An Accomplished Writer

LINAS THOEMKE | FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

About

Dagbayonoh Kiah Nyanfore II

Dagbayonoh Kiah Nyanfore is an accomplished writer. Birthed in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa, village elders' traditional story-telling culture influenced his writing. He tells stories of past events and discusses their impacts. He published his first writing as a tenth grader in Liberia. In high school in the US, he wrote "The American Negro, What's About Him? That article, by which he received a cash prize, introduced him to American society as a future writer.

After college, he edited and published the Awina Drum, the official news magazine of Awina incorporation, a progressive organization of the Kru ethnic group and other concerned Liberians in the Americas. As a writer, Dagbayonoh has authored over 60 articles published internationally. He wrote his first book, "Victory over Difficulties," which tells the story of his life in the US and Liberia. He is a Wikipedia editor and contributor.

In 2017, Dagbayonoh volunteered as a visiting instructor in writing to senior high school students at the Bishop L.J. Barnes Mission School in New Krutown, a deprived community where he was born. The town in Monrovia is considered the largest ghetto in Liberia. He viewed his move as a way of giving back to the society that nurtured him as a child. He taught the fundamentals of writing, including grammar, composition, and writing style. "The ability to write effectively is powerful and can be used for community advocacy and development. If the students gain that power, they can help improve their lives, New Krutown, and Liberia. They can comfortably communicate on paper and tell their stories", he expressed. Some of his best students published their final writing in one of the country's leading newspapers. In 2018, the Abosso Apostolic Faith Church, which operates the school, honored him as "Father of the Year.” He has been the church member since birth. "That is the greatest honor I ever received, an honor from the house of God and from my people," he commented.

In addition to writing, he is a progressive and political commentator, focusing on elections in the US and Liberia and social causes.

Dagbayonoh graduated from Fryeburg Academy, a private prep boarding school in America. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in International Affairs from Georgetown University and a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the District of Columbia in Washington, DC.