By Sampson W. Weah – sampsonwweah7@gmail.com
MONTSERRADO COUNTY – Tucked behind the bustling noise of the Battery Factory area in District #13, lies a community living on the precipice of tragedy. For the residents of Plan Field, a collapsing bridge is sustained by polluted water sources that pose as many threats as the bridge itself.
The aging wooden bridge, the community’s only link to schools, markets, and health facilities, is falling apart plank by plank.
Stripped of guardrails and stability, its trembling structure sways under the weight of those who dare to cross. Children, mothers with babies, and the elderly across it daily – a journey lies in uncertainty.
“Our children cross this broken bridge to go to school every morning, and each time we wonder if they’ll return safely,” said Blessing Chede, a longtime resident of Plank Field. Speaking through the Liberia Excellent News Network (LENN), Chede’s voice trembled not just with worry but also exhaustion from years of unanswered cries. “It shakes under our feet. One wrong step, and that’s it. It’s like walking into a grave.”
“This is not just about infrastructure. It’s about human dignity, about life. People fall ill regularly from diarrhea and skin infections, but there’s nowhere to turn. The clinics nearby require us to cross the same bridge, and sometimes even that is impossible.”
Residents have now directed their plea to Montserrado County District #13 Representative, Edward P. Flomo, and by extension, to the national government.
“We are not asking for luxury,” Chede emphasized. “We are pleading for the basics—safe water and a bridge that won’t kill us. Are those too much to ask?”
“Every time it rains, the water floods our houses and damages properties and the bridges,” said Blessing Chede, a mother of four. “We stay up all night fearing the worst—that the homes might not survive the next morning because of the water.”
In a country still rebuilding from years of conflict and economic instability, the story of Planks Field serves as a sobering reminder that for many, even survival remains a privilege. Residents have no alternative but to navigate the fragile Bridges.
“They only know us during the campaign season, the government has to visit all of the slums communities to see what we passed through “
