We all experience places differently. If a young student were to describe a country based on memories and feelings, you’d get an entirely different result than when, say, an elderly architect would. VSL has been showcasing city impressions from multiple perspectives through written articles, photographs and videos in order to attract a variety of audiences. […]

When mentioning Sierra Leone, some might immediately think of the civil war, the Ebola virus outbreak, collapsing mountains and sad children with round eyes and even rounder bellies. All of this is/was true- let’s not act as though Sierra Leone isn’t one of the poorest countries in the world. But what I want to convey […]

BLACK MAN TIME Have you always gone fashionably late to programs? Do you always seem to be the last person to arrive at a program?? Then you might be a Sierra Leonean at Heart.  Here, instead of calling it fashionably late, here we call it the BMT and it is literally what Sierra Leoneans operate […]

Tucked away in a dusty little shop in Aberdeen you can find the most amazing wood works. Traditional masques, paramount chief chairs and wooden representation of tropical animals are glimmering in neat rows, carved with care and attention by Mohamed Kargbo. The store is not one found in any tourist article, but that does not […]

Waterloo normally has no spot on the tourist map. The most attention it gets is as a town where you pass through on your way to Bureh beach or Kent. However, there is a true hidden gem in this seemingly unadventurous town; the Ategbeh Garden. With cultural workshops and eco-lodges built with local materials, this […]

Most people know of the remnants of Sierra Leone’s colonial history on Bunce Island and Banana Island. But you don’t have to step on a boat to experience the rich cultural history of the country. Freetown in itself has plenty of historical sites that you can visit, such as the Cotton Tree, Wilberforce and the […]

Sierra Leone is known by tourists for astonishing beaches, Freetown madness and tropical islands. But there is much more to Sierra Leone than just the coast; the provinces, also called up line and up country, are a great place to visit and explore. One of the cities that is both easy and interesting to visit […]

“Could you maybe bring me to Lumley beach please?” sounds way different from “Ar dae go Lumley.” The second phrase will more likely be understood by the taxi driver. Although it is not necessary to learn Krio, it can come in handy to know a couple of phrases. Most people speak English – or a […]

The brainchild of Sheka Forna, brother of celebrated author Aminatta Forna, Rogbonko Village Retreat is unlike any other accommodation available in Sierra Leone, offering not just the chance to wind-down in a truly magical forest setting, but also to live and immerse yourself in all aspects of rural village life. Following a stop for lunch […]

All over sub Saharan Africa from East to West, mini buses have a special name. In Kenya it is Matatu, in Nigeria – Danfor, Ghana – Tro-tro, Guinea – Magbana and in Sierra Leone – Poda poda. These are public minibuses which ordinarily are just modes of transportation, but interestingly they are dynamic modes of […]