Published: September 7, 2026
The hardest part was not the leaving. It was walking into a room where nobody expected her to already know anything.
Saywhar Nana Gbaa had built a career on knowing how to find things out. She had learned to ask, to research, to listen for what a person was not saying. Then she left journalism for diplomacy and had to start the whole process over on herself.
By Destiny Jabula
“I had to become a learner again, to listen, observe, ask questions, and embrace a new environment,” said Saywhar, now assistant minister for public affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She was not certain it would work. She wondered whether she would adapt, and whether anything she had built in the newsroom would count for much at a table where national interests are negotiated.
“I learned that fear should not always stop you,” she said. “Sometimes, it simply means you are stepping into a new space where growth is possible.”
Before the title
Long before the appointment, there was a girl her family raised on hard work, discipline, respect and perseverance, and who could not stop asking questions about the people around her.
“I was simply Saywhar, a young girl with dreams, curiosity, and a desire to make something meaningful of her life,” she said.
That curiosity took her into journalism, where she found she liked the part of the job that has nothing to do with bylines: sitting with people and learning what their lives are actually like.
The newsroom taught her the rest. It taught her to listen before speaking, to research past the surface, and that a platform is not a personal possession.
“Journalism taught me the importance of listening, empathy, research, and responsible communication,” she said. “It showed me that having a platform comes with the responsibility to inform people accurately and thoughtfully.”
Not a departure
As her interest in national and international affairs deepened, diplomacy began to look less like a different profession than a different room in which to do the same work. She did not consider it an exit.
“I see the transition not as leaving journalism behind, but as an evolution of my career,” she said.
The skills came with her. Asking the right question, reading a room, working under pressure, holding several perspectives at once without collapsing them into one. In diplomacy, where relationships turn on what is heard as much as what is said, one lesson has outlasted all the others.
“Most importantly, it taught me that effective communication is not just about speaking; it is about understanding others,” she said.
At the table
Saywhar is conscious of what it means to be a woman in the rooms where Liberia’s relationships with other countries are shaped. She calls it an honor and a responsibility, and notes that women have historically been kept out of those rooms. But she is exact about the terms on which she wants to be counted.
“I want to be recognized not simply because I am a woman, but because I am competent, prepared, and able to contribute,” she said.
Representation, in her view, is not a matter of seat-filling. It is a matter of what gets asked.
“We are strategic thinkers, negotiators, decision-makers, and problem-solvers,” she said. “I believe the greatest value is diversity. When people with different experiences sit at the same table, they can ask better questions and make better decisions.”
She hopes young Liberian girls watching from outside will draw the obvious conclusion, which is that the table is not reserved.
Seasons, not balance
Behind the appointment is a support system readers never see, and Saywhar says she would not have arrived without it. Family and loved ones carried her through the uncertain stretches.
“Behind every achievement is often a support system that people do not see,” she said.
On the question every working woman gets asked, she declines to pretend she has solved it.
“I am still learning,” she said.
What she has stopped doing is measuring every day against an equal split. Some seasons take more from her career, others from her family, and she has stopped treating that as failure.
“My career is important, but it is only one part of who I am,” she said. “Meaningful relationships, personal growth, and peace of mind matter too.”
What she would tell a young woman
Her advice starts with preparation, education, skills and the company a woman keeps. It ends somewhere more pointed.
“Do not be afraid to reinvent yourself,” she said. “Changing direction does not mean you have failed; sometimes, it means you have grown.”
And do not stand around waiting to be invited.
“Do not wait for someone else to create a space for you. Prepare yourself, recognize your opportunity, and step into the room with confidence.”
The journalist did not disappear when Saywhar walked into the ministry. She took the curiosity, the discipline and the listening ear to a different table.
“Your starting point does not determine your destination.”
Discussion about this post