Voinjama
Encyclopedia
Voinjama is a small city that serves as the capital of Lofa County
, Liberia
and is located in the hilly, far northern part of the country near the Guinea
border.
Before the Liberian civil war it was a busy crossroads town, with a large weekly market. The population was principally from the Lorma and Mandingo
tribes, with other ethnic groups from surrounding areas also present. It boasted a number of schools, including the public Voinjama Mulitlateral High School, as well as Saint Joseph's Catholic school under the direction of Sister Joan Margaret Kelly, and private schools run by Swedish missionaries and other groups. The Voinjama airport, outside of town on the road to Zorzor
, featured a grass landing strip and flight service several times a week from Monrovia through the national carrier, Air Liberia
.
The city had an electric generating station (with power in the evening) and a water treatment plant that supplied running water for most of the town. There were numerous general goods stores on the main road and a large parking station in the central plaza where one could catch a ride on a public car south to Zorzor
, Gbarnga
and Monrovia
, west to Kolahun
, Foya
and Sierra Leone
, or north to the Guinea
border, four miles away.
Voinjama featured numerous churches of many different denominations as well as a mosque situated in the predominantly Muslim
area of town known as the Mandingo
Quarter. As capital of the county, it served as a government headquarters housing county officials and offices as well as being home to numerous international development projects, including the Lofa County Agricultural Development Project. It was served by a number of US
Peace Corps Volunteers
and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.
Subsistence rice
farming was the principal occupation of most of the population. The rice generally grown in Liberia is dryland rice, on ground cleared through slashing and burning of the abundant forest land, and not paddy rice as in other parts of the world. Other prominent crops grown in the Voinjama area were cassava
, potato greens, collard greens
, and palm nuts
, from which the popular red palm oil
was extracted. "Palm wine
" harvested from certain palm trees was also popular.
Lofa County
Lofa is a county in the northernmost portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has six districts. Voinjama serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and is located in the hilly, far northern part of the country near the Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
border.
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
tribes, with other ethnic groups from surrounding areas also present. It boasted a number of schools, including the public Voinjama Mulitlateral High School, as well as Saint Joseph's Catholic school under the direction of Sister Joan Margaret Kelly, and private schools run by Swedish missionaries and other groups. The Voinjama airport, outside of town on the road to Zorzor
Zorzor
Zorzor is the second largest city in Lofa County, Liberia. Located near Liberia's capital of Monrovia, it is a local trade center for agricultural products such as rice, cassava, pineapples, palm oil, and palm kernels. Zorzor's major ethinc groups include the Kpelle and Loma peoples. The town...
, featured a grass landing strip and flight service several times a week from Monrovia through the national carrier, Air Liberia
Air Liberia
Air Liberia was a domestic airline based in Liberia. Formed in 1974 following a name change from Liberian National Airways, the carrier ceased trading in 1990....
.
The city had an electric generating station (with power in the evening) and a water treatment plant that supplied running water for most of the town. There were numerous general goods stores on the main road and a large parking station in the central plaza where one could catch a ride on a public car south to Zorzor
Zorzor
Zorzor is the second largest city in Lofa County, Liberia. Located near Liberia's capital of Monrovia, it is a local trade center for agricultural products such as rice, cassava, pineapples, palm oil, and palm kernels. Zorzor's major ethinc groups include the Kpelle and Loma peoples. The town...
, Gbarnga
Gbarnga
Gbarnga is the capital city of Bong County, Liberia, lying north east of Monrovia. Bong County is one of the over 13 political subdivisions of Liberia known as counties. During the First Liberian Civil War, it was the base for Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia...
and Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
, west to Kolahun
Kolahun
Kolahun is a town in the Kolahun District of Lofa County, Liberia....
, Foya
Foya
Foya is a town in the Foya District of Lofa County, Liberia.Foya is located 66 kilometers from Voinjama, it is home to the Kissi-speaking tribes of Liberia. Foya shares border with Sierra Leone and Guinea, it is the major trade link for the people in the far north of Lofa County...
and Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, or north to the Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
border, four miles away.
Voinjama featured numerous churches of many different denominations as well as a mosque situated in the predominantly Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
area of town known as the Mandingo
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
Quarter. As capital of the county, it served as a government headquarters housing county officials and offices as well as being home to numerous international development projects, including the Lofa County Agricultural Development Project. It was served by a number of US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Peace Corps Volunteers
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, as well as a government agency of the same name. The mission of the Peace Corps includes three goals: providing technical assistance, helping people outside the United States to understand US culture, and helping...
and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.
Subsistence rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
farming was the principal occupation of most of the population. The rice generally grown in Liberia is dryland rice, on ground cleared through slashing and burning of the abundant forest land, and not paddy rice as in other parts of the world. Other prominent crops grown in the Voinjama area were cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
, potato greens, collard greens
Collard greens
Collard greens are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea , the same species as cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown for its large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro,...
, and palm nuts
Oil palm
The oil palms comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to West Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to...
, from which the popular red palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
was extracted. "Palm wine
Palm wine
Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
" harvested from certain palm trees was also popular.