http://www.socialedge.org Princeton in Africa Fellow Alyson Zureick blogs on her year in Sierra Leone and the numerous grassroots initiatives for social change. daily 1 2009-05-11T15:53:57Z http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/topic_images No publisher jclark 2009-05-11T15:35:13Z Folder http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/weblogentry.2008-04-29.7594835429 No publisher azureick 2008-04-29T11:32:40Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/16-days-of-activism-against-gender-violence On Saturday I attended the kick-off ceremony for Sierra Leone’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign, which included a series of speeches at a conference hall and then a march through downtown Freetown. No publisher azureick Sierra Leone 2007-11-26T18:08:48Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/weblogentry.2007-12-31.7908589758 No publisher azureick 2007-12-31T15:23:54Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/sierra-leoneans-abroad-return-home-for-the-holidays One of the fascinating parts of being in Sierra Leone over the December holidays is seeing the Sierra Leoneans who live abroad flock back to Freetown for vacation. Suddenly, the restaurants and remote beaches that were once populated almost exclusively by white aid workers and Lebanese businessmen are filled with extended Sierra Leonean families—well dressed, well fed and happy to get out of the cold winter of the States or the UK. For a brief month the country actually has a visible middle class. No publisher azureick 2007-12-31T15:28:32Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/a-change-of-government No publisher azureick Sierra Leone 2007-11-20T15:01:08Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/the-politics-of-international-aid Anyone interested in the politics of foreign aid should check out a great report from the European Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD) entitled "Old Habits Die Hard: Aid and Accountability in Sierra Leone". No publisher azureick 2008-07-28T12:02:40Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/ngos-and-the-african-court-on-human-and-peoples-rights I am back in Sierra Leone and will spend the next two weeks traveling to IRC's field sites to help our gender based violence team roll out a new program focused on creating social change to end violence against women and girls. Stay tuned for more updates from the field. In the mean time, since I've been on the road quite a bit, here's another snippet from the roundtable on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and regional human rights systems in Arusha, Tanzania. No publisher azureick 2008-04-16T09:28:27Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/unrest-in-kono-district This week I have been in Kono District in eastern Sierra Leone, working out of the IRC office in Koidu Town. Kono is center of the diamond mining industry in Sierra Leone. Driving into Koidu Town on the main highway, the road is flanked by large pits of sand and gravel where the workers shift for diamonds. Unfortunately, not only did diamonds fuel Sierra Leone's 10 year civil war, but they are also fueling unrest in the District today. No publisher azureick 2008-04-24T17:44:53Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/at-the-bangabaya-health-clinic It's a Tuesday afternoon in late April, and I am at the Peripheral Health Unit (PHU) in Bangabaya, a small community in Kono District. The town is not much more than a clearing of mud brick buildings that emerges suddenly, a one hour drive off the main highway, out of the dense bush, but it is fortunate enough to have a PHU and a school building. No publisher azureick 2008-05-05T15:49:24Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/implementing-the-gender-acts-in-sierra-leone Things are getting exciting at work as we prepare to open several new programs. I have begun to work with our Gender-Based Violence program to prepare for our new women and girls empowerment program, which will include a component that focuses on implementation of Sierra Leone's three "Gender Acts". The Sierra Leone Parliament passed the Acts on June 14, 2007, and they cover domestic violence, registration of customary marriage and divorce, and devolution of estates. To get some background on the Acts, I sat down with Lotta Teale, a British barrister who worked on editing the bills and advocated for their passage, to discuss the laws and next steps in implementing them. Lotta is also a new co-worker of mine. No publisher azureick 2008-01-29T09:44:17Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/visiting-kenema-government-hospital Hey readers, my apologies for the lack of posts last week…I was a bit sidelined by what my friends here call the “Welcome to Sierra Leone sickness”. What started out as a normal stomach bug Monday evening evolved into a low fever and body aches Wednesday night. But after taking medicine for both malaria and typhoid (just to cover all the bases) I am feeling like my old self again. (Don’t worry, it wasn’t as serious as it sounds!) No publisher azureick Health Sierra Leone 2007-11-05T17:19:20Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/mountain-cut-road Dan Kelly and Anne Kern arrived in Freetown last Monday night, and I get a call from Dan Wednesday evening. "Do you want to have a little adventure and come to the east side of town tomorrow?" he asks. "I read your new year's resolutions on your blog and thought we could help you out and get you out of the west side." No publisher azureick 2008-01-21T14:53:04Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/mornings-on-wilkinson-road-1 One week into my year in Sierra Leone, I am beginning to get my bearings at work and around the city. In the morning, I wake up to a view of the Atlantic and the sound of honking poda-podas (the infamous mini-bus taxis that go by different names across the continent) on Wilkinson Road. My walk to work is only five minutes, and I walk on the side of the paved road, next to the slow-moving cars trying to navigate rush hour traffic. No publisher azureick Sierra Leone 2007-10-15T13:28:23Z Weblog Entry http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/alyson-in-africa/weblogentry.2008-02-04.9759452372 No publisher azureick 2008-02-04T14:22:56Z Weblog Entry