Sierra Leone to further benefit from cooperation with China: envoy

FREETOWN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Zhao Yanbo has hailed the "deepening political trust" between China and the West African Country.

Speaking to Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the eve of the 45th anniversary of China-Sierra Leone diplomatic relations, the Chinese ambassador pointed out that China and Sierra Leone have always supported each other, both "regionally and internationally."

"Political trust is the rudder that keeps the ship of China-Sierra Leone relations on its right direction," said the ambassador.

The two countries have engaged in robust trade and business cooperation, injecting inexhaustible vigor into bilateral relations, said Zhao, citing that bilateral trade in 2014 hit a record of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The ambassador also described booming people-to-people exchanges as a "solid anchor" in the two countries' relationship.

On China's input in the country's post-Ebola recovery program, Zhao noted that it was China that galvanized the international support for Sierra Leone in the peak of the Ebola crisis and gave the assurance that "China will firmly stand with Sierra Leone in its post Ebola era."

Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koroma presents gold medal awards to the representative of Chinese medical team Wang Yaoping at the State House in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Dec. 18, 2015. The Chinese medical team in Sierra Leone was honored along with over 200 individuals and institutions at a ceremony on Friday for its role in the country's fight against the Ebola virus. (Xinhua)

FREETOWN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Zhao Yanbo has hailed the "deepening political trust" between China and the West African Country.

Speaking to Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the eve of the 45th anniversary of China-Sierra Leone diplomatic relations, the Chinese ambassador pointed out that China and Sierra Leone have always supported each other, both "regionally and internationally."

"Political trust is the rudder that keeps the ship of China-Sierra Leone relations on its right direction," said the ambassador.

The two countries have engaged in robust trade and business cooperation, injecting inexhaustible vigor into bilateral relations, said Zhao, citing that bilateral trade in 2014 hit a record of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The ambassador also described booming people-to-people exchanges as a "solid anchor" in the two countries' relationship.

On China's input in the country's post-Ebola recovery program, Zhao noted that it was China that galvanized the international support for Sierra Leone in the peak of the Ebola crisis and gave the assurance that "China will firmly stand with Sierra Leone in its post Ebola era."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Samura Kamara during their meeting in Beijing, China, June 15, 2016.(Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

Zhao also noted that both countries have agreed to intensify cooperation in the five major fields of health care, mining, production capacity and agriculture and fishery.

He said Sierra Leone would stand to benefit from the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in South Africa in December last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a 60 billion U.S. dollars funding to support China-Africa cooperation.

Currently, China funded or aided projects are already on the ground, he said, citing an example that the Shandong Iron and Steel Group has overcome many difficulties by taking over the African Minerals Ltd operations in Tonkolili district, and has helped to create revenue and jobs for average Sierra Leoneans.

In the health sector, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has sent a team to facilitate the progress of the construction of the West African Tropical Disease Research and Treatment Center in Jui and an office building to house the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

These moves will enhance the country's public health system and strengthen the capacity of prevention and control of various infections like zika and yellow fever, according to the ambassador.

Other projects supported by China like the Mamamah International Airport and the Freetown-Rokel river water supply project will also contribute to the country's post-Ebola recovery program, he added.

China and Sierra Leone established diplomatic relations on July 29, 1971.

Sierra Leone to further benefit from cooperation with China: envoy

FREETOWN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Zhao Yanbo has hailed the "deepening political trust" between China and the West African Country.

Speaking to Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the eve of the 45th anniversary of China-Sierra Leone diplomatic relations, the Chinese ambassador pointed out that China and Sierra Leone have always supported each other, both "regionally and internationally."

"Political trust is the rudder that keeps the ship of China-Sierra Leone relations on its right direction," said the ambassador.

The two countries have engaged in robust trade and business cooperation, injecting inexhaustible vigor into bilateral relations, said Zhao, citing that bilateral trade in 2014 hit a record of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The ambassador also described booming people-to-people exchanges as a "solid anchor" in the two countries' relationship.

On China's input in the country's post-Ebola recovery program, Zhao noted that it was China that galvanized the international support for Sierra Leone in the peak of the Ebola crisis and gave the assurance that "China will firmly stand with Sierra Leone in its post Ebola era."

Sierra Leone's President Ernest Koroma presents gold medal awards to the representative of Chinese medical team Wang Yaoping at the State House in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Dec. 18, 2015. The Chinese medical team in Sierra Leone was honored along with over 200 individuals and institutions at a ceremony on Friday for its role in the country's fight against the Ebola virus. (Xinhua)

FREETOWN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Zhao Yanbo has hailed the "deepening political trust" between China and the West African Country.

Speaking to Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the eve of the 45th anniversary of China-Sierra Leone diplomatic relations, the Chinese ambassador pointed out that China and Sierra Leone have always supported each other, both "regionally and internationally."

"Political trust is the rudder that keeps the ship of China-Sierra Leone relations on its right direction," said the ambassador.

The two countries have engaged in robust trade and business cooperation, injecting inexhaustible vigor into bilateral relations, said Zhao, citing that bilateral trade in 2014 hit a record of 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The ambassador also described booming people-to-people exchanges as a "solid anchor" in the two countries' relationship.

On China's input in the country's post-Ebola recovery program, Zhao noted that it was China that galvanized the international support for Sierra Leone in the peak of the Ebola crisis and gave the assurance that "China will firmly stand with Sierra Leone in its post Ebola era."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister Samura Kamara during their meeting in Beijing, China, June 15, 2016.(Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

Zhao also noted that both countries have agreed to intensify cooperation in the five major fields of health care, mining, production capacity and agriculture and fishery.

He said Sierra Leone would stand to benefit from the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit held in South Africa in December last year when Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a 60 billion U.S. dollars funding to support China-Africa cooperation.

Currently, China funded or aided projects are already on the ground, he said, citing an example that the Shandong Iron and Steel Group has overcome many difficulties by taking over the African Minerals Ltd operations in Tonkolili district, and has helped to create revenue and jobs for average Sierra Leoneans.

In the health sector, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has sent a team to facilitate the progress of the construction of the West African Tropical Disease Research and Treatment Center in Jui and an office building to house the Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

These moves will enhance the country's public health system and strengthen the capacity of prevention and control of various infections like zika and yellow fever, according to the ambassador.

Other projects supported by China like the Mamamah International Airport and the Freetown-Rokel river water supply project will also contribute to the country's post-Ebola recovery program, he added.

China and Sierra Leone established diplomatic relations on July 29, 1971.

Rising Sierra Leonean-American Filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu Debuts a short film 'FLOWERS'

Up-and-coming Sierra Leonean-American filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu and partner Yvonne Shirley have been hitting up the summer film festival circuit in the U.S., promoting their short film Flowers, which they wrote and directed together.

The coming-of-age drama set during a Brooklyn summer about a 17-year-old’s revenge prank gone terribly wrong had its world premiere at the 20th Annual 2016 Black Film Festival in June.

Flowers builds on a streak of success for Jusu, a New York University MFA program graduate, who has received the prestigious NYU Spike Lee fellowship  for her short film Say Grace Before Drowning as well as a Director’s Guild Honorable Mention and a HBO short film award for African Booty Snatcher (2007). Both film projects have been acquired by HBO.

Watch the teaser HereHere

Ghanaian police officer kills his two children, mother-in-law and himself

WARNING: TOO GRAPHIC 

According to a Ghanaian Facebook user who shared the gruesome images on Facebook, a man, Constable Wifred Amuzu with the RDF, yesterday killed his young son, his new-born baby, and his mother-in-law, who was bathing the newborn. According to the post, which wasn't very clear, the woman who had suffered violence in the hands of her man, reported him to his superiors at the police station. Amuzu was detained and locked up for a night and released the next day on bail. They said he went straight home after he was released, with his rifle and killed his whole family. The photos are very graphic and sad...

Watch Michelle Obama's Powerful Speech at DNC

Michelle Obama delivered a powerful speech at the Democratic National Convention Monday where the First Lady focused on the important role the next president will have in molding the future of America's youth.

Michelle Obama's Full DNC Speech (via Time)

Thank you all. Thank you so much. You know, it’s hard to believe that it has been eight years since I first came to this convention to talk with you about why I thought my husband should be president.

Remember how I told you about his character and convictions, his decency and his grace, the traits that we’ve seen every day that he’s served our country in the White House?

I also told you about our daughters, how they are the heart of our hearts, the center of our world. And during our time in the White House, we’ve had the joy of watching them grow from bubbly little girls into poised young women, a journey that started soon after we arrived in Washington.

When they set off for their first day at their new school, I will never forget that winter morning as I watched our girls, just 7 and 10 years old, pile into those black SUVs with all those big men with guns.

And I saw their little faces pressed up against the window, and the only thing I could think was, what have we done?

See, because at that moment I realized that our time in the White House would form the foundation for who they would become and how well we managed this experience could truly make or break them. That is what Barack and I think about every day as we try to guide and protect our girls through the challenges of this unusual life in the spotlight, how we urge them to ignore those who question their father’s citizenship or faith.

How we insist that the hateful language they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country.

How we explain that when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.

With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models. And let me tell you, Barack and I take that same approach to our jobs as president and first lady because we know that our words and actions matter, not just to our girls, but the children across this country, kids who tell us I saw you on TV, I wrote a report on you for school.

Kids like the little black boy who looked up at my husband, his eyes wide with hope and he wondered, is my hair like yours?

And make no mistake about it, this November when we go to the polls that is what we’re deciding, not Democrat or Republican, not left or right. No, in this election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives.

And I am here tonight because in this election there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility, only one person who I believe is truly qualified to be president of the United States, and that is our friend Hillary Clinton.

That’s right.

See, I trust Hillary to lead this country because I’ve seen her lifelong devotion to our nation’s children, not just her own daughter, who she has raised to perfection…

…but every child who needs a champion, kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs, kids who wonder how they’ll ever afford college, kids whose parents don’t speak a word of English, but dream of a better life, kids who look to us to determine who and what they can be.

You see, Hillary has spent decades doing the relentless, thankless work to actually make a difference in their lives…

…advocating for kids with disabilities as a young lawyer, fighting for children’s health care as first lady, and for quality child care in the Senate.

And when she didn’t win the nomination eight years ago, she didn’t get angry or disillusioned.

Hillary did not pack up and go home, because as a true public servant Hillary knows that this is so much bigger than her own desires and disappointments.

So she proudly stepped up to serve our country once again as secretary of state, traveling the globe to keep our kids safe.

And look, there were plenty of moments when Hillary could have decided that this work was too hard, that the price of public service was too high, that she was tired of being picked apart for how she looks or how she talks or even how she laughs. But here’s the thing. What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. She never takes the easy way out. And Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life.

And when I think about the kind of president that I want for my girls and all our children, that’s what I want.

I want someone with the proven strength to persevere, someone who knows this job and takes it seriously, someone who understands that the issues a president faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters.

Because when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military in your command, you can’t make snap decisions. You can’t have a thin skin or a tendency to lash out. You need to be steady and measured and well-informed.

I want a president with a record of public service, someone whose life’s work shows our children that we don’t chase form and fortune for ourselves, we fight to give everyone a chance to succeed.

And we give back even when we’re struggling ourselves because we know that there is always someone worse off. And there but for the grace of God go I.

I want a president who will teach our children that everyone in this country matters, a president who truly believes in the vision that our Founders put forth all those years ago that we are all created equal, each a beloved part of the great American story.

And when crisis hits, we don’t turn against each other. No, we listen to each other, we lean on each other, because we are always stronger together.

And I am here tonight because I know that that is the kind of president that Hillary Clinton will be. And that’s why in this election I’m with her.

You see, Hillary understands that the president is about one thing and one thing only, it’s about leaving something better for our kids. That’s how we’ve always moved this country forward, by all of us coming together on behalf of our children, folks who volunteer to coach that team, to teach that Sunday school class, because they know it takes a village.

Heroes of every color and creed who wear the uniform and risk their lives to keep passing down those blessings of liberty, police officers and the protesters in Dallas who all desperately want to keep our children safe.

People who lined up in Orlando to donate blood because it could have been their son, their daughter in that club.

Leaders like Tim Kaine…

…who show our kids what decency and devotion look like.

Leaders like Hillary Clinton who has the guts and the grace to keep coming back and putting those cracks in that highest and hardest glass ceiling until she finally breaks through, lifting all of us along with her.

That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.

And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.

And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States.

So, look, so don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great, that somehow we need to make it great again. Because this right now is the greatest country on earth!

And as my daughters prepare to set out into the world, I want a leader who is worthy of that truth, a leader who is worthy of my girls’ promise and all our kids’ promise, a leader who will be guided every day by the love and hope and impossibly big dreams that we all have for our children.

So in this election, we cannot sit back and hope that everything works out for the best. We cannot afford to be tired or frustrated or cynical. No, hear me. Between now and November, we need to do what we did eight years ago and four years ago.

We need to knock on every door, we need to get out every vote, we need to pour every last ounce of our passion and our strength and our love for this country into electing Hillary Clinton as president of the United States of America!

So let’s get to work. Thank you all and God bless.

Jitters in Sierra Leone over Sky bank crisis

By kemo Cham

Management of Sky Bank Sierra Leone has expressed outrage at the reaction of some sections of the public to the apparent crisis at its parent bank in Nigeria.

week the bank’s management in Freetown denied as untrue reports that it faced any crisis after the management of Sky Bank Nigeria was dissolved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which regulates the industry. That move caused panic in the banking industry in that country.

Sky Bank [Nigeria]Plc owns 95% stake in its Sierra Leone subsidiary, according to figures on the website of the parent bank.

The regulatory authorities had accused the Nigerian headquartered bank of falling short of critical banking indicators of liquidity and capital adequacy ratios, according to reports.But the regulator’s failure to provide further details for its decision occasioned some persistent concerns even among independent experts in the banking sector.

Later the central bank blamed “mischief makers” for the ensuing panic caused by its action. In a statement,it said the infusion of the new board members and management was just a “proactive regulatory action” meant to ensure that the bank did not fail in its relevant prudential ratios.

“Neither Sky Bank nor any other bank in the industry is in distress,” it said.

Apparently that statement did very little to reassure customers of Sky Bank management in Nigeria, who embarked on a frenzied withdrawal spree of their moneyin fear of the worst.

News of that development became a hot topic on social media in Sierra Leone, where some people have raised concerns over the effect on its subsidiary here. A text message was even composed and sent to Sky Bank customers warning them of the danger.The bank’s management has distanced itself from that “malicious” message.

“This is a registered corporate entity in Sierra Leone that stands on its own. The bank is good, the bank is solid by every credential…There is no problem with Sky Bank Sierra Leone,” Managing Director Peter Falohun said in an interview with the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation as part of a hastily organized press conference.

The Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) had also come up with a statement reassuring the public that the situation in Nigeria had no impact on its Sierra Leone subsidiary.

“Customers of the bank and the general public are assured that Sky Bank Sierra Leone is sound by all prudential parameters and that depositors’ funds are safe,” the statement, signed by the Director of Banking Supervision, Tapsiru Dainkeh, said.

Sky Bank Sierra Leone is one of about 10 commercial banks with ties to Nigerian banks in the country.It boasts of over 4000 customers, according to its Managing Director.

The MD also said that some customers even called the bank asking to remove their monies from the bank after last week’s incident.But he said they were talking to customers, using every platform at their disposal, from telephone to Whatsapp and Facebook to assure them that the text message was “fictitious, malicious and untrue.”

“Sky Bank Sierra Leone is a stand-alone. Yes, it is a subsidiary of Sky Bank Plc, but we maintain a different balance sheet,” Mr. Falohunadded, stressing that: “We are totally independent, except for the fact that they are our parent company.When it comes to running of the bank we have a management team that runs the bank here.”

Sky Bank Sierra Leone last year recorded Le4.1bn profit after tax.The bank said this year, as at last June, it had already made Le4bn profit.Its paid up capital is $3.1 million (Le13.85 billion), according to information on the website of the parent bank.

Besides Sierra Leone and Nigeria, Sky Bank is also present in the Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

African Women Deserve More. : By Jarrah Kawusu-Konte

The theme of the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union summit held in Kigali, Rwanda, “African Year of Human Rights with a particular focus on Women Rights” is a timely focus on the rights of African women. It provides an opportunity to African countries to take stock of the gains made over the years and try to take corrective measures in addressing this all important issue of women’s rights.

There is no gainsaying that the actualization of Africa’s development and prosperity depends largely on the protection and promotion of human rights, especially the rights of women. This was the raison d’etre behind this year’s theme – The Year of Women’s Rights. A number of African countries have taken this very seriously with Rwanda leading the way. Statistics have shown that Rwanda is the first and only country globally where over 60% of its members of parliament are women (Anver Versi, New African, July 2016, pg29).

According to Dr Aisha Abdullahi, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, of the 37 countries in the world that have at least 30% of women Members of Parliament, 16 are in Africa. “Rwanda is currently the leading country with the highest number of women in parliament worldwide,” says Dr Abdullahi.

Being mindful of some of these developments across the continent, the Sierra Leone government has over the years introduced deliberate policies that meet the highest international standards on Human Rights and commitment to Women’s Rights.

In adherence to global and regional commitments, the government has signed and ratified a number of international conventions and protocols relative to upholding human rights and the rights of women including: (a) the International Bill of Rights on Women (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), signed and ratified on 21stSeptember and 11th November, 1988 respectively; (b) the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1985; (c) the African Union Heads of State Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality adopted in 2005; (d) the African Union Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa adopted in Maputo in 2003 and Ratified by Sierra Leone in 2015.

At the national level, it is clear from the testimonies of many women’s rights activists that Sierra Leone has embarked on creating a conducive policy environment for the promotion of Gender Equality and Women’s empowerment. Legislative reforms and policies enacted to promote Gender equality and Women’s Empowerment include: (a) Domestic Violence Act 2007; (b) Devolution of Estate Acts 2007; (c) Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act 2009; (d) Child Rights Act 2007; (e) Chieftaincy Act 2009; and Sexual Offences Act 2012.

Sierra Leone’s twin policies of Gender Mainstreaming and the Advancement of Women adopted in 2000, and the National Gender Strategic Plan of 2010 – 2013, as well as the National Action Plan on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820, established the framework for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment further underscores the commitment of the Government led by President Dr Ernest Bai Koroma to upholding women’s rights.

Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment is also well articulated in Sierra Leone’s development framework, the Agenda for Prosperity (2013 – 2018) as a standalone pillar and mainstreamed in all the other pillars.

In furtherance of this commitment, government has developed initiatives to foster Gender Equality and Empowerment including: (a) An education Act passed in 2004 under the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP). The Act provides for compulsory basic education and stipulates punitive measures for deterrents and reaffirms the specific concerns of the Education for All goals 4 and 5 on increasing enrolment and eliminating gender disparity in education for girls and Women; (b) The code of Education on Teachers and other Education Personnel was also developed in 2009; (c) Equitable proportion of Female teachers in primary; (d) Gender -sensitive curriculum; (e) Girl Child Education Support which covers free tuition for girls through Junior Secondary Schools in the North and Eastern Regions; (f) Universal Access to Reproductive Health; (g) Reduction in Teenage Pregnancy; (h) Strengthen Preventive Programmes that promotes Women’s Health; (i) Promoting Access to Finance for Women by providing credit and Financial Services to Female Entrepreneurs; (j) Strengthen prevention and response mechanism to gender based violence against women/Children (SGBV); (k) Protection, Empowerment of victims/vulnerable persons especially women and girls; (l) Strengthening capacities for women’s representation and participation in governance at all levels, security and private sector; (m) Establishment of National Women’s Commission as part of strengthening the national gender machinery.

From the foregoing, it’s unmistakably clear that Sierra Leone continues to demonstrate political commitment at the highest level to the promotion of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment with a view to building a strong and resilient country. It’s in recognition of these strides that the AU awarded Sierra Leone twice in a row, the African Gender Score Card (A Monitoring and Accountability Tool) – Political and Civil Rights for 2015 and 2016 respectively.

“Our initiatives have had substantive impact on gender mainstreaming while according gender and women’s issues the political clout it deserves,” President Koroma said during the margins of the AU Summit in Kigali.

Although challenges still persist, the president as champion of He-for-She initiative has reaffirmed his commitment to deepen and enhance the space for Women’s participation in all spheres of society and governance. His appointment of over 14 women to serve in various capacities including cabinet reinforces that commitment. President Koroma is the first leader of Sierra Leone to appoint a female Director-General of the Foreign Ministry. He also appointed the first female State Chief of Protocol. In the judiciary, he appointed the first female Chief Justice.

If we decide to itemize all the achievements of this result-oriented and charismatic leadership of President Koroma in promoting and protecting women’s rights and empowerment, there won’t be enough space. But as the theme of this year’s AU Summit suggests, Africa’s women deserve more.

Watch video shushu by Abizzy ft Davido

Yak Jones Foundation donates to Dukono Community

The Yak Jones Foundation headed by Dr Yakama Monty Jones on Friday at the Global Network office at Pademba Road donated books and other schooling items to the Dukono Community School in Neni Chiefdom, 

Koinadugu District.
Making the donation, Dr Yakama Jones said she saw a young man by the name of Ariefa Kumara pleading over SLBC’s “We Yus” program, explaining how they started the school and the current situation.
“I was so saddened that I sent a message to the program for Ariefa’s number so that I can contact him for us to make some donation.” She said they put together a small donation that they believe will help them in their strides to enhance their education.
Dr Yakama Jones averred that they too are calling on people to come with educational materials that they will gather and share to vulnerable schools across the country.

“When Ariefa explained the plight of Dukono Community School, I knew that my organisation had to do something to help out, so I spoke with my members to see how we can put together an urgent package for the school. This we did and today we are handing

 over these items to the school and we are pleading to people that have used learning materials, that they are not using anymore to donate them to us so we can help those that are in need.”

Thanking the Yak Jones Foundation, Ariefa Kumara said he was very happy that his advocacy for the school was received by Yak Jones Foundation. He said how little it is will always be good for the school because it is not about the items but the heart of giving. He called on others to follow Yak Jones Foundation to make such donation as the school is in dire need of a shelter.
Ariefa said the school was started by Momorie Marrah, who is an SSII student and is trying to educate the children in the village. “When Momorie started teaching these kids, most of them stopped going to the farm and they said they want to go to school.”
He said the school is built using palm leaves and during the rains it is difficult for the children to learn. He called on others to come to their aid and pray that these children who are so determined to learn will achieve their dreams.
Other speakers during the donation were Mr Koroma of Global Network for Children, Binta Akibo-Betts who is part of the Yak Jones Foundation, Mrs Patricia Koroma of Children Education Foundation and Momorie Marrah.
All of them thanked the Yak Jones Foundation and they called on other Sierra Leoneans to come to the aid of the school so that the children can have better education.
Dukono village since independence to date has no school and Koinadudgu District is worse in education from the other. Mr Yakama Jones and Binta Akibo-Betts hail from Kabala and they said they are determined to make sure that the district’s education continue to rise and put more children in school.

EXPIRED CHICKEN SMUGGLED INTO SIERRA LEONE IN LARGE QUANTITIES BY Pee Cee and sons limited

​Do you know that Pee Cee and Sons Ltd of no 10 ten Sani Abacha street imported frozen chicken that was rotten in to this country through the Quay no appropriate  action taken was taken and now it is allover the Freetown municipality people are selling  to the public for Le5000 for a whole chicken. What is Consumer Protection is doing to this? everyone is silence about this, remember Ebola has gone and now the sub region is talking of bird flu oh salone.

Mental health experts in Sierra Leone aim to pluck out heart of Ebola mystery

When Ebola struck Sierra Leone in 2014, its terror lay in its mystery. It was a gruesome disease that no one had seen before, and claimed lives without apparent cause or cure. But Mohamed Moray had a broader perspective.

“It was just like the war,” he says, referring to the civil conflict of the 1990s, in which an estimated 50,000 people were killed or had limbs hacked off by rebel fighters. 

Now, as then, communities were splintering under the twin pressures of fear and suspicion; amid the chaos, few had the chance to mourn properly for those whom they had lost.

Moray knew exactly what that dangerous alchemy of fear and grief could spawn – anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder – because he had watched it happended before 

man who knows how to swim cannot watch his friend drown without feeling great stress,” says Moray, clinical supervisor for the regional branch of the Community Association for Psychosocial Services (Caps), which has provided counselling to communities around Kailahun in eastern Sierra Leone since the end of the war. “So when we saw this happen again, we felt a responsibility to do something.” 

For nearly two years, Ebola stormed across this corner of west Africa, devastating communities and health systems that were already among the world’s poorest. But within that public health emergency was a second crisis, acute but nearly invisible: one of mental healthcare.

When Ebola hit, just 136 doctors were working in the public sector in Sierra Leone, a huge shortfall for a population of roughly 7 million people. But there was also just one active psychiatrist, a wry 70-year-old who spent his mornings scribbling prescriptions at the country’s only psychiatric hospital in the Kissy neighbourhood of eastern Freetown.

At this institution, which is also the oldest on the continent, most patients are kept chained. Treatment consists of little more than a daily dose of expired antipsychotic medication.

To Moray and his team, this state of affairs was frustrating, though hardly inexplicable: in the years during and just after the civil war, they had watched as money and expertise poured into the country in an effort to help mend emotional wounds.

A series of initiatives promised community healing, psychosocial support and empowerment. The confessional bonfires of one such project – which brought perpetrators and victims together in public pleas for forgiveness – even featured in the acclaimed documentary film Fambul Tok.

Moray and his fellow counsellors had started out as clients – and later employees – of the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), an international NGO that provided counselling to Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea in the 1990s and early 2000s. For several years, they criss-crossed Guinea, and later Sierra Leone, providing trauma counselling to those who needed help, as they once had.