It has been awhile–two years. I left Sierra Leone in 2014 not knowing at the time that Ebola had just brought her misery to the country. I recall that $1 U.S. dollar bought something close to 4200 Leones–today you can get 7400 Leones on the street. I’ve maintained contact with my close friends and the […]
Trashing the bed…
Of the scores of photos I’ve taken in Africa, there is one that stays with me. It is a photo of the labour and delivery bed in the clinic in Sumbuya, Sierra Leone. The leather itself seems anguished–worn in places–torn in others. If you look closely enough you can almost hear the voices of the […]
To my friends in Sierra Leone
In March of this year I was in an airport lounge in Brussels, getting caught up on world news after my most recent trip to Sierra Leone, when I first read that ebola had entered the country through neighbouring Guinea. I’ve logged many calls with my Sierra Leonean friends since then. I am fully aware […]
The girls and boys kidnapped by Boko Haram…
By now anyone who can read or watch the evening news is aware of the kidnapping of hundreds of girls in Nigeria by the extremist Islamist group, Boko Haram. Celebrities tweeted their disgust, members of the Nigerian diaspora marched in cities around the world and politicians expressed their support for the government of Goodluck Johnathan. […]
Return to Sierra Leone Part 2…let there be (solar) light
The welcome in Sumbuya began at Salima, at the eastern section of the village. Singing school children, drums, dancers. Everyone paraded through the village to the official welcome at the school hall. The highlight was the G’boi, a raffia covered bush devil. He danced in the street and on the hall stage, at one point […]
When life imitates art….Part 1
This is the first of a three part post on my recent trip to Sierra Leone. This story, about a car breakdown, is eerily similar to a scene in My Heart is Not My Own. I’ve returned to Sierra Leone. Cartons of solar lights for girls and their teachers. Reading kits for primary to middle […]