Where in the world is Sierra Leone?

Sierra Leone is in West Africa, bordered by Liberia and Guinea. It is a little larger than the state of Virginia. The name was given to the country by the Portuguese explorers. It means Lion Mountain.

It has a complicated history. Between 1668 and 1807, more than 50,000 slave left from Bunce Island with many arriving in Georgia and the Carolinas to work in the rice fields.

In 1787 abolitionists settled freed slaves in what is now the capital city of Freetown. Eventually Great Britain controlled Sierra Leone. The country gained their independence in 1958.

From 1991 to 2002 the country experienced a terrible civil war. Some of our friends tell of spending their childhood in refugee camps in Guinea to escape the violence. We first traveled to Sierra Leone in 2011 and the country was still suffering from the results of the war.

Then in 2015 the Ebola outbreak devastated the country for 18 months. Hospitals were overrun with the sick and dying. Schools were closed. Then in 2017 there was terrible flooding in Freetown and hundreds lost their lives and homes.

As a result of this history, there is much poverty, corruption, and lack of jobs for the youth. But the people have hope for a brighter future.

But, it is a beautiful country, with beaches and forests and a lot of wildlife. Not to mention the lovely resilient people who we are excited to meet!