Most people know Sierra Leone from the movie Blood Diamond or from the 2014 Ebola crisis. The tiny country on Africa’s west coast is home to over 6 million people and has a special significance in the history of the transatlantic slave trade as the departure point for thousands of west African captives. The capital, Freetown, was founded as a home for repatriated former slaves in 1787. Despite being among the top ten diamond producing nations and having extensive iron ore reserves, 70% of the country live in abject poverty. More shockingly, 1 in 17 women still die in childbirth, four times higher than the maternal mortality rate in Afghanistan.

Here are some memories of my trip.