Safety

From the Director of the NGO:

In general, Sierra Leone is experiencing peace and stability in the length and breath of the country due to the high increase of improvement in the general security situation throughout the country. In general, there has been no transborder military or rebel activity in the border areas of Liberia and Guinea since the arrest of Liberia's former war lord and President, Charles Taylor, who is now awaiting trial at the international cout of Justice in the Hague, The Netherlands for his involvement in the war in Sierra Leone.

Besides, Liberia's war was formally declared over in 2004 where thousands of former fighters were disarmed, demobilsed and reintegrated by the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Liberia. In fact, last year, Liberia elected, in the first of a series, a democratically elected woman President in the continent of Africa, Mrs. Johnson Serleaf . I have no knowledge or idea about any military or rebel activity around the Guinea border.

I am a Sierra Leonean citizen by birth and have lived there throughout my life and specially during and after the war. I have parents and relatives there, as well as a house which is sometimes used by volunteers going on placements, outside the capital city. Our orgainisation has an office, and full time complement of staff . I pride myself providing a very personalised service to all volunteers. The organisation is fully registered, and is a Sierra Leone - based indigeneous non-governmental organisation. I say this only to allay any fears volunteers may have about our set - up in Sierra Leone. It is very comprehensive indeed and we only started running long - term placements here when we felt absolutely confident that we could provide the degree of back - up required for volunteers working on projects.

I would never entertain offering places to volunteers in Sierra Leone if I myself did not feel sure that I would be safe in the country. I am well aware of the warnings, but you might be interested to know that in Sierra Leone there is great umbrage being taken at what is perceived to be unnecessary warning about safety there. I had some volunteers last summer and more last week, at the height of the supposed threat, and there was no evidence of it. All placements and projects went safely and successful.

I would also say that where I live in Sierra Leone is outside the capital city, and placements or projects do not take volunteers into high tourist areas such as prominent hotels. The closest would be a visit to the internet cafe in Freetown and even that can be avoided by using some of the provincial centres. I think also that having such a large and comprehensive staff in the country means that there is a wealth of advice and information to be taken. Questionable places can be avoided if locals’ advice is taken. I think this would be the same in any capital city of the world. My experience is that I have never come across an incident in Sierra Leone, which would put volunteers at risk.

Having said that, there is always going to be a strong element of common sense required and it is my job to ensure that people going to Sierra Leone have the requisite information beforehand to ensure their well - being and comfort in a country where culture is so very different. The risk of being mugged for instance is probably no different than in New York. Washington D.C. or London but there are easy ways to lower the odds and again, my staff are invaluable in that respect.

Of course a warning cannot be ignored and it is not for me to dismiss it either. I think there is an element of caution though that does entirely affect the reality of life in Sierra Leone. One could equally say that any country in the world nowadays is open to threats ( e.g. terrorist), especially Canada, UK, US , and that everywhere deserves to be given a similar risk factor. The Sierra Leonean government is at the moment undertaking a multi - million dollar public relations exercise, funded by the UK incidentally, to promote the country as a place that is safe to visit.

I fully appreciate people's concerns and on the face of it, a single glance at the warnings would make it appear that Sierra Leone is once - more in the grip of insecurity. My experience is that this is not so and placements or projects volunteers are interested in would not expose them to high risk or even in rural areas. I cannot offer guarantees of course and our world is such that to do so would be foolish. But I would hope that this could be looked at in a broader perspective and I myself have no problem traveling to Sierra Leone. Living in the United States myself, I am well aware of how public perceptions can be created; yet life here is as safe as I can be.

My assurances to you: We take volunteer security very seriously. Before we do any placement anywhere, the project areas must be stable and safe. If they are not, we don't go. We are constantly in contact with line government ministries regarding safety and stability and, of course, we have the added security of our own staff who know the terrain in detail.

Our staff regularly visits host-families, volunteers and placements to ensure all is running smoothly. [We later agreed on daily visits] We maintain a cycle of monitoring of all volunteer accommodation and placement. On arrival our staff will make a final check that volunteer accommodation and arrangements for placement are acceptable. Again, during the first week we shall be in contact to ensure all is satisfactory. After the first week, volunteers vary in the amount of contact that they need with local staff, however we actively check on the status of every volunteer weekly - through direct contact or through the host family.

All accommodation is checked regularly by our staff. Accommodation is only accepted if it is clean, hygienic and comfortable. There must be normally someone resident who speaks basic English, and the family must understand what our organisation's aim are. They must also be interested to have an English speaker stay there. Detailed records are kept of every host family, and are updated after inspection visits. Checks are made before and during volunteers' stays.

All placements are regularly checked by our staff and visited.

Each volunteer is allocated a supervisor. The supervisor is not only responsible for enabling volunteers to carry out their work, but also for ensuring that they are happy and assisting them at their placement with any problems or concerns.

We will meet the volunteer at the airport or local place of arrival. We use our own members of staff when possible, but in some cases we may use an approved transfer to pick - up volunteers up from the airport. They will be met by someone carrying our sign, who will welcome the volunteer with him or her full name. They will carry some form of identification that they can validate. It is also our responsibility to help the volunteer get back to the normal international point of departure at the end of the placement.

All volunteers will have an induction to the country and area where they will be living.

All of our volunteers are expected to be covered by a comprehensive medical and travel insurance. This includes repatriation for certain cases. If a volunteer falls ill, our staff will be on hand to assist with hospital arrangements and insurance liaison, and will of course, make sure that the patient is comfortable.

I firmlybelieve that places where my projects take place, do not present a threat. If a volunteer is to trust me to organise and lead a programme for him to Sierra Leone, then I must be trusted to have an extensive knowledge and politics surrounding the country. This is part of my job and it is inherent in my responsibility.

Summary:
-very thorough orientation program for staff/home stay hosts
-there are many internat'l NGO's in SL, including Peace Corps= important indicator of safety
-street crime & health issues are similar to other African nations, not more due to post conflict