When we pulled into the compound of Narsarah Clinic in Kabala a couple of hours before midnight Ali-my host greeted me with joy and warmth but I was apprehensive. 

I have a really bad record of making friends with men. On numerous occasions when I accept seemingly innocent kindness from men in Sierra Leone, my reciprocity gets interpreted as an opportunity to make a romantic advance. As a result, I’ve had to develop a more guarded demeanor.

I was staying at Ali’s family’s guest house within the compound where they also run their clinic. It had been a seven-hour drive from Karene District in the Northern Province. During that journey, we had a flat tire on the highway and the exhaust pipe burst. When you have a hole in your exhaust it limits how fast the car accelerates. A 2-hour journey from Makeni to Kabala took us 3.5 hours. So when I got out of the car and met an excited hospitable Ali,  all I could do was to mumble a weak thank you. 

In my head, I was thinking if e noh see smile na me face e noh go bring tok to me-if I don’t smile he won’t think to cross the line. Talk about traveling with baggage.

Ali tried to make small talk like any normal human being but I stayed in character. My producer had sent me a brief about his NGO, and I was to interview him before we left Koinadugu. I didn’t need to be friendly for that. 

Inside the guest house, Ali gave me a choice of rooms. He arranged for me to have hot water. The room and bathroom were clean and neat. After I wore my Pyjamas, I couldn't believe how my circumstances had changed. The night before I was on the banks of the Little Scarcies River taking a bucket bath in freezing temperatures in Outamba Kilimi National Park. It had been three decades since I had washed outside. I said ”wai-wai-wai” each time the cold water hit my body and hoped none of the rangers could see my full monty.

Back at Ali’s place in Kabala, a hot bucket bath, clean sheets all felt like luxury. Feeling more human but still unfriendly I walked out of my room to meet my host. He was still beaming with positive energy. 

Ali complimented my work and said he was so proud of the contributions I had made telling stories about Sierra Leone. 

The next morning I slept till about 9 a.m. before I washed and came out for breakfast. Ali was there as was another border, an engineer from Colorado. Ali introduced us and he gave me high praise. I made small talk with the man. He had come to work on the site plan for Ali’s NGO-Salone Rising-they’re expanding to create ’Mamaland’-a sustainable community for orphans.

For the couple days that the crew and I were there, the routine was the same. Wake up, grab a coffee, with Kabala bread and Kabala honey (also known as the best honey in Salone until further notice)  and go out for the day. The longer we stayed the more I was able to relax and accept Ali’s genuine warmth and support. He didn't hold back on compliments of my work and he truly made me feel appreciated. What I do is hard, requires a lot of sacrifices not to mention that it is lonely. It was uplifting to be in the presence of someone who valued the work and could understand the bigger picture-make Sierra Leone famous for the right reasons.

On my last morning in Kabala, the only thing that hadn't been done was my interview with Ali. My production crew was late to come so Ali and I sat and talked properly for the first time. When he is not in Sierra Leone he lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and two children. He misses being home with them and like all traveling working parents, he feels guilty for the months at a time that he leaves his wife and kids spearheading the Salone Rising mission.

Beyond the clinic which is run by his uncle, Ali founded Salone Rising three years ago to support micro-entrepreneurs in Kabala. While that’s not all they do, it is the organization’s biggest project. Most of their grantees are women doing petty trade. Instead of loaning them money, the organization has a model that encourages collective savings. In order to get Le, 750,000 ($75) grant, each prospect must form a group with nine other prospects. They must commit to save a fixed amount for a minimum of six months as well as attend business skills development programs. Once each savings cooperative meets the benchmark for saving all ten members of the cooperative get the grant. If they continue saving grantees can then qualify to loan from the collective savings programs for amounts between $100 to $20,000.

I went on a walk along with Ali through Kabala’s Thunderhill market and every corner we went, women were greeting and thanking him. At some stalls he waved, at others, he shook hands. Everywhere Ali showed the same warmth, respect, and humility he had shown me since the day I entered his compound. 

At Thunderhill Market, I met Sunkari Kamara, 34, a Salone Rising grantee. She used to sell charcoal with a daily profit of 10,000 leones ($1) a day. She said the money was so small that saving was out of the question.

“Traday ah bin di it all tin bicoz e noh bin di do”

She was able to get the 750,000 leone grant after joining a savings cooperative and she now sells foodstuff in the market. Her profit margin has tripled to 30,000 leones a day. And now there is something small to save every day thanks to the encouragement and support of Salone Rising. 

By the time I left the market, I wanted to not just be Ali’s friend but an advocate for his work. What he is doing to support small scale entrepreneurs in Kabala is the kind of impact investment that this country needs. In three years, Salone Rising has given out 273 grants, and the grantees have collectively saved a total of 180 million leones ($180,000). Those savings have become loans for entrepreneurs of all sizes who otherwise would fall prey to predatory micro-lending organizations or not get any credit at all. 

Ali Biko Kamanda, 40, was born in Njala, Moyamba District, Southern Province in Sierra Leone but his mother’s family is from Koinadugu. He moved to the US in 1991 where he studied communications and later became a filmmaker. On a visit to Kabala, he was moved by the state of the community and founded Salone Rising with the support of the Harwell Foundation in Colorado. Today he splits his time between Pennsylvania and Kabala where he and his team are giving small scale entrepreneurs the lifeline they need to grow their businesses and support their families. 

Alie is just one of the amazing humans I’ve been fortunate to meet as I travel through all 16 districts of Sierra Leone to find stories that will #makeSierraLeonefamous for the right reasons.