Why Sierra Leone

WHY SIERRA LEONE

Sierra Leone is a small country in West Africa, named for the rolling green hills that surround its expansive harbor. It has the oldest university in West Africa and was renowned for its educational system. There exists a diversity of tribes, religions, and cultural traditions that thrive together. Sierra Leone has a treasure of traditional knowledge in medicine and agriculture. However, since the discovery of diamonds in the Eastern and Southern districts in the 1930s, the people of Sierra Leone have suffered from the "resource curse": an abundance of natural resources, yet low economic development due to government and corporate corruption.

A decade-long civil war broke out in 1991. The war was made longer and more violent because both the Sierra Leonean government and the rebelling "Revolutionary United Front" (RUF) were funded by "blood diamonds" mined with slave labor. The RUF was notorious for atrocities against civilians, including amputation of arms and legs with machetes. Villages were decimated. 1,270 primary schools were destroyed. Over 50,000 people lost their lives.

The war officially ended in 2002. The disabled are considered unfit for work and a drain on society. Almost two decades later amputees and their families still live in makeshift "amputee camps" set up by NGOs during the war. Many can't afford to send their able-bodied children to school in nearby towns. Thus, the war casts its shadow over the next generation. Or as the Temne proverb says, "You will not see the importance of a well until a river runs dry."

Those who have survived cherish dreams of a better future.

Sheku Mansaray and Hands On Sierra Leone are part of the future.