Sierra Leone: My Personal Connection With The Country

Sierra Leone is mainly a mining country, this caused it to be colonized and for their own native people being used as slaves in their mines. This shaped its social development by making it a far higher concentration of natives than other countries. But, because of their enslavement and American control until recently, literacy rates and per capita GDP are disturbingly low. Politically, though, it’s more stable than most countries in this case.

Sierra Leone is a small country found on the west coast of Africa. The country shares a border with the Atlantic Ocean, Liberia, and Guinea. Sierra Leone has a population of 5,525,000 people, and 27,699 square miles of land. In 1462 Freetown, Sierra Leone was founded by Pedro da Cintra, a Portuguese explorer from Lagos, Portugal. da Cintra originally named the country Sierra Lyoa , the Lion Mountains, but in 1787 the British officially adopted Sierra Lyoa changing its name to its modern day spelling- Sierra Leone. This small country has faced many horrors within its history. The Sierra Leone civil war is a major contributing factor to the country’s current state of poverty and corruption. Most problems that the country faces today all stem

Being a member of a hard-working class and visiting Haiti, I’ve witnessed the socio-economic conditions that plague my community such as health shortfalls that could’ve been eradicated with education and ingenuity. Born to a Haitian immigrant, in a single parent home, I’ve learned to appreciate the structure and close-knit community that has shaped my outlook on life and define the person I am. In Haiti, every immediate neighborhood, every adult became your parent and transferred into every aspect of my life. This ideology derives from Haiti’s national saying “L’Union Fait La Force”, which means “Unity Makes Strength”. You could not pass a village or neighborhood in Haiti without a woman -- no matter the age -- carrying out food and a bucket

In 2011, I traveled to my hometown in Haiti to reconnect with friends and family. It was great to be back home and I got to enjoyed the food, music and spend quality time with family. What stood out the most during this trip was I witnessed nurses and doctors giving out medicine, vaccines and providing medical advice to the community. Seeing this prompted me to approach the doctors, who informed me of Doctors without Borders, an organization I would like to volunteer with once I become a physician. I agree with their mission and want to be part of a world-wide humanitarian organization.

Sierra Leone is a country located on the west coast of Africa in between present day Guinea and Liberia. To the left is an image Sierra Leone and its bay depicted on a map. Sierra Leone was only discovered by the Europeans in the 15th century and at that point it was only a small Portuguese colony based around the slave trade and some timber export. There are about 16 ethnicities in Sierra Leone with two major groups, those being the Temne and the Mende. (Ross, 2002)

A dream of a tropical land to be opportune with facilities like beaches, swamps, beautified agricultural outlook, food, nice climate, natural resources, and a blend of cultural traditions, one may sleep beside Sierra Leone and Liberia in order to live in the reality of such a dream. Regardless of the fact that these two countries being West Africans, they share a few similarities, but are parted by some differences, which make each country unique.

Sierra Leone is a country with much history. It has many historical sites and great mines that contain so much “treasure”. Its economy is still growing and they’re trying to improve themselves. They’re a diverse country with different ethnic groups and languages but socially and culturally they can agree on the way they eat, what type of music they like, and what they do for fun. This country is unique and is growing from the past to a modern future.

As I stepped off the plane I thought to myself; Am I really about to step off the plane into the poorest country? Was I prepared for a week in Haiti? Looking back Haiti challenged me more than I have ever been challenged before; physically, mentally, and emotionally.

My service learning activity took place overseas on a small island named Haiti. I took the trip with Sister Victoria and five other people. In my short time there I grew a deeper appreciation for all that we have here in the United States. For instance, clear water, readily accessible medical resources, and so much more. Additionally, to a growing deeper appreciate, my team and I did a lot of activities there to help the community of Jacmel. For example, we visited several orphanages within the surrounding communities and helped with meal preparations, feedings, and ADLs. In addition to visiting orphanages, we also had the opportunity to work in the clinic where myself and the rest of our team helped with taking vital signs, general assessments, and wound care. Furthermore, we had the opportunity to visit several hospitals and clinics are were able to drop off medical supplies that the hospital/clinic needed. Lastly, we accompanied Sister Margaret to do home health visits in nearby neighborhoods.

I went on a trip this summer to Maui, Haiti with my family for a mission trip. My mom has been going for over five years now and she loves the experiences each time we go as much as I do. This summer was my first time traveling to Haiti and I already fell in love with the place and people there. When I first landed in the Haitian airport, I already could see such a dramatic change they have there and how different an airport looks in America. My family and I went outside after our bags were checked and met up with my moms best friend, Arnold. When I met him I was so happy to finally see him and talk to him since my mom knew him for so long. From there I knew my next three weeks here will be the best and most amazing experiences I will ever have.

I began my research by looking into how long the war was. Starting in the year 1991 the RUF was formed by guerrilla units joining with dissidents from around Sierra Leone. The war was then declared over in 2002 in a statement after the reelection of Kabbah in freetown. “On May 15, 2001, the Sierra Leone government and the rebels once again agreed to stop fighting and began to disarm… By the beginning of 2002, disarmament was complete. This time there was no blanket amnesty.” (Sierra Leone: Lasting Peace or Cruel Mirage?) To fuel a war for two decades there needed to be a source of income. Looking into it, Sierra Leone was rich in diamonds. Not only did they produce diamonds, there were, “One of the world’s largest producers of diamonds, the country is also rich in such minerals as chrome, bauxite, iron ore, and rutile.” (Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia). These minerals were used to fuel the rebels with guns and ammunition that were shown prominently throughout the country. They also found loopholes to getting weaponry like abusing the disarmament system. They would get money for turning in their guns and in exchange get the equivalence of 300 US dollars. However this usually resulted in the money being used for buying better weaponry. “..many rebels have turned in their guns during disarmament proceedings, only to use the US$300 they were given for obsolete weapons to buy newer and

External forces have had a significant impact upon Sierra Leone's current level of development. The legacy of cultural contact, debt burdens, militarisation and dependency on development assistance have all impacted on the country. Sierra Leone was a former British Colony from 1787 and became independent in 1961. Since Independence Sierra Leone has face many debt burdens. In 1970 their debt was $59 million, in 1990 it was $433 million and from 1990 to 2000 it reached 1.2 billion. These debt burdens mean that the country was more reliant on exporting their resources to pay back this

The pain and suffering of the families in Uganda reach to the hearts of people throughout the world. Not only are these children lost to their families physically, but are stolen from their hearts and memories as well. Kony, dreadful leader of his group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), have caused pain and suffering to hundreds of men, women and children over the course of around 30 years (Russel, 2015). Kony and his followers of forcibly armed child soldiers have abducted, murdered, and tortured adults as well as other children in or from their homes (Russel, 2015). In 2012 a campaign was launched to bring awareness to Kony and bring him down (Russel, 2015). It was a huge hit almost instantaneously, but Kony is still out there. If Kony is

Freetown was one of the first West African colonies of Great Britain, and it is now the capital of Sierra Leone. Like other African nations that had been colonized, the people of Sierra Leone struggled for independence for almost 300 years. Colonies of Great Britain in West Africa gained independence between 1956 and 1968. Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961 with the help of chief minister Sir Milton Margai, and his political party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party. In the years that have followed Sierra Leone’s independence from Great Britain, the country has remained underdeveloped, and poverty has lowered the quality of life for Sierra Leoneans.

Sierra Leone is located on the West Coast of Africa, its history dates back to 1462 when a Portuguese explorer named Pedro da Cintra detailed his adventures along the coast and came up with the name “Sierra Lyoa” meaning Lion Mountains (the Sierra Leone Web, 2011). There are three provinces and sixteen