The Youths Want to Be Part of Sierra Leone’s Development. Will the New Government Give its Backing?

“One of the things that made me sad when I went to Sierra Leone was the number of young people I saw in the streets, young people who don’t know what to do with their lives,” said Ishmael Beah, a young Sierra Leonean who gained international fame for a book he wrote about his experiences serving as a child soldier in the war in Sierra Leone.

Speaking recently as a key speaker at a conference on “Youth Empowerment” in the United States, the 27-year-old said that when he saw some of the youths in Freetown he imagined how his life would have been if he hadn’t been given the opportunity to go abroad. He went on: “I would’ve been one of them. I wasn’t smarter than them; it’s just that I just had the opportunity to go to school.”

Ishmael Beah added: “Five years after the end of the civil war in Sierra Leone people are trying to rebuild their lives, but it has been difficult because they do not have the ‘tools’ that they need to do that, especially the young people.”

About 70% of the country’s entire population are young people. Unfortunately, political leaders and policies makers do not appear to give this figure any significance. In fact, it is also apparent that the government has often ignored the urgent need to address the many problems that our young people face today. Many young people will argue that the authorities have also failed to create adequate opportunities for them.

It has been said the rate of poverty predominantly faced by the youths in Sierra Leone stands at about 70%. In other words a young person in Sierra Leone cannot earn up to $1 (£0.50) a day. Unemployment is a nightmare for them and the chances of having a job are very slim indeed.

In the rural areas the situation is even worse. While most of the young people are migrating to the urban areas because of lack of opportunities in their villages, some of them tend to end up skipping school to work in small family farms.

When I visited a village in Sanda, Northern Sierra Leone, early this year, an 18-year-old boy, who works in a farm, told me: “I really wanted to go to school, which could have led to a better future for me and my family. The problem is my family is very poor and I’m the only male child, so I have to work in this small farm to look after my family.”

Mr Akindele Decker, Chairman of the Youth Leaders Sierra Leone (YLSL), the group that organised the conference in the United States, said that their major objective is to inspire young Sierra Leoneans to work towards addressing many problems including public health issues, education, gender equality, and peace and conflict resolution.

In an exclusive interview with Cotton Tree magazine, a British senior MP Tony Baldry, who served as a Tory Minister in the 1990s, gave these weighty words of warning: “If you don’t create sufficient jobs quickly enough, you are going to get large numbers of young men in and around Freetown, who are certainly unemployed, who are going to start getting increasingly frustrated about life. As we see elsewhere in big cities around the world the unemployed youths are going to start getting into criminal activities and that just deters foreign investors from doing business in Freetown.”

It is clear that in the past a lot of young people have been let down to participate in the socioeconomic development of the country. This has been one of the major reasons that led to the increased violence during the civil war.

However, all is not doom and gloom. Beah, in an optimistic tone, said: “You see people don’t have very much, but they are completely happy. People have been able to forgive each other quickly. If what happened in Sierra Leone happened elsewhere, people would not survive it, people would be in therapy for the rest of their lives.”

Beah, a graduate, who moved over to the US in 1998, adapted by an American family, stressed: “We need to work with the young people in Sierra Leone so that they will have that sense of self-worth and self-belief which will foster the drive towards development in Sierra Leone.”

However, he said, with a sense of disappointment, that there is a tendency for young Sierra Leoneans who have achieved a lot outside Sierra Leone to think that they are better than those back home.

The new government’s policy

In its party manifesto, the APC party promised that “true decentralization of political, legislative, economic and administrative functions would encourage the rural population to stay in their localities and participate in the management of their own affairs.” The party also stated that they consider “education as the most important vehicle through which Sierra Leone will develop its human resources.” Consequently, they hope to facilitate, encourage and provide adequate and appropriate education to all the young people of Sierra Leone. It will also promote training and enforce discipline in all educational institutions so that young people will derive the best benefits to equip themselves as responsible citizens for life.”

Beah supports a policy or commitment that equips the young people of Sierra Leone the necessary skill and education that will put them in a good footing in the future. He has even decided to setup a foundation which will give scholarships to young people so that they could go to school and have some education.

It is apparent that Sierra Leonean youths want to be empowered so that they can influence the decisions that affect them, which will also enable them to contribute meaningfully to the development of their country. The question now is will the new APC government back them up? Will the new government create the avenues for the youths to empower themselves and be a force to reckon with in the country?

Photo: Top L-R:Memebers of Young Leaders - SL & Ishmael Beah. Bottom: MP Tony Baldry

Blind School Choir Displayed their Spectacular Talents in the UK

by Unisa Dizo-Conteh

Music has always been used as an effective tool to entertain people and trigger waves of emotions in them. In their recent UK tour, pupil singers of the Milton Margai School for the Blind from Sierra Leone used their musical talent marvellously not only to entertain their audience, but also to trigger in them waves of emotions. This also brought about a deep sense of inspiration, pride, admiration, wonderment and self-satisfaction.

Most of the hundreds of people, if not all, who watched the group perform at the Methodist Central Hall, one of UK’s prominent buildings, which is a few minutes walk from the House of Commons in London, were emotionally blown away.

“Seeing those children perform touched me to the very core” explained Dr Isatu Kamara, who had watched the group perform twice before.

Founded in 1961, the Milton Margai School for the Blind was established to develop pupils with sight impairments in three key areas – speaking English, reading Braille and touch typing.

It was in 1961 that the first Prime Minister of Sierra Leone Sir Milton Margai launched an initiative that would raise funds to construct a building which would provide educational services to the blind.

Owing to their exceptional performance at this year’s UK tour, 25 pupils of the choir, accompanied by 5 members of staff, left an indelible mark on the memory or minds of hundreds of spectators, including Sierra Leoneans in the daispora and tourists from all over the world, who watched their fantastic concerts.

Twenty-year-old Imamurrala Vandy, a pupil of the school for 11 years said: “I feel very happy to entertain people in the UK. We have shown to them that we’ve got the talent and ability to entertain.”

He added: “UK is more receptive to people suffering from disability. The reception is very very marvellous. We went to beautiful places in the UK. This is a very historic moment. People used to think that it would be very difficult for a blind person to be educated. It is a surprise to them… Today I’m here (in the UK) to represent my country.”

But it has not been always smooth for the school. Cotton Tree magazine spoke to a couple of the members of staff that accompanied the pupils. One of them, Rev. Henry Christopher Samuels, 76, who has been serving the school since 1958, and is now chairman of the school, revealed that they received very little funding from the government. He also told me about how the civil war disrupted them immensely.

He said: “during the height of the war bullets were flying everywhere. … Some of the pupils were wounded by bullets; some with minor sight impairments lost their sights for ever.”

Cotton Tree magazine also learnt that some of the pupils even lost some of their relatives and friends during the war.

Barbara Davidson, another member of staff, who revealed that serving the school remains the “best thing” she has ever done in her life, said, “I felt very guilty at leaving the children behind and not knowing how they were,” after she was evacuated in 1997 during a military coup.

Despite the devastative impact of the civil war on the school and the memories of the pupils, the school has been fighting very hard to keep things going. Tremendous support has been coming from compassionate people beyond the shores of Sierra Leone too. One such person is the kind-hearted former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Peter Penfold, who served in our country during the civil war.

Penfold, who was raised to the status of Paramount Chief in Sierra Leone for his relentless and inspirational effort to bring peace to the country, said that his inspiration for giving support to the school was “part of the commitment I have for Sierra Leone.”

Not only is he effectively involved in fundraising activities for the school, he has also written a song for the school, which he sang together with the Blind School choir on stage recently in London

“The objectives for doing the song are three-fold,” said Penfold. “One was to provide a memorable experience for each of the children - to extend the horizon for them to explore the possibilities of the things they could do in their future life. The second objective was for the school - because they need new songs to keep the school going. Third is to provide an opportunity for the audiences, here in Britain, to see and hear the talents of these remarkable children.”

The pupils of the Milton Margia School for the Blind have gone back to Sierra Leone, but their greatest hope is that we show our kindness by supporting them in any way we can to help them build a better future.

If you wish to find out more or wish to make a donation, please go to the following website: http://www.miltonmargaischool.org/

Photo: Top L-R: Pupil - Imamurrala Vandy, Rev. Henry Christopher Samuels. Bottom: former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone Peter Penfold

Dr Kerefa Smart calls for a “United States of Africa”

Dr John Kerefa Smart – who talked about his participation, including Kwame Nkrumah (of Ghana), in the fight for Independence in west Africa has recently stressed the need for a “United States of Africa.”

Making his Keynote speech at an event held by the Sierra Leone Network in the United States, the 92-year-old said that Africa has plenty resources and abundant land space, which could be very useful for its progress.

He strongly feels that the formation of the “United States of Africa,” will be in the best interest for the continent.

He also said that the future of Sierra Leone lies in the hands of the youths.

Photo: Dr John Kerefa Smart

Dr Modupe wants Britain to intensify friendship with Sierra Leone

by Unisa Dizo-Conteh

The Director of the Interdenominational Services for Counselling, Evangelism and Training (DISCET) Canon Dr। Modupe Taylor-Pearce, makes a passionate call for Britain to “intensify the bonds of friendship between Britain and Sierra Leone।”

“We need the people of Britain to continue in the tradition of friendship and to come out in a big way to work with the people of Sierra Leone for development,” he appeals.

Dr. Modupe, popularly known as Uncle Modupe was speaking as Guest of honour at a reception hosted by senior British parliamentarian Tony Baldry at the House of Commons recently.

Dr. Modupe, who founded DISCET in 1998 during the civil conflict as an organ to bring about the spiritual transformation of the hearts and minds of Sierra Leoneans, says the people of Sierra Leone are at the “hour of need.”

The 74-year-old former Director of the West African Exams Council calls for Britain’s “unflinching courage and determination,” characterized by William Wilberforce and others “until success is obtained and Sierra Leone becomes “the best in the world.”

He praises Sierra Leoneans as people of “promise and greatness” because of their resilience and passion for democracy; the end of the civil war and their excellent performances they have shown in British universities.

Photo: Dr Modupe

Welcome to the Cotton Tree Online Magazine.