Of course, I am the first democratically elected woman president in Africa, and that raises a lot of expectations. Because I represent the aspirations of women all over Africa, I must succeed for them. I must keep the door open for women's participation in politics at the highest level. That is both humbling and exciting.

In Liberia, our main obstacle is infrastructure: the lights, the water, the roads. Companies can't operate without those things. And even though we have commitments from our partners, it takes time to turn commitments into cash.

I work hard, I work late, I have nothing on my conscience. When I go to bed, I sleep.

The people of Liberia know what it means to be deprived of clean water. But we also know what it means to see our children begin to smile again, with a restoration of hope and faith in the future.

Our entire judicial system in Liberia has broken down because of the many years of lawlessness, indiscipline and warfare. We need more training to get more qualified judges. We need infrastructural reforms. All of our laws need to be re-examined by a law reform commission.

I just think that unless you have that cohesiveness in the family unit, the male character tends to become very dominant, repressive and insensitive. So much of this comes also from a lack of education.

There is no easy fix or youth unemployment. Partnership between the public and private sectors can make a big difference.