Living spaces in Liberia

How "middle-class" live. Notice the tin roofs, common coverings even for the relatively rich; the backyard trash heap, a gaseous garbage disposal; the decaying apartment complex, drooping from years of disrepair and several seasons of Liberia's diluvian downpours.

How the urban poor live. The urban poor live in one of two structures: either in stand-alone shacks or in single-story apartments. The shacks are makeshift structures with wooden walls and mixed-material roofs, most often of rusty tin and tarpaulin patches. The apartments are made more solidly, with concrete walls and newer tin roofing, but the squalor is the same. The urban poor share a lone toilet, or a stretch of bush or beach, with most of their neighbors. They use the local handpump, which is often untreated, to get water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

How the rural poor live. The rural poor live in mud-daub or mud-brick huts which have rusty tin roofs or palm thatch. They have earthen floors and outdoor kitchens. They draw water from the creek as often as they do from a well. They have no bathrooms. They relieve themselves in town or in the bush. Where urban streets are strewn with litter, rural villages are encumbered by extrement, both human and animal. The potential for health problems is patent.