Chris Tarrant on his recent visit.

Chris Tarrant, TV personality currently associated, in my mind at least, with hosting “Who wants to be a Millionaire” has returned from a short visit to Sierra Leone and talked about it on The One Show tonight 4th August. He kept a diary and noted

“I have finally arrived in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone has some of the most depressing child survival stats in the world. Life expectancy is just 42. Just over a year ago, the government of Sierra Leone made a fantastic step forward when health care for children under five and breastfeeding mothers became free. But there’s still a very long way to go before children stop dying from easily preventable illness……

We jump in the car and drive to off to Kroo Bay – one of Freetown’s worst slums. Kroo Bay is a dump – literally. It’s located on the banks of the Crocodile River where the better-off Freetown residents throw their rubbish – it all gets washed up in Kroo Bay. Most of the 17,000 plus population live in shacks made from corrugated iron that are built on huge mountains of rubbish.

Kroo Bay

I know this is a sweeping statement but I think this is the worst place I’ve ever seen. The overcrowding is terrible. I’ve got six, wonderful, resilient, unspoilt kids – but I don’t think they could even cope seeing this level of poverty, let alone stay here – the living conditions are beyond their comprehension.”


Currently the Save the Children Fund works in Kroo Bay and at one time Youth with a Mission also worked there. I do not know if they still do.