Some things we now "know"

As soon as we found out we were going to Sierra Leone, Matt and I went into overdrive trying to learn everything we could about this country and what our time there might be like. We sought books, peaked at blogs, asked around and spoke to friends. Unfortunately most publications and stories about Sierra Leone refer mainly, if not exclusively to the conflict. While we do not wish to neglect the impact and the horrific legacy of violence and upheaval, we are trying to be more balanced and recognize that Sierra Leone is more than just the conflict. In that vein, here are some of the bits and bobs that we have learned:

• Sierra Leone is one of only a few countries with a population of rare pygmy hippos
• Leather rots like nobody's business in rainy season climates
• There are no ATM's  in Sierra Leone
• The beaches in SL are some of the most beautiful in the world and with few tourists, we could have them to ourselves
• Freetown was established as a colony for freed slaves living in the British Empire, many of whom were Black Loyalists from Nova Scotia
• More than one third of Sierra Leonians cannot read or write
• In the 1840s there was a higher proportion of children attending primary school in Freetown than in Britain