Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo: A Man with a Story of Hope
A hard worker with honesty and integrity, a humanitarian who grew up in District Number 4 and experienced suffering on a personal level, Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo has the quality of men we need in Monrovia to help us change District Number 4, Bong County and Liberia.
Growing up in Gomue
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo was born in Gomue, a small village near the Guinea border in District Number 4 in 1981. His mom, Gormah Yarkpawolo, passed away in 1983 when he was just 2 years old. He grew up with his aunt, Nyamah Yarkpawolo. His father, Yarkpawolo Taylor, was one of the first persons to learn how to sew clothes in Bong County. Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo learned how to farm, fish, set traps and cut palms at an early age. He learned from his father and his aunt early on that the purpose of life was to help others. His father would often advise him to be honest in his dealings with people, not to worry about material things but to appreciate God for what he has. These are values that he carries today.
Education
“God will provide”. This was the answer that Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo gave it to his father in 1995 when his father indicated that refugee schools in Guinea were free of charge but once the war was over in Liberia, and they returned, schools were not free in Liberia and he never had money as the war had destroyed all his properties. In response, Emmanuel, who was given the Kpelle name “Kwakergbe” (“Let us be here”) but later gave himself the biblical name Emmanuel (God is with us), simply said “God will provide”. Yes, indeed God provided and is still providing today. He started school at the age of nearly 14 years in the Bheta Refugee Camp in Guinea in 1995. Prior to starting school, his father sent him to an apprenticeship to become a traditional blacksmith. He spent two weeks in the blacksmith shop, ran away and returned to the refugee camp, where he later started school.
Ten years later in 2005, Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo graduated from high school as the dux winning 8 awards out of 12 subjects and serving as Student Council President. Not only did he obtain his Bachelor’s Degree in 2008 from Cuttington University, but in the 10 years that followed, he added beneath his academic belt, a Master's Degree in Public Health (2011) from Cuttington University, a Master's of Science in Environment and Resources with emphasis in Political Ecology (2013) and a Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018. Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo also holds a certificate of Leadership with Integrity from Les Aspin Center for Government in Washington D.C. and a certificate in Management & Entrepreneurship from Columbia University in New York.
Leadership Experience
“The road to success begins with the first step” is a philosophy that has guided Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo throughout his life. He served as class president from Kindergarten all the way to 10th grade becoming the Vice President for the Student Council Government in the 11th and finally serving as the President for the Student Council Government at the Len Miller High School in Monrovia during his senior year. As president, he led the upgrading of the Len Miller High School Library. At Cuttington University, he became the Project Director for the graduating class, and successfully led the writing of the first postwar Cuttington Yearbook.
He served as Program Assistant at the Land Commission and based on his excellent performance, he was promoted as the Administrative Assistant to the Chairman of that Commission. In the US, Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo served as President of the Liberian Association of Wisconsin, where he revamped what was a dead association, introducing straight accountability and transparency in all aspects of the association including financial matters. He served as Project Assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked under the mentorship of his professors, Gregg Mitman and Matt Turner. In this position, he led the development of a public history website for Liberia (http://liberianhistory.org/).
Upon graduation, Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo took a consultancy position with Landesa and moved back to Liberia and after a few months of excellent performance, he was promoted to Country Representative and later to Program Director. At Landesa, Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo transformed a small one-room office to an apartment office and later to an entire two story office building just in 3 years. His greatest achievement in this position was his key role in the passage of the Land Rights Bill.
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo served as the first President for The Salvation Army Polytechnic in Monrovia. He took over a dilapidated building with zero students but in a few months, he galvanized funding and renovated the school and recruited more than 300 students. He coined the school motto “Education with Integrity” to highlight his desire to instill not only quality education in the students but the associated integrity that goes along with applying quality education to transform the lives of people and communities.
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo is the founder of One Life Liberia (https://www.onelifeliberia.org/), an NGO based in Liberia and in the USA that helps build schools for marginalized children in rural communities in Liberia and supports sustainable agriculture productions.
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo is founding member and Chairman of the Grassroots Alternative Movement (http://gamliberia.org/), a social justice organization established in Liberia and in the USA with the goal of instilling disciplines and fighting for equality and justice in Liberia.
meeting Vivian
In 2010, Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo met the charming and beautiful Miss Vivian Wleh. They dated for 3 years and got married on January 27, 2013 in Monrovia, Liberia.
The Urey-Yarkpawolo Family
Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo had 2 boys, Bobby and Joseph (JU) when he met Vivian and she had 1 boy, Lloyd (Nelly). Together, they had Emmanuel and Nyamah. Both Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo and Vivian had taught their children the values of self-disciplines, hard work and respect for fellow human beings.
The Problems with District Number 4
The problem with District Number 4 is not that the people are poor. No, it is quite the opposite. The nature of the hard work of the people, the friendliness and a sense of community as well as the mineral and renewable resources make District Number 4 a rich District. They experience poverty as a result of the lack of leadership and poor management of their resources.
The SOLUTION
If we want to reduce poverty and its associated effects of poor education, poor healthcare, hunger, etc., in District Number 4 and other districts in Bong County and Liberia, we need to send people to Monrovia, who are qualified, who care about our interest, who are innovative and are not corrupt. Dr. Urey-Yarkpawolo has these qualities and has demonstrated them throughout his life. He promises not to let us down if we send him to represent District Number 4.
