Blog posts about Sierra Leone

Volunteer Francis Kandeh, 29, is a community volunteer helping make his city more prepared for natural disasters

12 years to limit climate catastrophe: How volunteering can help

Natural disasters are on the rise around the world. VSO – with the support of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative of the European Union – have been preparing our country offices, communities and volunteers to anticipate, prepare for and better respond to the increasing risks they are facing.

Massive rewards on placement in Sierra Leone

"In low-resource settings, it’s possible to make a big impact quickly."

After Ebola. Sierra Leone’s abandoned treatment centres

The abandoned Ebola Treatment Centre at Makeni was one of a handful of centres in Sierra Leone built to contain and treat the deadly Ebola disease. Now it's a skeleton site left to ruin, containing nothing but discarded rubbish and echoes of the plague it was built to fight.

Karitu Joe mother and children in Sierra Leone | VSO

Justice for women who face violence in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone domestic violence tends to be seen as a 'private issue'. In Kenema, VSO has been supporting local organisation FINE Salone to raise awareness of women's rights and the law, change attitudes, and support survivors to prosecute their perpetrators.

Dr Alex Burns, vso volunteer GP at Makeni Government Hospital, teaches colleagues and students the importance of using partographs..

Rebuilding health services after Ebola

VSO volunteers have returned to Sierra Leone after ebola and are working to rebuild health services after such a huge trauma.

Volunteer Ishamail competes at the Olympic Games

Volunteer Ishamail Kamara, who was on placement with ICS in his home town of Makeni, Sierra Leone in 2013, represented his country in the 100 metre sprint at the recent Olympic Games in Rio.

Jennifer Kamara, who survived capture by the rebels during Sierra Leone's long civil war and then went blind, finds solace in her family life. Her grandmother (r), Sama Mansaray, tells a joke provoking a cackle from Jennifer outside their house in Binkolo

What next for Sierra Leone?

Throughout the Ebola outbreak, people wary of health centres stopped accessing the services on offer with tragic consequences – including a 30% increase in maternal deaths and a 24% increase in newborn deaths.