Why the silence?...and where are the pictures!? Visit Sierra Leone Newsletter! [Jan/Feb
2005]

Why the silence? and where are the pictures?!
Welcome to the first newsletter in 2005… and a Happy New Year to you too! Let’s hope 2005
is an excellent year for us and Sierra Leone eh? Isn’t this the year the Bumbuna Hydro-
Electric Dam is due to be completed…? moving swiftly on…
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The Silence...
I know a few of you noticed that there was no newsletter last month (thanks for your
emails/phone calls of concern!). That is due to a combination of factors…mostly holiday
related! First I was on holiday, came back and the flu hit and then came the post holidayblues!
I’m now getting back up to full speed, catching up on work and stuff.

Our Bunce Island Trip...
In December, ’Visit Sierra Leone’ in collaboration with Tropical Quests, organised a day trip
and tour of Bunce Island(largest British slave castle on the Rice Coast of West Africa). This
was a fantastic experience which was excellently captured and expressed in this article by
‘Makeda’ : Embracing The Legacy .

Makeda’s writing puts mine to shame so please find time to check the article out…it’s got
pictures too! :)
Thanks also to Joe Opala, (Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and
Abolition Yale University) for providing this historical summary of Bunce Island!

The pictures...
I have had requests for new pictures to go on the site…I will add more from the Bunce Island
trip shortly and also more screensavers. Confession: I must admit though, that Christmas
being a time for family, I didn’t really have the time to properly get around as much as I
would have liked. Added to that, some of the pictures I have are only fit for personal
consumption! :)

Anyway, the plan is to head back in a few months (less hectic period) after which I promise
to come back with a lot more goodies! Don't worry though, I still have enough in stock that
will be added to cover that time period so keep checking for updates.
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Developments...
The Visit Sierra Leone train is chugging along smoothly. And will celebrate its first year in
May! The glowing compliments continue to come in and visitor numbers have been increasing
every month since the site went live. Please continue to support the site in any way you can!
There are a few thoughts of developments and further projects going on and i will let you
know if and when they evolve into something concrete.

In the forum...

Participation levels in the forum have also increased significantly over the course of the last
month. We now have 96 registered members and of this moment have 455 Posts in 78

Topics in 8 Forums.

Hot topics this month have included:
SNA - The answer? Discussion on the shabby operations of SNA over the holiday period. Most
customers have so far not being able to get a refund following SNA's operation failure.
Keep the city clean campaign : What can be done about the cleaning and sanitation issues in
Freetown which threatens to turn this beautiful city into a garbage dump if not promptly
addressed!

So how was Christmas 2004 in Salone?: Read what holiday makers thought of their time in
Sierra Leone and what they got up to!

Article: Spoonfeeding is not what Africa needs : Interesting and well written article by
Aminatta Forna.

Fisheries... : What promise would a re-vitalised fishing industry hold for Sierra Leone?
in the news...

Some of the stories making the news thing past month...

Welcoming Japan to Sierra Leone
IMF: Sierra Leone needs more investors
Iran's wide-ranging cooperation covering oil exploration, housing, health, energy, agriculture,
banking and tourism.
Sierra Leone Receives US$686.2m
If you have any problems using any area of the site eg login to download pictures, please let
me know...
That's it for now...thanks for your continued support last year and in 2005, I hope we all
continue to build stronger ties and relationships not only with each other but also with Sierra
Leone as well!
Sierra Leone needs us.
Best wishes for 2005!