http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Fri, 24 May 2013 13:07:29 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA In Sierra Leone, about 80 percent of the people working in the agricultural sector are women. They face huge challenges when it comes to land rights, however, which leads to more poverty for them and their children. Measures are being taken, though, to empower women in rural areas. Abibatu Sankoh monitors a machine at the farming business where she works in the community called Mile 91, in a northern part of Sierra Leone. The machine is used to remove the husk and bran layers to produce a ... http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra_leone_women_face_land_rights_challenges/1621710.html http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra_leone_women_face_land_rights_challenges/1621710.html Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:32:53 -0400 Africa Nina de Vries http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra_leone_women_face_land_rights_challenges/1621710.html#relatedInfoContainer According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 10 percent of people in Sierra Leone are living with a disability.  But for the first time in the country's history, people living with disabilities are now working in the police force.  The newly hired officers are hoping to inspire others.  Sheka Conteh is one of four disabled officers working at the communications center of the Sierra Leone police force.  He answers calls from the public, similar to a 911 ... http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra-leone-police-hires-disbled-for-first-time/1598089.html http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra-leone-police-hires-disbled-for-first-time/1598089.html Wed, 06 Feb 2013 06:47:40 -0500 Africa Nina de Vries http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra-leone-police-hires-disbled-for-first-time/1598089.html#relatedInfoContainer Former female prisoners in Sierra Leone are finding creative ways to incorporate themselves back into society.  They are making beaded jewelry that is not only giving them confidence, but is starting to gain recognition in stores worldwide.   Rikke Clevin Jensen teaches a beaded jewelry making class to former prisoners twice a week in the capital, Freetown.   She says the classes have given women a chance to learn not just about the art of jewelry making, but also how to stay ... http://www.voanews.com/content/making-selling-jewelry-empowers-former-sierra-leone-female-prisoners/1591321.html http://www.voanews.com/content/making-selling-jewelry-empowers-former-sierra-leone-female-prisoners/1591321.html Sat, 26 Jan 2013 06:09:25 -0500 Africa Nina de Vries http://www.voanews.com/content/making-selling-jewelry-empowers-former-sierra-leone-female-prisoners/1591321.html#relatedInfoContainer The game of cricket is making a comeback in Sierra Leone and is inspiring young men in particular.  Many young people who play are also being encouraged to stay in school by the local cricket association.  The temperature is 28 C in the afternoon as a coach shouts out commands to his cricket players at Sierra Leone's only cricket ground in the country's capital Freetown. The players look intense, concentrating on their game.  But this is not any random cricket game, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/cricket-makes-comeback-in-sierra-leone/1585547.html http://www.voanews.com/content/cricket-makes-comeback-in-sierra-leone/1585547.html Thu, 17 Jan 2013 06:17:05 -0500 Africa Nina de Vries Sierra Leone's president, Ernest Bai Koroma, has been sworn in for a second term after winning nearly 60 percent of the vote in recent elections. Koroma, who was first elected in 2007, is pledging to increase foreign investment and fight corruption, and his supporters are jubilant. Thousands of supporters of the All People's Congress Party flooded the streets of Freetown in celebration of the second term win. Lamara Bah makes his living as a bike driver and flashed his red helmet ... http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra_leone_president_inaugurated_for_second_term/1552113.html http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra_leone_president_inaugurated_for_second_term/1552113.html Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:29:28 -0500 Africa Nina de Vries http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra_leone_president_inaugurated_for_second_term/1552113.html#relatedInfoContainer So-called ritual murders have been a part of African society for centuries. In Sierra Leone, some believe ritual murders increase during election time because some politicians think they will gain political power from another human's body parts. This Saturday, people will vote for a president and members of parliament. But one man is only thinking about the loss of his sister in what he said appears to be a ritual murder. Osman Bangura sits outside his home at Six Mile village, a remote ... http://www.voanews.com/content/fears_of_ritual_murders_rise_with_sierra_leone_elections/1544134.html http://www.voanews.com/content/fears_of_ritual_murders_rise_with_sierra_leone_elections/1544134.html Mon, 12 Nov 2012 11:52:22 -0500 Africa Nina de Vries http://www.voanews.com/content/fears_of_ritual_murders_rise_with_sierra_leone_elections/1544134.html#relatedInfoContainer People in Sierra Leone will head to the polls to vote for a president and parliament in less than three weeks. Ten political parties are registered, and one of them is led by a former member of a rebel group that fought in the country's civil war.  Revolutionary United Front Eldred Collins is a former spokesperson for the Revolutionary United Front, a rebel group that fought the Sierra Leone government in a decade-long civil war in the 1990s.  The group was notorious for ... http://www.voanews.com/content/rebel-group-tries-comeback-in-sierra-leone-polls/1537300.html http://www.voanews.com/content/rebel-group-tries-comeback-in-sierra-leone-polls/1537300.html Thu, 01 Nov 2012 08:55:07 -0400 Africa Nina de Vries Many journalists across Africa face challenges such as low pay and lack of resources.  Sierra Leone will soon be holding presidential and parliamentary elections. That may increase reporting challenges there for journalists. Emeric Roy Coker, a host and journalist for Universal Radio in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, says journalists encounter many barriers especially when it comes to reporting on taboo issues. Coker says he did some coverage earlier this year on the push for ... http://www.voanews.com/content/challenges-face-journalists-covering-events-in-sierra-leone/1533782.html http://www.voanews.com/content/challenges-face-journalists-covering-events-in-sierra-leone/1533782.html Fri, 26 Oct 2012 05:37:36 -0400 Africa Nina de Vries http://www.voanews.com/content/challenges-face-journalists-covering-events-in-sierra-leone/1533782.html#relatedInfoContainer