is is 4real liberia. m.i.a., one of the freshest artists to come out of the u.k. in years. she's got dope lyrics and rebel roots, so when i asked her to roll with me to post-war liberia to meet kimmie weeks, she was down. kimmie survived the war at 10, started his first n.g.o. at 14, and, at 17, was one of the most wanted men in liberia. he's dedicated his entire life to helping children. the man's unstoppable. this is 4real. [♪] [guy]: after almost two days of travel, we arrive in monrovia, liberia's capital city. how you doing, brother? nice to see you. how was your flight? it was good, man, it was good. kimmie, this is maya. hi. welcome. [guy]: kimmie and maya have similar backgrounds. they're both children of war,

maya from sri lanka, where conflict has continued for over two decades. kimmie from liberia, where war raged for 14 years. kimmie's personal history inspired a lifelong dedication to helping war-affected children. m.i.a. monrovia! [♪] so we're going to the town centre now? [weeks]: we're going to the city centre. [guy]: peace only came to liberia in 2003. in a country of only 3 million, the war killed over 250,000 people, and displaced almost 800,000. [weeks]: liberia has just survived what's believed to be one of the most brutal civil wars in africa. thousands of people were killed, women were raped, houses were burned, the entire infrastructure destroyed. not yet. where? anywhere. what do you mean, anywhere? well, our hotel has a generator. okay.

but the city has no power whatsoever. [guy]: but there are hopeful signs of recovery. africa's first female president, ellen johnson-sirleaf, was elected in 2005. you know, with the whole liberian rebuilding process, it's not about bringing in, you know, skyscrapers and superhighways. it's just very, very basic-- doctors in the hospitals, teachers in schools... oh, yeah, dude, happy birthday! thank you. my bad, man, i'm sorry. you guys came on the right day! happy birthday, man. we kind of forgot. [guy]: we've arrived on kimmie's birthday. he's only 25 today, but he's been a child rights activist since he was 10 years old. when liberia's war first broke out, kimmie was forced into a refugee camp, where he almost died of hunger and disease. [weeks]: there was a point where someone had declared that i had died. they had wrapped me up and threw me on a heap of bodies. it was from that point that i had said to myself, "there is no reason children should be living in these conditions." and i said i would dedicate my entire life

to making sure that no child went without food or water or medicine. i didn't know how... i was 10 at this point. [guy]: his most recent project, youth action international, focuses on the needs of children affected by war. we're here to check out his work. [♪] [maya]: i think this period is a really exciting time to see liberia, and to say, look, "they had a war, "and they stopped, "and it's possible to fill in bullet holes "and get people back in school. it's possible to rebuild a country." first meal. liberia. [maya]: chicken, fish, meat... everything in the pot at the same time. [guy]: while we're eating, kimmie springs a surprise on us. we're about to go meet the president-- of liberia. it's true. the first female president... head of state. ...of the whole of africa. [♪]

[guy]: we head to the hotel to change, but none of us have packed the proper gear... except kimmie. i have nothing decent. we weren't really prepared for this. so how is it that you can link it that we can go see the president? what's that, you got it like that, kimmie? we've got contacts with every government agent. [guy]: kimmie wasn't as popular with former president and notorious warlord charles taylor. at 17, he published a report that taylor was using child soldiers in his army. he was forced to flee for his life and was granted political asylum in the u.s. finally able to return home, kimmie splits his time between the u.s. and africa. we have a meeting with the president. she's been waiting for 15 minutes. thank you. [♪] okay, there's a dress code to go to the president's office. i've got sneakers and shorts on. [♪]

it's a dress code violation. look at that. chucks. wearin' chucks to the president's office. is it my sneakers and the shorts? i think it's the legs. it's embarrassing. i didn't know that we were going to meet the president. but, basically, yeah, you have to wear-- like, there's a dress code. meanwhile, the car's broke down. [guy]: basically, maya's got about 15 minutes to try and get some presidential gear. do you think we're going to make it? is it worth it, by the time we go there, and then if we still can't get in? this is, like, a crash course in liberian fashion. no electricity in the shop. i can't see anything. i like this, but i need the bottom to this. there's no mirror, huh? with the hearts, no? all right, is there somewhere where i can put it on? where do i get changed? oh, my god. i definitely think

there needs to be a thing like this. wait! i need a belt. i want a belt. i was inappropriately dressed for a female, so i got kicked out of the president's palace, which was really important for me, because i needed to be told, so i had to turn up, basically, looking like my mom going to church. oh, my god. [♪] [beeping] [guy]: more appropriately dressed, we're ushered in to meet president ellen johnson-sirleaf. [♪] well, welcome back. thank you. good to see you again. it's not often that one finds a young person like you who dedicates himself to helping young children. it's exceptional. you've helped me carry out my campaign promise-- to make the children smile again.

thank you. it's an honour. thank you very much. [guy]: our visit is short, but it's clear that kimmie is a rising star. [guy]: after the visit, we celebrate kimmie's birthday. tomorrow, we tour some of his projects, meet some of the children he's helping, and come face-to-face with the very basic needs he's trying to meet. it's crazy that you'd steal a roof off a school.

[guy]: after going halfway across the world, arriving safely in liberia, and getting a chance to meet with the first female president in africa, we're eager to check out kimmie's work. [weeks]: there were 20,000 child soldiers fighting in liberia. these children were bearing witness to everything. the children saw rapes, they saw killings they participated in them. there were some children i've talked to who had to kill someone in their family. they were forced to do cocaine mixed with gun powder. what that generation experienced, if we don't try to start unravelling it now, it'll come back to haunt the country very, very soon.

[guy]: kimmie's organization, youth action international, is part of the healing process. they're reconstructing schools and orphanages, providing scholarships, and building the first playgrounds in the country. [♪] yo. it's morning in monrovia. streets is already bustling. we're about to head out with kimmie and his crew to check out a school that they work with. all right, schooltime. [♪] [guy]: as we head through the city on our way to check out the school, signs of recovery are everywhere... literally. we're going to beki primary school. we decided to help them build a new school because they are one of the only schools in the area, so they've got tonnes of students, and it's really, really crammed. [cheering wildly] [cheering continues] oh, my god.

[cheering] [♪] [guy]: we meet the principal, and he invites us to take a look around. [children]: how are you this afternoon? i'm fine, thank you, and you? [children]: very well, thank you. how do they manage? i mean, i'm, like, standing here for, like, a few seconds, and the sun... that's crazy, that you'd steal a roof off a school. the tarp, yeah. that's quite crazy. [children]: how are you this afternoon? fine, thank you. how are you? very well, thank you! good. you can all sit down. [guy]: the school's got 600 kids crammed into six rooms, no roof, no windows, limited supplies,

but it's got heart. [children singing] [♪] whoo! yay! yay! [maya]: the kids are, like, sweating, it's so hot. i don't know how you can cope or concentrate or learn anything in this heat. [♪] i studied art, and i was an artist for a long time before i was a singer, and it's, like, my favourite class, so we're going to stay. i kind of want to sit in the back of the class. [guy]: they can't see nothing now. look at me. i'm like a giant, like an alien up in here. what are you guys drawing? can you tell me? a chair? okay. [weeks]: let's see yours. [guy]: maya is also a visual artist, and she brought some colour to add to the mix. so we're going to colour in your chairs

and make them fun, okay? great! do you want to draw another one in orange? [♪] so, this is essentially what the new primary school will look like. [guy]: y.a.i. plans to help build five schools in liberia in the next three years. they have similar plans for orphanages, and are hatching an agricultural project that will employ former child soldiers. almost all of the staff are under 25, and their shoestring budget comes from kimmie's u.s. speaking tours and individual donations. are you guys ready? let's go! bye. [all shouting] i think school's out for the day. [♪] [guy]: y.a.i.'s unique playground project was viewed as a low priority by other organizations, but kimmie has insisted on the importance of play as a way of healing. [children]: five... six... seven...

eight... nine... [cheering] [guy]: this playground, the first in post-war liberia, opened in the summer of '06. [weeks]: that was a huge day. there were well over a thousand children, and when we finally cut that ribbon and they just flooded in to the playground... long queues for swings and slides. these were children who, because of the war, had never seen a swing. they had never seen a slide. [children laughing] [♪] whoa! [pretends to vomit] that was really fast! i'm getting off. [guy]: everybody get a turn. do you want to get on? go on, then. [maya]: when there is just so much, like, basic things missing, the last thing you're going to think is building playgrounds for children, but i think it's important to play and interact with other kids, and learn, and just letting children be children.

[guy]: the emotional traumas created by the war run deep. how old were you during the war? did you guys lose any family? two? who died from you? how did it happen? she got lost from your mom? yes. wow. how did you used to manage for food? for how long? i mean, i can't even imagine. i mean, a lot of people, if they don't eat for one day, they'll be crying. you were brave. there are children fighting during the war, right? yes. what kind of message you got for some of those children who might want to go back?

new liberia. [♪] [guy]: the playground got so worked over by the kids that in less than two weeks, the merry-go-round sunk. routine maintenance is a must, and we're here to pitch in. where's the brushes? red... silver/grey. we don't like grey. we can make pink out of red and white. there you go. who wants to help me? all right, so you're going to start with this bar. all right, you do this whole bar. [♪] joseph is getting the yellow paint. i think we might get this done fast. all right. i think its important to support someone like kimmie who understands it's important to rebuild liberia, to kind of say, "yeah, we're getting on with it. "we want playgrounds, "we want youth clubs, we want cinemas, we want all the things everyone else has got." it's definitely fixable. it's solveable,

whereas, where i come from, it isn't yet. [guy]: while we're hooking up the playground, a cultural group keeps the vibe going. [♪] [weeks]: i would like for liberian children to have a better life, a brighter future... and i'm happy to be a part, in a small way, of making that happen. [guy]: tomorrow, we hit the markets... should we go to the shop? ...throw a block party, and get some real monrovia street flavour from the kids in the 'hood. ♪ 4real... 4real... 4real 4real... ♪

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that's going on through everyday people for more information about linkasia, visit linkasia.org [guy]: our last day in monrovia, we decide to throw a block party and let the kids in liberia represent. i wanted to be able to go somewhere and let kids know that if you find a way to express yourself, it is, like, an instant gratification, and you get a fix, and you feel happy. it's like a dialogue. you know, as an artist, i always want to put a real face to what i do, you know, and try and rep people like that, because it's important. [♪] [guy]: we head to the market to pick up some party favours. all right, we're at the old women's market. it's about to go down. people all over the place. we're sticking out like sore thumbs. wow. you want to go up? let's go up the street. yeah, let's go up. let's go up. [♪]

crazy out here. wow! let's go. let's go there. whoo! how much is this? [maya]: when we went to the market, the idea was that we were going to go and buy loads of stuff for the party, and, like, make the kids feel really great, but when we got there, we just got mobbed. it was intense. hi. how's it going? hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! one more, one more, one more. i don't have any change for a 20. how much is this? this isn't, like, the safest or the easiest way to shop. [♪] time to negotiate. we would probably get a better deal if i pretend i'm not here. [arguing] they're arguing about it. look at that. [♪] which one? are you talking about this one? is it working? he's ready to go? this is your truck? yeah. we are going to go have some fun.

okay. okay. [laughing] finally, this is our chance. we riding v.i.p. liberian style. monrovia. let's go! i like the wind, man, it feels nice. [♪] so we got the wheels, we're moving, now we got to get the sound system. okay, this is the end of the line, man. i hope we're here. we got the speakers. we got the mixing... we're in business. [guy]: once the sound's taken care of, we head to the jam. [♪] [maya]: i was looking at liberia and watching the situation. all my artwork was to do with it. i was writing songs. i don't know why, but naturally, that's where my interest was. [music thumping] [guy]: the party gets started with a dance-off. [♪]

[guy]: one of maya's new tracks inspired by liberia is called "world town". ♪ hands up guns out ♪ represent ♪ the world town [♪] ♪ yo! don't be calling me desperate ♪ ♪ when i'm knockin' on the door ♪ ♪ every wall you build ♪ i'll knock it down to the floor ♪ ♪ see me, see me bubbling quietly ♪ ♪ see me, see me... [maya]: world town is... i want to be able to say, "look, we do live in a shantytown, but we can still be fly." we constantly get told that, you know, this is what you have to aspire to being, you have to have the bling, and i wanted to define a new 'hood, which is a ghetto in india is the same as a ghetto in liberia. it's an attitude, and we want to represent the world town. ♪ hands up, guns out

♪ represent the world town ♪ hands up, guns out i'm just grabbing a few photos as we go. it's crazy. ♪ represent the world town represent the world town ♪ [♪] [maya]: we don't want to think that we need a hummer and 200 grand around our neck to feel like we've made it. the pendulum has to swing the other way. it's bigger than that. it's way bigger than that. [♪] [weeks]: yes, you see all the suffering. yes, you see the statistics, and you see the shortages of money and all these problems, but there is also tremendous hope, and i don't think it's blind hope. i think with every passing day, for most people, things get slightly better. it's left with us to continue to support that.

[loud cheering] so we're out. we're going home. i just want to say thanks. if you see the greatness in something, they will be great. and i think i see the greatness in liberia, so i'm just optimistic maybe it does turn out great. you know, sometimes i jump the gun, but i think it's okay to take that chance. whoo! [♪]