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Sierra Leone is Still Waiting for a Freedom of Information Law

In Sierra Leone, Trainer, Uncategorized,
by dvanderlinde February 6, 2012

Though the government of Sierra Leone has been making very public displays of initiatives that aim to promote transparency, since even before the current government came into power in 2007, there have been discussions about if and how to go about creating a Freedom of Information (FOI) Law. Generally speaking, the purpose of FOI legislation [...]

Tagged as: Damon van der Linde, FOI, freedom of information, Sierra Leone, transparency

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Community Radio Puts Local News First

In By Country, Sierra Leone, Trainer,
by dvanderlinde January 30, 2012

The people of Port Loko, Sierra Leone used to get news about their town from radio stations in the capital even though they had their own community radio station. In November 2011, I left my home in Freetown to teach a workshop at Radio Bankasoka, a community radio station in Port Loko, which is the [...]

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Freetown workers protest after six months without salaries

In Sierra Leone,
by Jessica McDiarmid January 27, 2012

Story by: Jessica McDiarmid & Poindexter Sama Annie Kargbo has spent the last 18 years sweeping the streets of Freetown, earning up to 100,000 Leones (about $22) per month. She used that to buy items to sell, which made her a little more money; enough, at least, to keep her grandson in school and some [...]

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The Road from Here

In By Country, Sierra Leone,
by dvanderlinde January 9, 2012

The road from the Sierra Leonean town of Kenema to the Liberian border is not the smoothest ride in the country, but it may be one of the more interesting ones. The road is an unpaved dirt trail that winds eighty kilometres though the thick jungle and swampy lowlands of the Gola Rainforest. I left [...]

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Five Human Rights Stories that Made Headlines in Sierra Leone in 2011

In By Country, Job Type, Sierra Leone, Trainer,
by dvanderlinde January 9, 2012

In the past year, the Sierra Leonean government has been working to change the image of the country from that of civil war, Blood Diamonds and mass amputation to one that is peaceful and ready for large-scale international investment. Many say that the elections in November 2012 will be a landmark moment for Sierra Leone’s [...]

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Maintaining Community in Women’s Prison

In By Country, Sierra Leone, Trainer, Uncategorized,
by dvanderlinde December 19, 2011

I visited Freetown’s prison for women with Martha Kargbo, jhr’s first BBC World Service Trust Fellow in Sierra Leone. She is producing a feature on how women behind bars maintain contact with their families and communities. What we found is that they often have very little contact with the outside world. Phone calls are difficult [...]

Tagged as: community, prison, Sierra Leone, women

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A note from Sierra Leone

In Jenny's Dispatches, Sierra Leone,
by Jenny Vaughan February 10, 2011
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With two journalism trainers in place, jhr kicks off the new year in Salone with a flurry of activities planned for 2011 By Jenny Vaughan “This is a place that’s full of potential,” says jhr country director Stephen Douglas as we walk through a rugged, hollow building that used to house Sierra Leone’s state-run broadcster [...]

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Finding Kumba Kamara

In Sierra Leone, Trainer,
by RBorlase May 27, 2010
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The first time I saw Kumba Kamara, she was slumped on a mat by the side of her house. Her right foot and calf were wrapped in a filthy cloth that oozed yellow pus and smelled like it was rotting. Her tiny baby cried, but she didn’t have the energy to lift him. Kumba told [...]

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On the Road in Sierra Leone

In IYIP Rights Media Internships, Sierra Leone,
by Jessica McDiarmid January 22, 2010

 The sky was just beginning to lighten as the roar of a motorcycle drew near. Moments later, there was a light tap at the door. “He’s here,” said the young man who runs a guesthouse in the diamond-studded eastern Sierra Leonean town of Kenema. Out on the street, motorcycle driver Abraham Bungara balanced my [...]

Tagged as: motorcycles, roadtrip, Sierra Leone

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