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July 13, 2007

On the Radio...

This summer has predominantly being about balancing more than one ball at the same time. In between our project preparations, we have been also setting up the groundwork for bringing the Human Rights exhibition "Être; the Face of Human Rights" to Sierra Leone. The last location of this exhibition was Logan Airport in Boston and with the officials involved, we have a memorandum of understanding that once everything is put in place, we could host it in Sierra Leone as well. We have met with Amnesty International, the Human Rights Commission- Sierra Leone, UNICEF and other potential partners. In general, the feedback has been great and hopefully we shall all descend soon unto Freetown again.

In addition to discussions on the exhibition, a United World College(UWC) graduate at Whitman College in Washington, Henry Musa Kpaka is hosting a national youth conference that will be themed on youth advocacy and public service/volunteerism. Given that three members of our team this summer are also graduates from the UWC, we were invited to the most popular radio show in Sierra Leone to discuss his conference and youth activism in particular. On the "D.J. Base Talk Show" at Radio United Nations in Freetown, one probably has to drink two cups of coffee before the program, which usually begins at twelve midnight on July 09, 07.

Unfortunately for us, Jacob Lennheden had just arrived from Denmark that night. Since he was two hours late, we just dropped his luggage in our guesthouse before heading over to the United Nations building right next to the beach. We listened to the President of Sierra Leone give a 30-minute speech as he officially announced the start of campaigns for the general elections in Sierra Leone to be held later next month. Once given the cue, we settled down with the earphones and mics turned on and we were on the show listened to all across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Mali. It felt good being on the show but the best part was actually hearing other people's feedback, which was overwhelming. There were so many phone calls received during the talk show as well as text messages read. One could also sense the enthusiasm in the youths and the brighter hope the country has. I think with faith in these youths, a lot can be done in small ways and I was excited to being a part of the conference itself.