Sewa News Stream

Dr. Ibrahim Abdullah, a history professor at Fourah Bay College, gave a WhatsApp lecture to mark Sierra Leone's 55th Independence anniversary on April 27, 2016. Below are excerpts from Abdullah's "Seven Theses on Decolonization and the Programmed Transition to Neo-Colonialism" Theses One: What is the meaning and significance of the date -- 27 April? Very few Sierra Leoneans know where this date was yanked from or why Sir Milton and the SLPP [Sierra Leone People's Party] appropriated it. 27 April was the day of the war of liberation... The SLPP appropriated it in the name of 'One Country One People' but the meaning of one country one people did not necessarily translate into an inclusive project that reflected the nation about to be born.  The history of decolonization unfolded without any national project or key demands by the dominant elites. What we witnessed was a tussle for power and supremacy between the so-called protectorate elites an...

Georgina Laverse has had a most successful GoFundMe campaign. And here's why. Three weeks ago the 2013 master's graduate in governance and development at University of Sussex  decided to start a donation drive.  She was trying to raise money for something she truly believed in: Find a new home for 35 kids in a Freetown orphanage facing closure.  1. Reach out  Georgina's first step was to reach out to friends and family on Facebook to let them know what she was raising money for.  “Initiative for Women and Girls Empowerment--that doubles up as an informal education centre and orphanage for Ebola survivor orphans, HIV orphans and other very vulnerable children in the Freetown Wellington area--is facing eviction on the 31st of this month.  These wonderful and very vulnerable children and young people desperately need a new home.  The director/coordinator of the home Margaret Kpakiwa tells me Le6, 000,000 (approx. £750.00/$1,130.00)...