Other

BBC World Service Online

Migrated podcast image for: Outlook

Outlook

Factual: Life Stories

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

Outlook: Looking for the Liberian sister I left behind

Magazines & Reviews

Eunice (centre in stripped dress) and Helen Cooper (with sunglasses) (credit: Helene Cooper)

27/05/2019 GMT

Looking for the Liberian sister I left behind

BBC World Service - Outlook, Looking for the Liberian sister I left behind

Civil war separated Helene Cooper from her sister. Years later she went back to find her

Helen Cooper fled Liberia after a bloody military coup, but she had to leave her sister behind. Years later, she decided she had to go back and find her.

Helen Cooper grew up in Liberia, fled during a bloody military coup and arrived in the US as a child refugee. Her background inspired her to become a journalist but there was one question that still needed to be answered: what had happened to the adopted sister she’d left behind?   

After growing up in Singapore, Margaret Leng Tan became the first woman to earn a doctorate from the Juilliard School of Music in the US. Her career then shrank to a place she didn't expect when she became the world’s first professional toy piano virtuoso. Outlook’s Tara Gadomski went to meet her and and her 30 miniature pianos. 

Lo Man Kam is a Kung Fu master who practises a style of the martial art known as Wing Chun. As a teenager, he even trained with the screen legend Bruce Lee. Although he's now in his late 80s, people still travel from around the world to take his classes.

Image: Eunice (in stripped dress) and Helen Cooper (with sunglasses) 
Credit: Helene Cooper

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Outlook

Looking for the Liberian sister I left behind

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service