P.O.BOX 1205
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
(FOUNDEDNOVEMBER, 1970)
Project Theme:Rebuilding Sierra LeoneSCI-code: SL-VWA 2.1
Place:Maburveh (45km from Freetown, the capital)
Period:5th – 19th August, 2006
Background:Sierra Leone, found on the west coast of West Africa went through a ten year civil and ended in 2001. Naturally much must have been destroyed under such circumstances. What follows therefore is rebuilding, which takes diverse dimensions. VWASL has a 3.6 acre farm land which had a farm house at Maburveh village, 45 km from the city of Freetown. The camp house, which accommodated both foreign and national volunteers year in year out before was one of the war casualties. Last year’s camp started rebuilding it, but this could not be finished in a two-week camp, due to time and the availability of materials. This year’s camp intends to take the work further. Since the farm is located in the rural area, the Association has always worked with those people. Thus, in the process, we have always addressed community development issues in our activities, as that is in fact what the Association stands for.
Work:- CampHouse Reconstruction
-Demarcation of the camp farm boundaries with trees
-Planting of fruit trees
-Reproductive health/HIV/Aids sensitisation
Volunteers:Eighteen (18)
Fees:$200 or € 190(Payment to be made on volunteer’s arrival in Freetown)
Accommodation:After the first night, foreign volunteers have a choice to stay with families of members of the Association or go to a hotel; the latter being at their own cost own cost before and after the camp. Any of the two may be arranged by the Association.
Camp accommodation here is normally in community buildings – a school, a community centre and in VWASL camp house once it is ready.
Social:There are lots of entertainment centres in the city of Freetown and many natural beaches around the Freetown peninsular. There is a booming local music scene producing lots of audio cassettes and CDs. At camp, campers would be engaged in what is called social evenings (jokes, puzzles, storytelling etc) and there will also be historical and cultural talks from older members of the community, and visits to nearby villages.
Food:The country’s staple food is rice. It will be eaten in the camp once a day. This will be supplemented by bread, fruit and other vegetables.
Language:The language at camp is English. However, because it is an intercultural exchange camp, campers are encouraged to learn key words and sentences in either the foreign or the national languages from fellow campers. Sessions of this may also be organised by the camp management. For Sierra Leone, the lingua franca is Krio, being a broken form of the English language.
Arrival:An official of VWASL would meet volunteers at the Airport, located a few kilometres from Freetown, separated from the city by a strip of land and water, being part of the Atlantic Ocean.
Note:Volunteers are requested to keep in touch with any of the following on their travelling schedule:
Abdulai Kargbo (President)
Mobile phone: +232 33 320 970
+232 76 612 097
Email:
Peter Turay (Secretary)
Mobile phone: +232 33 310 949
Email:
Mohamed Nabie (Project Secretary)
Mobile phone:+232 33 346 888
Email:
Politics:Sierra Leone is now a multi-party democracy where free speech, free movement etc is tolerated. It is a former British economy, with a population of close to 5m people. There are many political registered parties.
Health:There is no epidemic or any serious health risk in the country.
Weather:August is a period of rain in Sierra Leone. It can get very cold, but the whether itself is generally warm.
YOU ARE WARMLY WELCOME TO COME AND JOIN YOUR FRIENDS IN
VOLUNTAREERISM AND CULTURAL EXPERIENCE IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD