag group of actors tackle, they take it on with an enthusiasm and energetic drive that is astounding. They have plans for more live performances, radio broadcasts, and also various ideas for making videos. Through all these channels they hope to shed light on these unpunished atrocities and bring them to the public’s attention. “The name of our group” reveals Bendorah, “is ‘The Revelation is Christ.” She adds with a smile, “T-Ric for short.”
With increased freedom in the press since the inauguration of Pres. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, public media is freer to expose atrocities. Bendorah’s vision for T-Ric is to build a brighter future for herself and her children.
Equip’s main tool for Community Education is drama / roleplay. It has been powerful in exposing lies and revealing truth in oppressed communities. Weekly radio dramas are performed by Equip CHAs and youth, men, and women’s groups who are regularly bringing to life their stories, promoting health and justice. These programs are broadcast over much-listened-to FM radio stations. 
