Africa-Press – Liberia. Bishop Brown noted that many men intentionally abandon their homes after impregnating or fathering multiple children with women, leaving the mothers alone to raise and care for them.
Renowned Liberian clergyman Bishop Kortu Brown has attributed the increasing rate of poverty in Liberia to the growing social issue of men abandoning their responsibilities in homes across the country.
Bishop Brown, former President of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) and Senior Pastor of the New Water in the Desert Apostolic Pentecostal Church, observed that many Liberian women—particularly young mothers—are left to single-handedly shoulder the responsibilities of raising children due to the failure of their male partners to fulfill their fatherly duties.
Speaking in a recent interview with reporters at his church in Brewerville, outside Monrovia, Bishop Brown noted that many men intentionally abandon their homes after impregnating or fathering multiple children with women, leaving the mothers alone to raise and care for them.
Quoting the 2022 National Population and Housing Census, Bishop Brown disclosed that Liberia has nearly 1.18 million households, and about one-third—34%—of those are headed by women.
“This means that over 400,000 of the 1.2 million households in Liberia have female landlords (according to LISGIS census). Most of these female households are people who are struggling with their lives or the lives of three, four, or five children. Some men came their way, had children by them, ran away, and abandoned these children,” he said.
Bishop Brown emphasized that the persistent trend of men having children and abandoning them is not only imposing hardship on Liberian women but also fueling poverty in the country.
He described it as a “big societal issue” that must be addressed if Liberia is to reduce poverty.
“It’s no secret that we are challenged as a people; we are challenged on so many fronts economically, politically, and socially. The problems we are faced with today are not just about the action or inaction of the government; it is also among the families. We have lots of people running away from responsibilities. A lot of women are struggling to take care of their children,” he said.
Bishop Brown pointed out that many of these struggling single mothers are visible in churches, compelled to carry the burden due to economic hardship and abandonment.
“Women had lots of Liberian men who will just born children and run away from them. You have five children by one woman and run away? Some of the households, maybe too the husbands or spouses have passed away (died), or for different reasons. This is contributing to hardship among Liberians,” he added.
Bishop Brown called on the Liberian government to enact stronger policies to address the growing issue of men abandoning their responsibilities after fathering children.
He urged the government to pay more attention to the well-being of socially disadvantaged citizens and called on the National Legislature to review and act on the results of the recently conducted National Population and Housing Census.
According to him, census data is vital for introducing necessary social and economic reforms to improve the nation and the lives of its people.
He emphasized that millions of taxpayers’ and donor funds were spent on the census, and its findings should not be ignored.
“This is a serious issue and it should be a serious talking point for the women of Liberia too. They should go and study, analyze that census report and see what actually that report is saying and what needs to be done. We have to address policy, law, and other different issues arising from that report,” Bishop Brown said.
He stressed that if the current situation—men abandoning women and leaving children to fend for themselves—is not addressed, the number of children selling in the streets to support their families will continue to rise.
Bishop Brown urged women advocacy groups to take the lead in tackling this issue.
“Women should stand up and demand actions for these kinds of critical issues. Even our lawmakers should look at this report. How come many of our households are led by women? Why do we have so many single-parent households? We need to find answers to this question and pursue family values. Let’s have critical conversations and dialogue on why we have an increasing rate of female households in Liberia and what are we doing about it,” he concluded.
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