Tourism. What's on offer?

Sierra Leone has much to offer the tourist. Beaches, forests, history, colourful crafts, friendly people and almost limitless sun in Winter.  But not many tourists are coming even though the war has been over for nine years. The Tourist Board realises that for too long the country has presented an image of poverty, disease and war.  It is seeking to change that picture.

The infra-structure still leaves a lot to be desired. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office point out that there is no really risk-free way of going from the Airport to Freetown. What town planner came up with the idea of placing the International Airport, Lungi, at the other side of a wide estuary to the capital city? The link upon poor roads is 70 miles long. They advise against using water forms of transport at night. However I have done so on every trip I have made, apart from last year, when we stayed at a hotel before the ferry. This year the night ferry battled into a headwind, but it was fine and not so crowded as daytime.

Crowds wait for a morning ferry to Freetown.

Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the country and it is estimated to employ 8,000 people. Before the war (1991-2002), around 100,000 tourists came to Sierra Leone per annum. This fell to around the zero mark during the years of fighting. Recovery has been slow. There are guests at hotels, but few of them are tourists. They are either expats or business people.

My party has always been met at the airport and our friends have guided us through the throng of people wanting to help. A local hotelier has said, ‘I believe a sense of safety starts at the airport, its security and the handling process. If the airport is chaotic when you land, and people all over are coming up asking to help you when you don’t know who they are, people feel unsafe.’

The Winter months are the best time for tourists. The rainy season lasts from May to the end of October, with the heaviest rainfall being in July and August. This is the main time for holidays for those with children in school in the UK, but Easter or even Christmas would be much better.

A map of the Western Peninsula showing all the beaches mentioned below, although I note Bureh Town is called Bure Town! Note Kent and the Banana Islands at the bottom.

There are miles of lovely beaches, many in deserted areas, but this one, Lumley Beach is close to a number of hotels and beach bars. The Cape Sierra Hotel is on the headland.

This is Bureh Town Beach, where the local community engage in fishing from boats pulled up on the sand.

There is a local community association that provides basic accommodation and meals. We had a meal largely of lobster and it was delicious. In the background is some craftwork that we were invited to purchase.

Because none of the beaches have life guards it is considered unsafe to swim alone and the British Consulate have had to deal with British people who have lost their lives in the sea. Some have drowned when with others. The wife of a gentleman who died this year said, “In general, the west coast of Africa is a dodgy place to swim unless you know what you’re doing.”  He had been caught in an undertow and didn’t make it back to shore. An inquest in the UK heard he was caught in a spot notorious for its strong currents.

The beach at Kent Village

At the village of Kent along from the beach is this headland. From it we are looking across to the Banana Islands. Our hosts in Freetown have suggested we make a visit to the islands on our next trip. The boats look a little primitive and I am glad that everyone appears to be wearing life jackets!

        

Kent has links with the slave trade, and the historical remains of this evil part of mankind's history have been developed in other African countries to attract tourists. In this slave house, the masters lived overhead while the slaves lived in the basement until they could be loaded onto ships to cross the Atlantic.

The upper part of the building is now used as the village school.

The slave quarters

We were shown around by a local guide, but without many facts or stories of the days gone by. There are parts of the country where much work is being done to uncover the past and I am sure that the history will be better presented as it become more widely known.

I have always found the hotels adequate and we enjoy breakfast and an evening meal at the Hotel 5/10

Breakfast

Some hotels enjoy facilities such a swimming pools such as the one at the Airport Hotel.

We are considering staying here for our last night on the next trip (probably Easter 2012) so the Team can relax and have a debriefing session before heading home. This time we all visited the Crown Bakery in the heart of Freetown for coffee and cakes. This is a ex-pat home from home and very popular. Needless to say there are always a number of beggars outside.

Thinking of souvenirs to bring home? I would suggest wood carvings, some of which are excellent. They will be a wide variety of beads and clothing is very popular and colourful.

My children were delighted with these gifts - although the photo is some years old now!

A Freetown Hotel owner has said, ‘If I could give people one message it would be (that) Sierra Leone is open for business, we don’t need aid, we need investment, and with that investment things can be transformed here.’

Sierra Leone has just one national park at present, the Outamba-Kilimi National Park, though another five national parks have been proposed. The existing national park was established in 1986 and it’s located in the north west of Sierra Leone. There’s an assortment of wildlife  such as elephants, chimpanzees, hippos and more and the landscape includes both savannah and jungle.

The potential is great and it is within reach!

International link for New Era School

I spent 30 minutes this morning talking to Mrs. Elizabeth Wilson, Head Teacher of the Green Way Primary School in Hull. Since 1980 Hull has been twinned with Freetown and the Freetown Society of Kingston upon Hull was established in September 1981 with the support of the council. Recently six schools in each city have been linked through the Global Partnership Scheme operated with the British Council and the Department for International Development. Now a further ten schools are to join the scheme and Liz Wilson was given the first chance to choose one and picked the New Era Primary and Secondary School, because she had read about it on this blog!

She is due to visit Sierra Leone with other teachers from 14th to 24th October and will be staying at the Hotel 5/10 where teams from Derby have stayed on the last three visits. I was able to tell her about the school and the hotel. Our school is within walking distance although some parts are a steep climb.

Hotel 5/10 is owned and operated by the Teachers' Union of Sierra Leone. The figure of teachers in the courtyard holds a sign showing their calling.

A recent OFSTED report describes the Green Way Primary School as approximately double the size of the average primary school. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is considerably above the national average. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. There are a few pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds who speak English as an additional language. More pupils than average have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school holds various awards, including Healthy School status, Arts Mark Gold, the Eco Schools award and the Basic Skills Quality Mark.

The school wishes to add the Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) to this list. This award recognises achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the heart of a school’s planning, policies, practice and ethos. A rights-respecting school not only teaches about children’s rights but also models rights and respect in all its relationships: between teachers / adults and pupils, between adults and between pupils. The relationship with New Era will deepen the children's awareness of the difficulties faced by African children such as lack of basic teaching materials, clean water, adequate food and medical care. Pen friendships could develope and various forms of support.

I am delighted by this news. A three year qualitative study by researchers at the Universities of Sussex and Brighton found that "The RRSA has had a profound effect on the majority of the schools involved in the programme."

Funding is provided in the programme to bring the headteacher from Freetown, currently Mr. Jeremiah Cole, (on far right of this photo) to visit his partner school in Hull.

The inspection of Green Way said that "led by its inspiring headteacher, the school is a highly-inclusive community where mutual respect and consideration for others are very much the order of the day." We wish Liz Wilson a very successful and enjoyable visit to Freetown and look forward to great benefit for both schools from this link.