Livewire – Amnesty International blogging for human rights

We arrived in Makeni at midday yesterday and started setting up for the launch. Makeni is the third largest city in Sierra Leone and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than Freetown.

The launch ran smoothly and the highlight of the day was when Irene was crowned Paramount Chief of Bombali District! She is the first woman ever in the north to be crowned chief and her name is Ya Bomkapr Mankneh II. The other chiefs and elders consider it a great symbolic gesture to their commitment to empowering women.

After the launch, we had dinner with our local partners. One of Amnesty Sierra Leone’s oldest members made a very moving speech about his commitment to Amnesty over the years.

Our delegation is splitting today, with half of us staying in Makeni and the High Level Mission going back to Freetown. I am now off to meet a women’s group in Kamabai, a village on the outskirts of Makeni.