Livewire - Amnesty International blogging for human rights

We are in the car, on the way to Makeni. The campaign launch went well yesterday – despite the looming rain clouds, it managed not to rain during the event.

There was a great vibe, with everyone enjoying the music being blasted from the caravan stage. The event started with an introduction from Violet, the Sierra Leone section chair, followed by a speech by Irene.

The most emotional moment was when Irene asked the crowd to raise their hands if they had lost a woman to maternal mortality and there was a sea of hands.

The section delegates unveiled the caravan and the musicians performed the Amnesty International soundtrack, which was warmly received by the crowd. The play was also performed with the crowd cheering the actors on.

The event was a real celebration of women, and will hopefully contribute to the empowerment of women in Sierra Leone. Over 100 petitions and 2,000 postcards urging the President to guarantee the health and well-being of pregnant women was signed.

Today, the President is at the UN General Assembly and we are expecting him to announce a new free health care policy today on maternal health. The issue is being heavily covered in the media at the moment. The local newspapers have written about the report launch with contradictory reviews.

One newspaper claimed the Minister of Health said the report was “erroneous” while the other stated that the report was well received. Irene is meeting with the Minister of Health on Thursday, so we will receive some clarity then.

Everyone seems to know about the caravan. We just stopped at a petrol station and a lady there saw my Amnesty badge and was asking if we were starting our trip the country now.

I also met a man at the section office yesterday who had heard about the campaign and wanted to meet us. His daughter died in January from pregnancy related complications and he has started a foundation in Bonthe (a district in Sierra Leone), in her honour.

We are launching in Makeni this afternoon and Irene and the section delegates are going back to Freetown tomorrow. The rest of us are staying behind to continue the caravan events and work with local partners.