Liberia, Oct. 5 -- During the opening session of the recent Liberian Annual Diaspora Conference in Washington, DC, Dr. Emmett Dunn, Chairman of the Conference Committee, spoke briefly about trust as a foundation of national development. His remarks stayed with me. He described how a Liberian living abroad might send money to a relative or friend in Liberia to purchase land and construct a house, only for that person to divert the money and send photographs of someone else's house as evidence of progress. He cautioned against such dishonesty and the damage it causes.

By Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo

As I reflected on his message, I thought about the expression "sand in the wheels of development." Wheels allow a vehicle to move forward....