How returning US$ 50,000 changed Emmanuel Tuloe's life

Emmanuel Tuloe, a 19-year-old Liberian, looks incongruous in a class full of pupils at least six years younger than him. But the boy, who once dropped out of elementary school, is happy.

Last year, he was struggling to earn a living as a motorbike taxi driver when he found US$ 50,000 in a mix of US and Liberian notes, wrapped in a plastic bag by the side of the road. He could have easily pocketed this life-changing amount. But he gave it to his aunt to look after and when the rightful owner appealed on national radio for help in finding the cash, Emmanuel came forward.

Mocked by some for his honesty - people laughed at him saying he would die poor - his act earned him generous rewards including a place at Ricks Institute, one of Liberia's most prestigious schools. President George Weah handed him US$10,000 and a local media owner also gave him cash, some of which was raised from viewers and listeners. And the owner of the money that was found donated US$1,500-worth of goods.

A college in the US offered him a full scholarship once he had completed his secondary education. And that is what he is focused on at Ricks, a boarding school set up 135 years ago for the elite of Liberian society descended from the freed slaves who founded the country.

Like many poor Liberian children are forced to do, he dropped out of school at the age of nine to earn some money to help his family out. This was shortly after his father had died in a drowning accident and he went to live with his aunt.

He now has six years of secondary school ahead of him and will be 25 when he graduates. Looking at the future, he wants to study accounting at university:

"To prepare myself to help guide the use of the country's money." – Emmanuel Tuloe.