Sewa News Stream

 Amadu Massally was born in Sierra Leone during an era when the wind of change was blowing through the African continent and the growth of national consciousness was a political fact. An American-educated accountant, Amadu worked in the United States for more than two decades. In 2004, when the U.S. government set up its Millennium Challenge Corporation,  Amadu was one of the first Sierra Leoneans abroad to see opportunities for his low-income home land. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is an independent U.S. foreign aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty. The MCC is changing the conversation on how best to deliver U.S. foreign assistance by focusing on good policies, country ownership, and results. In December 2012, the government of Sierra Leone announced their selection for MCC compact funding. Countries are either awarded funding for a five-year program, known as a compact, or given a smaller amount for a shorter program, know...

It's Saturday and always Ten o'clock somewhere. For Sierra Leoneans on Facebook like Aroun Rashid Deen, Sia Matturi Josiah, Eva O'rielly-Jones (and yours truly) memories of Gipu Felix-George on the old Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) will never fade. “ Saturday Shindig every week at 10:00 am? We set our clocks by him!” Arnold Aubee recalled. Gipu's fans remember a broadcasting trailblazer— the nation's most accomplished, bar none. I doubt many would disagree. Saturday Shindig , Sierra Leone's popular top of the global music chart's show, was on air for almost two decades. Sewa News is honored to bring you an interview with one of the nation's broadcasting icons on our Independence Day. Sewa News : You were one of the best-known personalities in Sierra Leone in the 1970-80s. How did you break into broadcasting? Gipu Felix-George Snr: I had two breaks. Firstly, John Akar,  then director of the SLBS [Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service],...

2015 will be a landmark year for Nenneh Tajudeen. A New Jersey-based case manager and part-time child therapist,  she  is looking forward to becoming a university professor. Nenneh moved to America from Sierra Leone at sixteen. Sewa News: What was it like moving to America in the 1980s? Nenneh Tajudeen: As a new immigrant in 1986, all I knew was getting an education. I  enrolled at Hunter College  [of the City University of New York] in 1988 while learning English as a second language and basic math.  It took years to complete remedial courses but I was finally able to graduate in 1995. I became a public relations officer with the Africa Umoja (Swahili for Unity) club formed by African students at Hunter. During my senior year, I was president of the African club where I learned dealing with [people] was not an easy thing. I ignored so many not-so-good comments from all races and put much effort in concentrating to graduate. I repeated some courses but t...

“Teenage Pregnancy Balloons in Sierra Leone” blared a newspaper headline this week, reporting concerns raised at a summit organized by the African Youth Conference against Hunger in Freetown. In one village in eastern Sierra Leone, a 14-year-old mother who has three children spoke about the organization she'd set up to empower other teenage moms in her region. But the social entrepreneur is not alone in her drive to help. Peagie Foday, née Woobay, 42, also hails from the east. This March, Peagie and husband, Emmanuel, launched the Peagie Woobay Scholarship Award Fund for the Sierra Leonean girl child  "The organization will offer free tuition throughout secondary school," Peagie told Sewa News from their home in Sweden. "I will also fight to put in place all teenage mothers need to succeed." Peagie has ambitious plans for daycare centers, vocational skills training, and talk shows in schools. "It's not easy for a girl child but if they happen t...

" International Mother Earth Day is a chance to reaffirm our collective responsibility to promote harmony with nature at a time when our planet is under threat from climate change, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources and other man-made problems. When we threaten the planet, we undermine our only home – and our future survival. On this International Day, let us renew our pledges to honor and respect Mother Earth." --Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon  Pictures and scenes of Mama Salone from around the Web