Blogs from Sierra Leone, Africa - page 6

The scene is perfectly set amongst the green hills looking right down on the palm tree coast and golden sands that stretch for miles. To see such a virgin coast line this beautiful is rare in the world. You can find places similar but not this expansive and untouched by property developers and tourists. Civil War and corrupt governments need to be thanked for that. It has left Sierra Leone off the tourist radar but with this attraction surely with long lasting peace it won’t be long before this part of paradise will be changed forever. This is what it is like now in 2011. I had waited for this moment for a while - A chance to relax on the beaches of Sierra Leone. Since it was Independence Day the lack of accommodation meant I ... read more

A group of Volunteers outside the Centre for the Prevention of Violent Conflict... read more

New Well Being Developed There are a group of Quakers who live in Freetown. They have been helping with the development of a Peace Centre in Rokel . They have dug this well and are waiting for funding for concrete and a pump to complete the process. ... read more

“ow di bodi?” (local greeting) Just spent an incredible 10 days in Sierra Leone and have totally and utterly fallen in love with the country. Right from the moment of landing, I had this amazing buzz of excitement about being there - just such an energetic country at a really interesting stage in its history and development. I was a little nervous and unsure as to what to expect but was most definitely pleasantly surprised and would go back in a flash. Freetown (the capital city) is located on the coast of Sierra Leone and is a city of tremendous character. 2 million, out of a total population of 6 million, people are crammed into the smelly centre, living in an array of shanty towns and old colonial houses, connected by red soiled roads scared by ... read more

Apoto, apoto, apoto!! is one of the main expressions we heard the children yell as we walked through Kabala, a city located 312km into the provinces. Along with two friends, I took a government bus (for Le20,000 / $5) from Freetown to the provinces. The 6 hour bus ride that was supposed to leave at 6AM, didn't leave until 7:30AM. I should have known, could have gotten an extra hour of sleep. Anyway, the drive upcountry was beautiful! It's nice to see the scenery change. The more north you go, the more hills and mountains you see. While in Kabala, we stayed at Sengbeh Guesthouse, run by a really nice man, who sent us bohku (a lot) of mangos after settling into our rooms. There's not much to do around town, since it's a lot smaller ... read more