Road Trip to Renewal in Sierra Leone – Part 1

Tom Ellum is interning with SFCG’s Talking Drum Studio (TDS) in Sierra Leone. He’s currently completing his master’s in International Development and is using his internship to gain experience in post-conflict development. Previously he worked in business intelligence, producing conferences, in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia.  To relax, Tom plays a lot of sport and enjoys to travel, most recently driving from the UK to Ghana.

Freetown (en.academic.ru)

By Tom Ellum

Rising out from Freetown past the imposing US Embassy and the International Military Advisory and Training Team’s (IMATT) alternative Trafalgar Square the urban sprawl gave way to tree-covered hills about the same time as the tarmac ran out.  Taking the mountain road, following the river past waterfalls through the centre of the Freetown peninsula we rejoined the tarmac at Waterloo.  Just in time, I was beginning to feel the bumps through the suspension of the ‘hard top’ Toyota through my not quite so soft bench.  Unfortunately, this was only the start of my on-road, off-road experience.

I was travelling with Talking Drum Studios (TDS) on a one-week tour of the country to help organise their Support to Democratic Systems project.  The project consists of exchange visits, radio programming, training and town hall meetings (THMs) – the reason we were heading to meet councillors, chiefs and civil society across the country.  Starting in Bo we would drive to Kailahun, the infamous RUF stronghold by the Liberian border in the far east turning around to drive north all the way to Kabala by Guinea.  In a country like Sierra Leone that meant a lot of bumps, a fair amount of mud but thankfully some amazing scenery too.

Sierra Leone has a political and ethnic divide between the east, which is predominantly Mende and loyal to the Sierra Leone People’s Party, and the north, where the Tenme side with the current government, the All People’s Congress.  Since the war, the country has been going undergoing a process of decentralisation to devolve powers to locally elected Councils.  The Support to Democratic Systems project aims to support this process by improving accountability and transparency, as well as seeking to bridge the political divide between regions.  Leaving Bo to the calls of ‘bonwi bonwi’ from local Mende children as they spotted a white man in the ‘hard top’ we headed east to Kenema where I experienced my first meeting with Sierra Leonean councillors.

After a discussion ranging from councillor welfare to the contentious introduction of District Officers, appointed by the government and in charge of the Councils, we had a date agreed upon when the relevant parties could attend the THM.  I’m told, from phase one of the project, this does not necessarily guarantee their participation.   Nonetheless, we travelled to Blama where the meeting would be held to inform the paramount chief and the local councillors.  He was away, but in his absence his Speaker received us and gave the meeting his full support.  One down, three more to go – we headed out on the notoriously bad road to Kailahun.

Despite the road, Kailahun has witnessed significant development since the war’s end.  The Council is housed in a modern building next door to the newly-constructed under-fives healthcare unit.  Snatching meetings with councillors as they came to work, we eventually met with the Chairman of the Council who set his own date for the Daru THM and assured us he would make the others fall in line.  We also met with the councillor for Daru who was keen to hold the meeting as soon as possible – in contrast to the Blama councillor, who was wary of facing his constituents.

In Kailahun I was shown the skeletons of buildings burnt during the war and spoke with residents about their experiences.  While the causes of the war are debated, these few conversations did illustrate the immense suffering that the majority of the population suffered as a result.  Later, on the road back from Kailahun I saw entire villages that had been burnt as opposing forces traded occupation, assuming houses left standing were loyal to their opponent who they just ousted.  We were also taken on a tour of the local health facilities by a proud District Medical Officer, who assured us the free healthcare for pregnant women and children under-five was making a difference.  As I heard across the country, he said ‘we are trying’, but rather surprisingly in the stronghold of the opposition party he also said ‘the government is trying’.

Read Part 2…