Freetown Sierra Leone

Heart-to-Heart with Madieu Williams

By Amadu Massallay, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Recently I spent some time with Madieu Williams the philanthropist and learned a few things about this young man that has done so much for our country in such a short period of time and will continue to represent and make Sierra Leoneans proud where ever they may be. Over the past 2 weeks we sat down on some days late into the night with interesting and personal conversations to the point where it became necessary to interview him. At the completion of his recent exercise in SL I was able to ask him questions about his work, like, foundation and future wife. Following below is that interview, which I have chosen to call Heart-to-Heart with Madieu Williams.

Amadu Massally (AM): Madieu, you started your humble life in Sierra Leone a long time ago, and left an early age but you have been prominent in development efforts to this poor African nation when you could have easily looked the other way. What is it about your native Sierra Leone that has recently seen you built a school there and over the past few years been involved in philanthropic ventures specifically targeting health, nutrition and education among other things?

Madieu Williams (MW) Sierra Leone will always have a special place in my heart. It is my birth home and one still has family residing here. I want to bring resources into Sierra Leone rather than take them out. Often times folks see Sierra Leone as a means to get ahead in life, but the country is still young in its development. Although rich in resources, these resources in my opinion should be better utilized to make the lives of Sierra Leoneans better. (Particularly the poor)

AM: Your foundation the Madieu Williams Foundation seems to be working well with The Healing Hands Foundation and how did all that start? And do you feel content with your relationship with them; can you talk about that a little bit?

Madieu Williams, left and Amadu Massally, right. Top: File photo of Mahdieu Williams.

MW: The Healing Hands Foundation and Madieu Williams Foundation partnered last year to do a medical mission in SL. One of the co-founders and I (Dr. Jaime Flores) are both Alumni of the University of Maryland. We met at an Alumni Gala a few years ago and hit it off. A few months later, we went to lunch and learned that we both have non-profit organizations. His focus is on medical mission to third world countries. I thought it was a natural fit to see if his group can come to SL to help with its health infrastructure. I am grateful to have a partnership with The Healing Hand Foundation. Anytime you can have groups of volunteer surgeons, doctors, nurses, dentists travel to SL and provide free services for the people it is a win-win for the people of SL.

::News4u:: » Background Note: Sierra Leone

Ethnic groups (2008 census): 20 African ethnic groups–Temne 35%, Mende 31%, Limba 8%, Kono 5%, Creole 2% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late 18th century; also known as Krio), Mandingo 2%, Loko 2%, other 15% (includes refugees from Liberia’s recent civil war, and small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians). The population includes 20 African ethnic groups. The Temne in the north and the Mende in the south are the largest. About 2% of the population are Krio, the descendants of freed slaves who returned to Sierra Leone from Great Britain and North America and from slave ships captured on the high seas. In addition, about 4,000 Lebanese, 500 Indians, and 2,000 Europeans reside in the country.

In the past, Sierra Leoneans were noted for their educational achievements, trading activity, entrepreneurial skills, and arts and crafts work, particularly woodcarving. Many are part of larger ethnic networks extending into several countries, which link West African states in the area. However, the level of education and infrastructure has declined sharply over the last 30 years.

HISTORY European contacts with Sierra Leone were among the first in West Africa. In 1652, the first slaves in North America were brought from Sierra Leone to the Sea Islands off the coast of the southern United States. During the 1700s there was a thriving trade bringing slaves from Sierra Leone to the plantations of South Carolina and Georgia where their rice-farming skills made them particularly valuable.

In 1787 the British helped 400 freed slaves from the United States, Nova Scotia, and Great Britain return to Sierra Leone to settle in what they called the “Province of Freedom.” Disease and hostility from the indigenous people nearly eliminated the first group of returnees. This settlement was joined by other groups of freed slaves and soon became known as Freetown. In 1792, Freetown became one of Britain’s first colonies in West Africa.

Thousands of slaves were returned to or liberated in Freetown. Most chose to remain in Sierra Leone. These returned Africans–or Krio as they came to be called–were from all areas of Africa. Cut off from their homes and traditions by the experience of slavery, they assimilated some aspects of British styles of life and built a flourishing trade on the West African coast.

In the early 19th century, Freetown served as the residence of the British governor who also ruled the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and The Gambia settlements. Sierra Leone served as the educational center of British West Africa as well. Fourah Bay College, established in 1827, rapidly became a magnet for English-speaking Africans on the West Coast. For more than a century, it was the only European-style university in western Sub-Saharan Africa.

Report of the Sierra Leone National Consultation on Women and Men in Partnership for Post-conflict Reconstruction held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, 21-24 May 2001

The Freetown municipality consolidation ordinance 1908

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In Sierra Leone