Main content

Looking for the Liberian sister I left behind

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

Available now

53 minutes

Last on

Tue 28 May 2019 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 27 May 2019 11:06GMT
  • Mon 27 May 2019 15:06GMT
  • Mon 27 May 2019 17:06GMT
  • Mon 27 May 2019 20:06GMT
  • Tue 28 May 2019 02:06GMT
  • Tue 28 May 2019 03:06GMT

Contact Outlook

Contact Outlook

Info on how we might use your contribution on air

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary

Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected