Kou Johnson is a researcher in Liberia. She owns and runs a research firm, the Center for Action Research and Training, and has worked with numerous Western academics and organizations on data collection for a variety of research projects. She has worked with academics from Duke, Cornell, Brown, NYU and Oxford for example and has worked with organizations such as USAID and the World Bank. The projects she has worked on range from studies of sexual and gender-based violence to studies that explore the sources of economic development in Liberia. She has managed numerous field surveys, focus groups, randomized interventions and interviews.

Without her work, numerous studies that have taken place in Liberia would not have been possible. For example, her work directly contributed to Equal Opportunity Peacekeeping by Sabrina Karim and Kyle Beardsley, which has been foundational to the field of gender and peacekeeping, and has directly influenced policy decisions made at the United Nations.

Kou was admitted to the Executive Masters of Science in Social Business and Entrepreneurship program at the London School of Economics. There are not many scholarships for Liberian nationals to study in the United Kingdom, which has made finding the funds for Kou to attend her program even more difficult. Kou cannot attend the program without additional funds, as the cost of the program is well above her income and she has numerous other financial responsibilities, both to her businesses and family she is financially responsible for.

In addition to running her research firm, Kou also owns several small businesses such as a pharmacy and an electricity stand. She also runs a medical clinic in Liberia where she works as a nurse. Obtaining an Executive Master of Science will not only help Kou to further develop her research skills, particularly data analysis, but it will also help her gain additional skills to manage her businesses more effectively. The training Kou receives will also benefit her employees who are young Liberian men and women who are also involved in their own small businesses. Kou plans to bring the training and skills that she obtains through the master's program at LSE back with her to Liberia to train a new generation of Liberian entrepreneurs (an important feat, as nearly all businesses in Liberia are owned by foreigners).

This Go Fund Me is being created to raise the rest of the money that Kou would need for tuition, a trip to London (which is a requirement of the program), and fees for room and board.

No one deserves this opportunity more than Kou. Investing in Kou's education is also an investment in the future of Liberia.