Elizabeth Nyanfordi Jappah

Students, what I always say, what I cannot change, I learn to accept and learn to move on. It’s very important to have a set of values in live. You always need a set of values, things that are very important that will help you and guide your decision in life.

Life is what you make it. Always learn from your mistakes.

Appreciate what you have here. Respect your parents.

Being polite is very important. If you are able in any way to make anyone to smile in a day, it’s worth a whole lot. Respect yourself because if you love yourself and respect yourself, others around you will love you and respect you. And always remember there’s always a light in the tunnel. No matter how tough life gets, it’s always going to get better one day.

Elizabeth Nyanfordi Jappah

Hello students. My name is Miss Elizabeth Nyanfordi Jappah. I have two beautiful kids Prince and Felicia.

I was born in Liberia. It’s a very small country on the west coast of Africa. So when I was four, we went to my hometown, which is called Grandcess. We don’t have any running water there. No electricity. And so I lived in Grandcess for ten years. But for me, it was really beautiful. I liked sitting around the fire listening to my mom tell us stories. I enjoyed playing under the moonlight, singing.

Well, I was in Monrovia for the high school. After I completed high school, I went to college in Monrovia. As soon as I started college there was a civil uprising, which is basically a war. Whenever they were not fighting, we would go to school. Whenever the fighting started we would stay home. During that time, we had a very, very, very unpleasant experience.

We went without food for days. We would cook water on the fire, put some tomato in the water and drink that. And that’s what we have sometimes for like three to five days. It was horrible, yes.

When I graduated from the University, I traveled here to the United States on a visitor’s visa. I was granted temporary protective status, which is basically American government says that it’s okay to stay here because your country is in war. In March of 2007, I became a naturalized citizen.

I’ve been going to school trying to get my Masters. I work as a teacher. Currently I’m a substitute teacher at a school in Minneapolis.

Nyanfordi means mother. So Nyanfordi, nyan for mother. My dad named me after his great-grandma. And Nyanfor, he was a warrior. He was this big warrior who saved the town from being destroyed by another place. So my father always say to me, “You have a very special name.” I was named after the mother of Nyanfor so that’s why they call me Nyanfordi.

We do sing. When we are happy, we sing praises. When we are sad, we sing songs of comfort.