Liberian people are "tryin' small"

I'm visiting our programs in Liberia, my first trip to the field since I came to work at Mercy Corps two and a half years ago. On this first day in the capital, Monrovia, I'm getting oriented. Tomorrow we'll head out to Buchanan and Tubmanburg to talk to the people we work with. I'm most interested in hearing the stories of the women who are learning new cocoa farming techniques, participating in village savings and loan programs and finding out how to use locally available foods to better feed their children.

In a craft stall, a man in a batik tunic offered objects that once served as currency here — three of the tiny spears equaled a cow, and might form part of a dowry payment. Photo: Bija Gutoff/Mercy Corps

On Sundays most everything is closed here — people go to church or the beach. Children play in the dusty, rutted streets. If they had a soccer ball, I imagine they'd be kicking it around. But in my few hours of wandering around, I didn't see a child with a ball.

Still, there's no shortage of smiles. A group of boys and girls, around 10 years old, ran a small food stand with the ambitious name "Prosperous Business Center." They sold soft rolls, tiny balls of mayonnaise to spread on the bread, Chiclets and roughly square cookies.

In another stall, this one devoted to local crafts, a man in a handsome batik tunic offered hand-painted maps of Liberia (popular souvenirs here), masks and other wood carvings, and long metal nail-like objects that once served as currency here — three of the tiny spears equaled a cow, and might form part of a dowry payment. Here, a t-shirt translates then-candidate Obama's campaign slogan "Yes We Can" to the local patois: tryin' small. It's Liberia's all-purpose expression, signifying — depending on the context — "I'm OK" or "I will" or "I'm getting along" or just a general thumbs-up.

As I prepare to head out tomorrow to visit our programs in Buchanan and Tubmanburg, I'm already feeling absorbed in the stories of so many people here who are working hard to rebuild their ravaged country after 14 years of horrendous conflict. Bit by bit, they're tryin' small.