jhr | Our Success Stories! — One story can change the world.

by Pia Bahile Getting There “By the time you get on the plane, you’ve worried yourself out,” says Jessica McDiarmid. “You’re just like, ‘Whatever happens, happens.” That’s how McDiarmid recalls July 8, the day that she left Canada for Ghana with nine other young journalists. The ten young people were on their way to media [...]

Media pushes for investigations against police in multiple shootings

On April 21, 2006, four people were shot dead in a police chase to catch alleged robbers in another car. Apparently, the local police shot the victims of the crime rather than the perpetrators. One month later another boy was shot in front of his home by police in yet another pursuit to catch robbers. [...]

Photographers take to the streets of Sierra Leone

In August 2009, jhr’s former Country Director in Sierra Leone, Stephen Douglas, met the Indigenous Photographers Union of Sierra Leone, a group of 60 photographers hoping to learn more about photography as a career. Douglas began conducting workshops on photographic technique, composition, business and ethics and ended the class with a field trip through town. [...]

Educational trips to Bunce Island in Sierra Leone hope to attract tourism of the slave port

For many years, Bunce Island – the main slave port from Sierra Leone to North America and Europe – has been left in ruins. Sierra Leoneans consider the island a source of pride because of all the survivors of slavery but upon searching the grounds, journalists, students and teachers see that Bunce Island could use [...]

Q & A: Why One Overseas Trainer Decided To Continue Giving Back

Interview conducted by Aileen Doyle, 2010 Greg Crompton is a former jhr trainer who worked in Sierra Leone. Since his return to Canada Mr Crompton has become one of jhr’s major donors. I sat down with Mr Crompton to find out more about his experience overseas, and what motivated him to continue his support for [...]

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President launches Liberia’s first radio station for women

In August 2010 the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited jhr’s partner radio station LWDR (Liberia Women Democracy Radio), Liberia’s first radio station for women. jhr trainer Tamasin Ford has been working with local journalists for several months to create a radio station that empowers women and tackles gender issues. “You don’t hear much [...]

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Boy receives assistance from Children’s Aid after losing his family’s donkey

... from Ghana

In July of 2007, a young boy, who lived two hours from Radio Justice in Tamale, was chased out of his family’s home because he lost the family’s donkey. When he tried to return home, his uncle refused him saying that he may only go back if he finds the lost donkey. The boy decided [...]

Maternity hospital turns its power back on after pressure from The Concord Times

A maternity hospital in Sierra Leone was left without power for two weeks. This caused several deaths and because mosquitoes were drawn to the hospital, many people contracted malaria. Mafereh Kargbo, a patient at PCMH, mentioned the lack of involvement from government officials. “The three political parties need to come here and see how people [...]

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Government discussion turns to issues of the disabled in Sierra Leone

It is estimated that 450,000 disabled people are living in Sierra Leone. This includes the blind, deaf, people with polio, and the war wounded and amputees. At present, the government does not provide anything specifically for people living with disabilities. This story profiles disabled street beggars, and takes a closer look at their daily struggle, [...]

Sierra Leonean journalist wins human rights award

Rachel Horner, a Sierra Leonean and jhr-trained journalist, was honored in 2008 with a jhr award for outstanding performance and lasting contribution to the field of investigative and human rights reporting in Sierra Leone. She was also selected to attend an international conference on Global Investigative Journalism in Norway. Horner, also the Secretary General of [...]