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Liberia: Profile on Jacob Town Community in Monrovia
Mar 13, 2008
by Michael Kpayili / Staff Writer

One of the well known communities in Monrovia, Jacob Town which pays host to almost all of the tribes in Liberia was the area of concentration during my quest to profile major communities in and around Monrovia.

Jacob Town falls between the Red-light market and the Double bridge area on the Somalia Drive. The community was named after Oldman Jacob from the Bassa tribe. It expansion started with a family size of ten which includes a countable number of houses in its location. In a bid to seek other opportunities like schooling, business, land security and so on, several Liberians from all walks of live especially those residing in the rural areas decided on migrating to Monrovia to engage in buildings and other businesses that led to their resettlement.

Inhabitants of Jacob Town come from different religious background. Predominant among them are the Muslims, Christians and Traditional beliefs. They respect and protect each others religious rights and freedom but sometimes go out of proportion when tension developed. Education is widespread in a small community which out of speculation could constitute a little over 30,000 inhabitants. There four are major High Schools in the Jacob Town community. They are: St. Francis High School, Calvary Temple AGM, H.A Gethsemane, and Parma High School. The highest populated school in the area is the St Francis High School. Although the institution is controlled by Christian, 80% of the enrollment constitutes the Muslim faith group. Other smaller institutions of academic achievement are also located in the community. An elementary and Junior High School under the banner of the Muslim Congress is also located in the Jacob Town community. 90% of the enrollment in the Muslim faith school constitutes children of Muslim background with the balance 10% being Christian.

Reconciliation which is the pillar of democracy and the transformation of typical Liberians remain the integral part of the nation building. In the Jacob Town community, regular meetings and social activities like football games are regularly held with the aim of bringing youths who are widely blamed for engaging in the implementation segment of the wars in Liberia together.

Besides recreational grounds, the market in Jacob Town is the center of attraction where women, children and men converged in the morning to buy food items and exchange greetings. In a bid to investigate the sellers and buyers relationship, it was discovered tat an harmonies relationship exist. Table spots are given equally to all tribes with Mandingoes whose interest are basically built in the petty trade sector of the Liberian economy taking significant portion of the market.

Famatta Sheriff and Lucy Grimes, petty traders from both the Mandingo and Bassa tribes currently selling in them market were my tour guide. According to information gathered, marketers in the Jacob Town market usually buy their goods from up country. They sometime rely on goods coming out of Guinea to boast their supply. According to Madam Grimes, a leadership structure is built among the marketers. “Jacob Town market is our office. We depend on these petty trades to support our various homes. While it is true that small, small confusion exist here, we always come together to settle it”, she maintained. Beside a newly built small business mini-store in Jacob Town, most of the goods sold in the area are food and non-food items.


There are two major centers that inhabitants considered heavily populated. The Black Genii area and the Lone Star area are also the areas of attraction. Inhabitants of Jacob Town converged at these areas in the evening to exchange greetings or socialize. Others, according to information gathered converged for regular prays.

The community is also known for one of the worst tension ever in recent times. The Mandingoes/Muslims on one hand and the Christians on the other hand went into a violent exchange of brutal behavior as the result of invalid rumors speculations. The disgruntle acts led to the massive destruction of Mosques and Church buildings. Thanks to the timely intervention of the United Nations Mission in Liberia and local Police team for calming the tension. However, normal activities had since resume in the areas.
There are insufficient health facilities in the Jocab town community.

Except the Polo Clinic, other health centers in the areas are sub-standard.

About the Author:
Michael Kpayili is a staff writer for TheLiberianTimes.com. Kpayili has written articles which have appeared on TheLiberianTimes.com since late 2005, and his hard hitting investigative journalism has earned the respect of the Liberian press community.

Michael Kpayili may be contacted at mkpayili@theliberiantimes.com.