Blogs from Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa - page 3

We left the branch a bit later yesterday (15/5); leaving just 10 minutes later can make a world of difference. It took over 2 hours to return to the hotel suddenly appreciating the congestion charge in London. 2 hours of driving through the slums watching how people live, women washing clothes in water running down from the hill, children playing around the drains, men sitting drinking their beer and playing chess and older women sweeping the piles and piles of rubbish that just is never ever going to end because everywhere looks like a landfill site. Men are burning the rubbish and the people are trying to clean it up but the next minute they are dropping it again… It was 6.45pm and I noticed many school children, all in lovely school uniforms looking very smart. ... read more

My Flight into Freetown was delayed by 3 hours due to technical difficulties... this is becoming a habit with me! On arrival we were delayed getting off the plane as the truck that has the stairs on it broke down.... and we are back in Africa :) I came through customs and immigration wanted to check my suitcase, this was fine as I had no dodgy dolls in it this time "passport" he announced in a rather gruff voice. so I said "sure" and I chucked it on the table in front of him... he told me off, apparently I should have passed it to him with my photo ready to be looked at. I apologised and he chalked a red mark on my case and I left to find Abdul, Abdul found me easily - ... read more

I haven’t been to a place in Africa with a sense of progress in the air since I was in Rwanda. Even though it is nowhere near Rwanda’s level, it’s at least a start. It was the week of Sierra Leone’s 50th Anniversary of independence from colonial UK and that added to this uplifting feel. I was excited to reach a country that is now peaceful and before it becomes the eventual packaged tour haven for Europeans. Unlike other nations in West Africa I’ve been to, you really can sense there is a want, a desire for progress and change from the way life has been running. Billboards are everywhere encouraging for a bright future. Corruption wants to be tackled. Tourism is seen as Sierra Leone’s get out clause, informing it’s the “…way to prosperity.” A ... read more

Another picture which upsets me is this photo of one of the amputees. During the civil war many people had limbs amputated and now can only earn their living by begging on the streets and in the market places of Freetown. I will see what it is really like whan I am there... 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