Livewire – Amnesty International blogging for human rights

Brima Sheriff, Director of the Sierra Leone section, dancing with community in Mapaki ©Amnesty International

A heavily pregnant woman sold me some bananas when we stopped – we were still miles away from Makeni, where the main hospital is. I dread to think what would happen to her if she had complications.

We got back to Makeni at midday today and had an NGO partner meeting shortly after to discuss longer-term plans. We identified three main areas to focus on in the longer-term including the monitoring of health systems, working with local communities on empowerment, information and human rights education and campaigning activism. They all work on issues surrounding these areas and are planning to incorporate maternal mortality in their work.

In the evening, some of the group went to Mapaki, a nearby village to speak with the community. They were received by traditional dancers and Brima, the Director of the Sierra Leone section, joined them. The play was performed and well received by the community who were laughing at the comic expressions of the actors.

Tomorrow we are driving to Kabala where we will launch the campaign and have community meetings before driving to Bo.