REACT SIGNS M.O.U. WITH SIERRA LEONE’S DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY

REACT's International Operations Manager, Paul Taylor and senior Responder Caroline (Caro) O’Callaghan have just returned from Sierra Leone after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the country’s National Disaster Management Agency. Here’s Caro's report.

Paul and I arrived at the brand new, world class Lunghi Airport, and a little while later were retching and reaching for our life jackets, wishing we’d sat closer to the ferry door “in case of emergency” as we crossed a choppy Tagrin Bay to the Capital, Freetown. 

A week later, as our trip came to an end, we stood on the pristine, white sandy beach at River No. 2 before taking a quick dip in the ridiculously warm ocean. For a moment you could truly believe you’d found paradise.

However, only a few hours earlier we had spent the morning walking through the slums of the city’s Kroo Bay, encountering abject poverty. There was no running water, and electricity - if there was any – was mostly dependent on generators.  Everywhere in Sierra Leone we had found such contradictions and complexity.

It is a relatively small country, with a population of about eight million. Until the mid 19^th Century, it was a centre for the export of slaves, before becoming a British colony in 1808 and a home for freed and repatriated slaves.

It finally achieved independence in 1961, and from the late 1960s onwards, the country experienced political upheaval with various military coups, contested elections and high-level corruption. Then in 1991, the most brutal civil war started resulting in unspeakable violence, including the kidnapping, brainwashing, and drugging of children forced into military action and barbarity.

The war finally ended in 2002 with significant assistance from the British army who helped to defeat the rebels and achieve a ceasefire.  A British military presence remained in country under the International Military Advisory & Training Team (IMATT). Paul was part of this and lived there for a year. Other REACT responders were also stationed there. 

To this day, Sierra Leoneans have the greatest respect for the British forces who helped restore peace to their country, a sentiment that we found very helpful during our visit.

Paul and I had travelled to Freetown to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), a new organisation established in 2020.  This will enable REACT volunteers to support the NDMA during disasters as well as assisting with longer term capacity strengthening.  The NDMA welcomed us warmly, were delighted to be forming a partnership with such a credible organisation as REACT and are very much looking forward to working with us in future. 

We also spent time with the Disaster Response team at Freetown City Council.  This was a follow up to the water purification and disaster response management training provided by REACT volunteers Rea, Andrew and Cal which was described by the team as “awesome”.  

The Disaster Response team is assisted by Kamila Janczyk from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and she provided us with a thorough and candid briefing on the challenges the country faces.

Both the NDMA and Freetown City Council are beginning the process of implementing EVALDIS (Evaluating Local Disaster Management in Sierra Leone), a research project carried out by Prof. Lee Miles and his team from the Disaster Management Centre at Bournemouth University. 

EVALDIS assesses the challenges confronting Sierra Leone and identifies Single Points of Failure (SPOF) that result in the breakdown or paralysis of the disaster management system.  Whilst the SPOF cover diverse themes, there are particular areas where REACT can assist with expertise, such as Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Management and Coordination.

We also met with the British High Commission and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office who were generous with their time and explained their perspective on the U.K. government’s hopes for the country.

The most immediate challenge is for the General Election on 24^th June to be peaceful, free and fair.  But beyond this, Sierra Leone is one of the world’s poorest countries (186^th out of 191), life expectancy is just 60 and the adult literacy rate is less than 50%. 

Basic infrastructure is inadequate, with only 23% of the population having access to electricity (almost entirely limited to urban areas) and 80% of this is provided by two Turkish owned “Karpowerships” moored offshore.  Inevitably this supply is unreliable (and expensive) so the streets are filled with huge, noisy generators essential to keep businesses going.

Despite so many challenges, we found the people to be welcoming, friendly and cheerful, greeting us always with “Hello, how are you? Where are you from?”. 

The signing of the MoU with the NDMA, and the strength of our relationship with Freetown City Council is the perfect springboard for ongoing engagement and the sharing of REACT’s expertise in disaster management. I am sure responders will be jumping at the chance to visit such a fascinating, complicated and beautiful country.

Suggested further reading by Caro

EVADLIS Report - https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/projects/evaluating-local-disaster-management-sierra-leone-evaldis

Child Soldiers by Myriam Denov - Paul lent me this book and although it is based on an academic study it is very accessible and gives a considered and nuanced account of the experience of child soldiers during the civil war.

Blood Diamond  - 2006 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, depicting the barbarism of the diamond mines and the brutality of the civil war.

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna - A long and slow burn novel which unravels some of Sierra Leone’s complex history through the eyes of three very different men.  The Audible version is very well narrated.