WHY ME IN SIERRA LEONE?

When I told people that I was going to Sierra Leone, they knew it was in Africa but knew nothing else, unless I mentioned the Leonardo DiCaprio movie Blood Diamond or Ishmael Beah’s best seller book A Long Way Gone – Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. Yes, Sierra Leone is in Africa.  It has blood-soaked diamonds. And ten years of brutal civil war had a devastating impact on the society, especially on child soldiers.

There is no doubt that what these media productions highlighted about the country is largely correct. Nevertheless, my visit gave me insight into individual people-their culture, and daily lives

This visit was an eye-opener for me. I looked through my camera’s lens and saw the vivid light in the eyes of children, the stories written in details on silent faces. As I lived with beautiful people, sharing emotions and life with them, my eyes started to see things differently. I realized how we let minor things affect us while there is much to appreciate and enjoy. I learned to use only as much water as I needed and not waste one drop of it. I witnessed that if an illiterate 16 year old girl wants to learn, she can do it, no matter what the conditions are. If she has a lot of housework, she finishes it all and then studies late at night after serving dinner. It does not matter if there is no light; she has a candle. If she doesn’t have a notebook, there is an abundance of leaves outside the house that she can write on.

When people enter a huge shopping mall, they think about what they do not possess and what more they can possess. This visit has taught me to make the best out of what I have and feel satisfied with that. I know I will keep this feeling with me forever.  My goal in designing this website is to reflect what I saw in Sierra Leone with my own eyes and give some awareness to others about the country.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Sierra Leone is a West African country which abuts the North Atlantic Ocean between Guinea and Liberia. It was named “Lion Mountain” by a 15th century Portuguese explorer.Its population is approximately six million (July 2007 est.).  The official language is English, however regular use is limited to the literate minority. Mende is the dominant dialect in the south, Temne is the principal dialect in the north and Krio, which was spoken by the freed slaves who were settled in Freetown area, is the main dialect in Freetown but understood by the majority of the population. 
Sierra Leone diamonds are well-known as diamonds of excellent quality. However, the country is also rich in other minerals such as titanium ore, iron and gold. One would think a country with an abundance of natural resources would be self sufficient. But the fact is Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world with remarkable inequity in income distribution. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) publishes the Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and enrollment in schools) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity and income). The HDI for Sierra Leone gives the country a rank of 177th out of 177 countries with data. 
The country does have assets that could be developed which hopefully would raise its population’s standard of living.  Developing a tourism industry would be a possibility, given the beautiful tropical beaches. There are, however, considerable political, social and economic obstacles that would need to be overcome. The country is slowly getting back on its feet after emerging from the devastating prolonged civil war.

BRIEF HISTORY

Sierra Leone was one of the first destinations of the Europeans in West Africa. It was first visited by Portuguese navigators in the 1400’s. The British traders became prominent by the 17th century. In 1787 the British helped four hundred freed slaves from the United States, Nova Scotia, and Great Britain returned to Sierra Leone to settle in what they called the "Province of Freedom. This settlement was joined by other groups of freed slaves and soon became known as Freetown. In 1792, Freetown became one of Britain's first colonies in West Africa. Freetown and the western region became a British colony in the beginning of 1800s.Sierra Leone was a British Colony from the early 19th century until 1961. It became a republic ten years later, in 1971.  Between 1991 and 2002 there was a civil war during which at least 16,000 people died. The aftermath of this conflict continue to affect the lives of Sierra Leone's people.