A first-hand account of life in Sierra Leone

Our colleague, Theodora Philos is in Sierra Leone for the next six months, helping to strengthen our program in Freetown, the capital. Being a tech-savvy young lady, she has taken to the social media airwaves to give us a first-hand account of life in West Africa - and in a country that was ripped apart by a notoriously brutal civil war.

You can follow her posts on Twitter, where she is known as @ThePhilos, and she has just posted her third blog entry on our community site, warchildheroes.net - this week it's all about the music!

Of course, you can help her get the word out, with rewtweet here and a Facebook link there…

And while we're on the subject of Sierra Leone, check out the lead single from our forthcoming War Child: 10 album. Let It Rain by Sy’rai ft A.U.C.A.Y.D. was recorded this year in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where Theo is helping War Child's partners, Artists United for Children and Youth Development (A.U.C.A.Y.D.) run youth empowerment workshops using music, drama and dance.

In early 2000, Abdul “Sy’rai” Yilla fled Sierra Leone  with his siblings, to avoid the atrocities of a civil war that was notorious for recruiting child soldiers, and displacing over a third of the country’s population. He settled in Victoria, B.C, became a Canadian citizen, and eventually embarked on a music career. 

 Sadly, Sy’rai could not return to his homeland  for many years, and was devastated to learn that his father passed away suddenly in Freetown in 2002.  This was the catalyst to Sy’rai’s commitment to one day get home and reconnect with his family and community. 

That visit finally happened this summer, when Sy’rai not only visited his father’s grave, but also contributed, along with his record company Street Quality Records, to building a youth based centre with War Child and A.U.C.A.Y.D.

“Let It Rain” was inspired by this visit. A song about recovery and rebuilding after devastation, it was written by Sy’rai and features various members of the AUCAYD group. 

The video was shot in Freetown and shows the beauty of a recovering country and its people.