Sierra Leone

Former child soldier Alimamy Kamara plays football as part of his rehabilitation with Caritas Makeni in Sierra Leone. [Annie Bungeroth]

Sierra Leone is recovering from a long, bitter and vicious civil war which devastated communities and the lives of its citizens

Now the war is ‘Done Done’ as they say in Creole – the most widely spoken local dialect of Sierra Leone (although English is the country's official language).

It is once again safe to travel there, schools have re-opened and business is up and running.

The United Nations Mission to Sierra Leone – is scaling down operations as the country returns to normal.

The civil war has had a devastating impact. Sierra Leone is trying to address the crippling poverty which strangles so many of her communities and individuals.

There are high hopes for a more transparent and accountable form of governance. Key challenges include:

• The aftermath of war: Since 1991, civil war between Sierra Leone’s government and the Revolutionary United Front resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than two million people, many of whom are still refugees in neighbouring countries.
• Poverty: Sierra Leone is the lowest-ranking country in the world for life expectancy, access to education and standard of living. Average life expectancy is 34, and almost three quarters of the people live below the poverty line.

CAFOD supports three partner organisations, Caritas Makeni, Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) and Youth Development Movement (YDM).

All three were present throughout the conflicts of the 1990s, and are now focused on post-conflict rehabilitation, particularly for young people, across the region.

section highlights

Football builds discipline and self-esteem Caritas Makeni uses football to help rehabilitate former child soldiers.

latest updates elsewhere on www.cafod.org.uk

Watch communities in Sierra Leone learning how to use video to change their own lives for the better by lobbying their leaders for change [Photos: Alex Coley] View in a full-screen browser

Skills training for former child soldiers Caritas Makeni provides vocational training for former child soldiers, such as Aminata, during Sierra Leone’s civil war

Bringing life to film Paul Higgitt writes about how a Sierra Leone project is proving that digital video can play a vital role in communicating the stories of those who are often voiceless

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