In Liberia, Sarah McCauley-Weah, a 63-year-old widow who has for a long time been trying get hold of her late husband’s $15-a-month pension, has received almost $500 (£384) from members of the public who heard of her plight after she phoned into a local radio station.

She told The Costa Show, a popular daily breakfast program on Monrovia's Roots FM, that she had been shuttling between government departments for months to try and get hold of the pension.

"I have been going up and down, up and down," she lamented.

Immediately, host Henry P Costa ordered the station's accountants to release some money to the caller. This kicked off what turned out to become a fundraiser and in no time, the show had raised close to $500 for Mrs McCauley-Weah.

"Ooh, I thank them [the donors] very much," she told the BBC.

"I thank God for them, for coming to my rescue and for even giving me food to eat."

Like current President George Weah (no relation), Mrs McCauley-Weah's late husband, Sylvester Weah, played for the national footballer team, The Lone Star, before moving on to work for the National Security Agency.

She said life has been difficult for her and the family since the death of her husband in 2009.

"I am going to use the money to buy bags of charcoal to sell wholesale and earn some money to try to build a little house," Mrs McCauley-Weah said.