Mama, What Is Sierra Leone Famous for?
Olu in Accra with the questions.
Yesterday in Accra, Olu asked me, “What is Sierra Leone famous for?” As a Sierra Leonean in a Ghanaian school learning about Ghana, he wants to share things about SL in school.
What is Sierra Leone famous for that I can share with a child of seven that would impress other seven-year-olds?
The first thing I said was—diamonds.
I said we are famous for diamonds. He wanted to see them, so I went to Google and searched Sierra Leone diamonds. What came up was a photo of a 704-carat Diamond that a pastor found in 2017.
But then he left and went to Charity (his nanny) and asked her if Ghana had diamonds. Charity said yes. So Olu came back and said, but Mama Ghana has diamonds too.
I explained to him that just because you’re famous for something doesn’t mean others don’t have what you have; it means you have it uniquely.
He wasn’t too happy about other countries having diamonds. So I gave it a second thought.
I said Sierra Leone is famous for Freedom! I told how, over 200 years ago, Black people who somebody had enslaved left North America on big ships and sailed to West Africa, and they stopped in Sierra Leone. I told him they planted a cotton tree when they got off the boats. It still stands today.
“Mama, why didn’t you take me to the tree last time we were in Sierra Leone? Maybe, I can make a handprint and leave it there.”
Two Christmases ago, when we were in Freetown, it didn’t occur to me to take him to the tree and tell him that story.
He beamed with pride about the tree. I promised to take him to the tree. I showed him photos online.
I thought this would end with “What is Sierra Leone Famous for?” but it didn’t end there.
“What do we eat in Sierra Leone?” “How do we dance in Sierra Leone?” “What’s our culture?”
“But Olu, you eat cassava and potato leaves; that’s Sierra Leonean food.”
“You didn’t tell me!”
He was right. While we have cassava leaves in our freezer daily, I never told him this is Sierra Leone.
After we talked about food and dance, I told him about the different regions and ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. I told him that his grandma, my mom, was Temne, and she was from the North. I told him that Aunty Mahawa was Mende, and they were from the East and South. I told him about Sherbros and Fulas and referenced President Bio and Vice President Juldeh Jalloh.
“Where is Grandpa from?”
“Grandpa is Krio; he is from the Western part of Sierra Leone in Freetown, but remember I told you he was born in Nigeria, which is where your name comes from.”
“What about you, Mama? What are you?”
“I’m Krio too.
“What about me? Where am I from?”
“You’re from Freetown Olu, the home of the cotton tree.”
Last week a white woman in Australia who has adopted kids from Sierra Leone emailed me and proposed that I or someone write a book about Sierra Leone that could explain landmarks and things of note to children growing up in the diaspora. I rolled my eyes like, “So you think I’m just here to write books for you?”
I didn’t even respond. But today, after my exchange with Olu, I realize that right in my home, my child has the same needs. I’m writing her back, and maybe my next book is “Mama, What Is Sierra Leone Famous For?”
