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Aw yu du? Happy New Year to everyone! Thanks to everyone who sent really those Merry Christmas wishes for VSL, that was very lovely and much appreciated. Correction: In November’s newsletter it is mentioned that the Prince of Wales visited the Prince of Wales School. Well he should have, but for some reason he didn’t. Sorry about this. When I flew in there was only one helicopter was in operation. All over this really left me thinking seriously about the helicopter service and its safety. It really came as no surprise when it was announced that government had suspended the helicopter’s operations till further notice. There had been reports of a fire on the helicopter which I asked a member of staff about on my way out. He replied, “nothing to worry about – a bird went in the engine and could happen to any airline”. Yes, that ‘ol bird in the engine excuse. I'll be writing more about the trip in further editions of the newsletter. To read some more about my thoughts as well as other please the December 2006 thread. Another news item that caught my eye was that "government has decided to suspend further issuance of exploration and prospecting licences to potential and non performing companies. Swaray-Deen explained that President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah recently reached an understanding with the government of the People's Republic of China to carryout exploration of all minerals in the country." Interesting right?
Y'all better learn Chinese. VSL Banana Island Excursion 2006
***Event*** The Sierra Leone Grammar School Old Boys Association (UK) invites you to a reunion and social evening on Saturday 3rd February. See here for more information. VSL Book Club A new forum for book discussions has been set up following request from some of our members. Get on board and discuss not only Sierra Leone related books but any book you feel has to be read by others. Freetown's filthy problem
Street Lights
Welcome to new subscribers Welcome to the new subscribers to the newsletter. Expect it delivered to your inbox once a month. It is a good idea to add our address to your safe list to avoid missing future issues. You can view the newsletter archive here: There is so much more to come but that's it for this month. Until next time, take good care of yourself and each other. Bimbola |
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January 2007 |
My personal highlight was undoubtedly the VSL excursion to Banana Island. I had been to Banana Island before but not to properly explore the island which I had time to do this time round. It was an experience - we swam, snorkelled (first time for me!) and walked the island. On the way back we came across a school of dolphins which just blew my mind away. 
Freetown has been plagued for at least the last three years with filthy streets. This is finally being tackled in an agreement between Sierra Leone government and German NGO, GTZ. What happened to the City Council? Don’t really know but safe to say they are having some ‘issues’ with the government. Bottom line is we want a cleaner city right? Right. You may want to take part in 
Street lights were switched on in December. Now, for our non-Sierra Leonean readers this may not sound like a big deal but one has to go back at least 20 years to remember the last time this happened. Of course, folks are not very happy because they fail to see how houses can be left in the dark whilst the street lights are working. So instead of staying home, in bed and in the dark some of the more adventurous youths took to playing soccer in the streets - at 1am. There is no doubt that general electricity supply was increased during the holiday season. Some say it was to impress the 'Jay Cees' (Sierra Leoneans back home for holidays), personally I don’t see the logic in impressing folks who don’t have to vote for you. Others are sceptical that these recent developments is only due to electioneering by the government. If it is, I don’t think they can keep it up for 6 months. In fact, the latest news I hear is that some of the street lights have been switched off. Apparently, fuel is expensive. Duh.