Liberia, Aug. 26 -- Summary:

By Nukanah Kollie with New Narratives

GBARNGA, Bong County -A bright blue two-story building stands in central Gbarnga, overlooking Broad Street. Red railings surround the balcony, where freshly sewn school uniforms hang beneath a sign reading, "ACD Vocational Training, School Uniform Production, Literacy Program."

Inside, shelves hold colorful fabrics as sewing machines hum across the center. Founder Joseph M. Kamara, 66, sits on a wooden bench behind a black sewing machine, a measuring tape around his neck, turning cloth into uniforms while leading the self-financed vocational campus he has built over 25 years.

"I think the best thing to do for our people is impact knowledge in them," said Kamara as he i...