© UNICEF/ LIB2009-1699/Gordon
Salomie Kieah, 6, and her grandmother begin preparations for starting school this year in Ganta, Liberia’s second largest city. She'll be among the first group of six-years-olds to enter first grade without ever having seen war in their lifetime.

By Louis Vigneault

GANTA, Liberia, 11 September 2009 – Salomie Kieah is one of many six-year-old children starting school this month in Liberia. After a final adjustment to fit her new uniform and a stop at the stationery shop to buy supplies, she is ready for her first day in primary school.

Salomie was born in 2003, a few weeks after her country restored peace following 14 years of conflict that killed, wounded and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. She is among the first class of first-graders to be born in peace here in many years.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2008-0680/Susan MarkiszUNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman addresses UN Security Council members on the third anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1612.

By Yvette Bivigou

MONROVIA, Liberia, 27 February 2008 – UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman has just completed a visit here to gain firsthand insights into the situation of children in post-conflict Liberia.