AWE Media Sierra Leone

By:Alusine Rehme Wilson Uprising Female Sierra Leonean Musician, Politician and Entrepreneur Natasha Beckley famous by her stage name as “Swadu” has publicized dates for her upcoming musical tours in Germany and France in March courtesy of Bright Fresh Entertainment. According to Natasha she will be performing live in two cities in Germany namely Essen and Munich on March 23 and 30, alongside famous Nigerian hype man, the Voltage of Hype (VoH), and 24 hours later will wrap up her music tour in France where another Nigerian musician “Gharam D Baba.” Without a doubt, the multifaceted Sierra Leonean Rap Artist whose Album has been titled Freetown’s Finest will be introducing songs from her album to the German and Paris audience where she is also expected to wave her country’s music flag higher.

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson One of the two elected female Bombali Member of Parliaments in Sierra Leone, Honorable Marie Kamara has outlined her ambitious plan to empower women in her district and throughout the nation, with a focus on agriculture. She revealed her plan in an interview with AWE-Media.SL (https://arwilsonsentertainment.blogspot.com) after her swearing into Sierra Leone’s sixth parliament on Tuesday in which she expressed her gratitude for being elected as one of the second female MPs from Bombali, out of a total of eight elected to represent the region in the parliament. Honorable Marie Kamara reaffirms her commitment to fulfilling her campaign promise to continue to empower women, vowing to beat her track record of advocating for women's rights in her community. While, her previous efforts have focused on ending brutality, violence, teenage pregnancy, and early marriages, Honorable Marie however, recognizes that “more work needs to be done to support women in...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The Deputy National Chairman of the All People's Congress (APC) Party, Ambassador Osman Foday Yansaneh, has defended his party's decision to retract their stance on non-political engagement in governance. He defended his party during an interview with AWE-Media.SL (https://arwilsonsentertainment.blogspot.com) within the halls of parliament on Tuesday, after the swearing-in ceremony of the 52 other APC Members of Parliament into Sierra Leone's sixth parliament. Mr. Yansaneh expressed that the APC's actions were justified and aimed at benefitting the country. "As a party, we have brought our elected Members of Parliament (MPs) to the forefront of parliament to fulfil their roles as representatives of the people," emphasized Mr. Yansaneh. "There exists a social contract between the MPs and the constituents, with the district bulk system of representation being a significant aspect. The APC will ensure that the MPs prioritize t...

By: Amadu Wurie Timbo The Girls Connect Mentorship Program in Sierra Leone (GCSL) recently achieved a significant milestone with its 2nd annual mentorship conference held at the Bombali District Council Hall in Makeni, on October 28, 2023. GCSL’s Mentorship Program in Sierra Leone appears to be making a positive impact on the lives of young girls by providing them with mentorship, guidance, and inspiration to achieve their dreams and become future leaders. The year’s event theme is "Empowering Girls in this Digital Generation to Lead Tomorrow’s World," brought together 80 young girls from schools in the Northern Region of Sierra Leone who had the opportunity to be mentored by accomplished women in Makeni and beyond. A panel discussion was conducted featuring many highly placed women of society including Dr. Manseray C. Kamara, a Medical Officer from Makeni Referral Hospital and Lecturer at the School of Clinical Sciences. In her session she emphasized the significant...

By: Amadu Wurie Timbo The Sports for Empowerment Foundation Sierra Leone has embarked on a transformative journey with its Nationwide Grassroots Coaches Education and Management Training. This drive, which began on October 14, 2023, with broader aims to enhance the skills of coaches and also seeks to empower young athletes with the tools they need to succeed both on and off the field. Led by a team of dedicated professionals, including Harry Varley, KAA Gent's Head scout in Africa, who came with a twofold mission; Seeking to identify promising talent for his Belgian club and as well as with the core focus to build a solid foundation for the future of Sierra Leone's sports, with a primary emphasis on grassroots coaching and youth player development. Since they arrived in Sierra Leone on October 13, the foundation's team has travelled to some parts of the country, conducting training sessions in key locations such as Lungi, Bo, Kenema, Kamakwie, and Kono, with plans to ext...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson The 2023 Liberia presidential election will see incumbent President George Manneh "Upon" Weah, who is running as the presidential candidate for the Coalition for Change (CDC), and former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai, representing the Unity Party (UP), facing each other in a run-off election. Both candidates emerged as the top two contenders in the general election held on October 10, 2023, but neither secured the required 50% plus one vote threshold to be declared the outright winner. The final results of the October 10 polls that was announced on Tuesday evening by Mrs. Davidetta Browne Lansanah, Chairperson of NEC Liberia indicated that the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) received the highest number of votes, with 804,087 votes (43.83%), followed closely by the Unity Party (UP) with 796,961 votes (43.44%). However, since neither candidate obtained the required 50% plus one vote to win outright, a run-off election was declared. Durin...

By: Alhaji Manika Kamara Fatmata Maria Kamara, staff at the Makeni Government Hospital Library, is optimistic that the introduction of passenger trains by ARISE will help to reduce road crashes on the highways while driving to and from the provinces and help save lives. Fatmata was sharing her thoughts on the possible re-introduction of passenger trains that will be plying across various districts if the Government of Sierra Leone honors it agreement with ARISE for the development, expansion, and management of the Pepel Port and Rail.  She said the passenger train will help to ameliorate the suffering of the masses, especially as the pump price continues to increase. She said with the passenger train, people will have to pay less, and the fear of road accidents will be minimized. She appealed to the government and investors to ensure provisions are made for the masses to have access based on affordable train tickets. Ahmad Wurie Jalloh, a businessman, explained that he only s...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Augustine Gbla, a veteran forward for the Makeni Veterans Football Club, has gained the attention of football scouts due to his impressive performance in a recent match against Koidu Community. During the early morning friendly encounter which took place at the Koidu mini stadium on October 15, Gbla scored four goals (a haul) for his team in a 10-goal thriller. Gbla who’s known for his unique dribbling skills, speed, and shooting power, did evidently display the same amazing tricks during the weekend match. Although he entered the game as a second-half substitute, Gbla wasted no time to quickly help his team to equalize, and eventually put them in front, scoring four goals successively, with his last goal coming in the 77th minute. However, Koidu Community rebounded and took a 5-4 lead in the 83rd minute. It was only a last-minute goal by Morlai Kamara that allowed Makeni Veterans to salvage a draw in the high-scoring match, which ended 5-5. After the gam...

Liaison Officer of Multinational Maritime Coordinating Centre ‘Zone F’ appraised journalists of the transnational maritime security crimes incurred despite the blessings endowed within the zone during a visit made by media experts as part of the Maritime Security Reporting Course in Accra, Ghana funded by the Danish Government. Flight Lieutenant Eyram Kwami, Liaison Officer of Multinational Maritime Coordinating Centre Zone F said the area which spammed from the Eastern Maritime border of Ghana to the West Maritime border of Guinea served as a transit point for goods from Americans, Europe and the Southern Africa; adding that it provided lots of fishing activities for the coastal nations within the six countries in the ‘Zone F’ region namely Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire and Burkina Faso as one of the landlocked countries in the Gulf of Guinea. Lieutenant Kwami added that despite the endowments within the ‘Zone F’ region, the area claimed transnational ma...

From the lusty jungles of 'mama Salone' to the bustling views of Accra, Ghana, was marked by calm and anxiety on the desk of the flight. My journey from Freetown International Airport to Katoka International Airport in Accra was full of adventure and wonder. I boarded my flight with Asky Airlines, ready for a new experience. The flight was smooth and scenic with an amazing bilingual crew captain and members and their cutting-edge performance to enhance safety and unrivalled comfort that push back the limit of the sky. EXPERIENCE I was poised to have the popular belief as to when boarding a flight for the very first time which many had presented as a rollercoaster adventure or fear of flying 'aerophobia'. I recognized that the air was safe but scary. Maybe it is because the fear of flying is commonly accompanied by shame and the fear of appearing crazy to others in an event of a panic in situations like taking off the tarmac, descending and landing which bring a fract...

In a bid of achieving comprehensive approach and sustainable development of the blue economy, Kofi Annan International Peace building Training Centre (KAIPTC) with fund from the Danish Government as part of a five-year project engaged media practitioners on maritime security reporting within the Gulf of Guinea during a week capacity building course on Monday in Ghana, Accra. Air Commodore George Arko-Dadzie, Deputy Commandant of KAIPTC said maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea within the Gulf of Guinea which stretches from Senegal to Angola continued to grapple with a number of maritime crimes like illegal fishing, human trafficking, marine pollution, toxic waste dumping, illicit arms and drugs trading. He furthered that these activities exploited the region’s inadequate maritime control, which resulted from insufficient law enforcement capacity, underdeveloped legislation and limited policy implementation in the maritime domains. He said the United Nations Office on Drugs and C...

By: Alusie Rehme Wilson Banker turned Musician Morlai Morse Kamara, otherwise known by his stage name as “Big Morse” has disclosed releasing his anticipated single next month. According to the gifted songwriter, rapper, performer and sound engineer, his new melody will be titled “Konkey” because the melody is composed with the notion of encouraging Sierra Leoneans to love their culture while offering other music lovers a unique sound that will help them to stay stress free from the many worldly pressures evolving in the present day. “You know Konkey by what we understood in our early school days is a comic character who is also seen as a jester irrespective of the great things he may do, seeing his morphological appearance and that of his pair Tinker ignites nothing immediately other than laughter,” Morse recalled. “When my new song is officially premiered on September 8 tis year. Konkey is a song that depict the zest of adding value to something that may not appear to great but i...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Sierra Leone back-to-back Premier League champion’s coach Alhaji “Abedi” Foray remains confident his side is well prepared to fight to beat LISCR in Liberia and progress to the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League next round. In their first leg, Foray’s side was forced to a 1-1 draw at their 6,000 capacity Southern Area stadium in Bo, Southern Sierra Leone by their resilient Mano River Union (MRU) neighbours LISCR last weekend. But Foray has confidence his charges will pay off at the Liberian SKD Sports complex against the host in their continental champions cup preliminary qualifier return leg match. “We regretted sharing the spoils at home especially when we took the lead just two minutes on, but we’ve put that result behind our back, and are now well prepared and ready to fight for a win on Sunday and make Sierra Leone proud,” Foray said. “LISCR fought back from a 1-0 defeat, equalized and forced us to a 1-1 draw in our home. Now is our turn to rebound in...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson For the second time in a row, Freetown based club FC Kallon advanced with pride to the second round of the CAF Confederations cup. This time, the Cavaliers from Sierra Leone earned their spot in the second round of this year’s CAF Confederation cup preliminary without kicking a ball following their Nigerien opponent Association sportive des Douanes (AS Douanes) pull-out from the competition due to the instability in their country. In this year’s continental clubs cup second round, Sierra Leonean club owned by former Leone Stars captain and Inter Millan forward Mohamed Kallon will face off the winner of the return leg tie between Dreams FC of Ghana and Milo FC of Guinea. Director of Competition at local football federation (SLFA) Sorie Ibrahim Sesay was first to congratulate the Cavalier in a correspondence from CAF confirming the withdrawal of AS Douanes of Niger. Unlike last season when they dislodged Buffles du Borgou of Benin 4-0 on aggregate but were...

By: Martin Wusha Conteh Sierra Leone foreign-based Scrabbler Mohamed Alieu Kamara has won the 27th MIND Mind Sports Olympiad Scrabble Tournament in England at the weekend. Rik Kennedy took the second position, while Elie Dangoor finished off the tournament. Kamara won 6 and lost 1 with a spread of (+ 1012), while his compatriot Kennedy won 6 and lost 1 with a total spread of (+508). Featuring top scrabble players from across the country with winners getting various prizes, the tournament is aimed at improving the standard of scrabble in the UK. Speaking to this press, Mohamed Alieu Kamara said he is delighted to be crowned as champion, adding that flying the green, white and blue "is an honor to have emerged as winner". "I am delighted to win the Mind Sports Olympiad Scrabble tournament, " he said. Coming tops among great scrabble players pushes me to always fight to be the best. “It is a victorious moment for me as my country, Sierra Leone, will be hosting t...

By: Hawa Dauda and Abu H. Kargbo Following yesterday's goalless draw against AS Mande in the second match of the ongoing CAF Women's Champions League Zonal Qualifiers in Liberia, the management of Mogbwemo Queens FC this evening, Thursday, August 10th 2023 at RLJ Kendeja Resort & Villas engaged both the players and the technical team ahead of the last match on Saturday at ATS against Determine Girls. During the engagement, members of the management expressed their views on the performance of the team describing the outcome of the match against AS Mande as very unfavourable "This was not the journey we anticipated as it is now evident that we can't seal the spot to qualify for the CAF Women's Champions League in Côte d'Ivoire after the goalless draw yesterday, however, you the players have to go all cost to win the match against Determine Girls FC to finish in a position that will courage us the management, as well as it will be appreciated by Sierra Leon...

By: Hawa Dauda and Abu H. Kargbo Promising shots-stopper Mawa Traore, while making her second competitive appearance for Mogbwemo Queens FC was named the Woman of the Match in today's goalless encounter against AS Mande from Mali at the SKD Sports Complex. The 2022/23 Sierra Leone Women's Premier League champions, Mogbwemo Queens FC displayed another impressive performance in their second match of the ongoing CAF Women's Champions League Zonal Qualifiers, however, AS Mande pushed for a draw. Goalkeeper Traore was awarded the Woman of the Match after making crucial saves denying the few chances created by AS Mande while playing on the break. Mawa Traore who is also the favourite starter of the Guinea female national team joined Mogbwemo Queens Football Club from Club Olympique de Ratoma (COR) after she was spotted during her loan spell with Patricia Humu Football Club in the 2022/23 Sierra Leone Women's Premier League season. Meanwhile, Mogbwemo Queens FC remains in...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Covering the crucial match day-5 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations encounter between Sierra Leone and Nigeria at the host’s new found home venue SKD Stadium in Monrovia, my camera lenses spotted a somewhat empty stadium. Except for the presidential stand and a few cover stands that were encouragingly occupied, all the other stands in the stadium were either relatively empty and a few had a countable size of spectators. It was the many empty stands at the stadium that motivated me to interview some fans of the host nation, Sierra Leone - a country believed to be playing its home games previously in front of thousands of supporters at the Siaka Steven Stadium in Freetown, about what it means playing away from home? Lamin Sheriff, who said he was visiting Monrovia for the first time, said he was there from Kenema where he had lived for 34 years since he was born said supporting Leone Stars in the last three years has help him “to travel to different places o...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Yesterday, hundreds of cars, motorbikes and residents of some places in the Northern city of Makeni tasted the effect of unrestricted littering of wastes disposal, cutting down of trees and related environmental degradation practices. Along the main Mabanta-Lunsar road, Magburaka-Kamal Streets Junction, lower banana street, Lady’s mile to name but a few like residents of some houses in the areas spent hours bailing out water from their rooms, cars, motorbikes and pedestrians similarly floated and sunk on roads and streets where a Tuesday 5 hours long down pouring of rain gave birth to a flash flood. It’s the first time environmental degradation is fighting back since heavy rainfall, storm and flooding destroyed houses in Makeni municipality and its environs in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 28, 2022 that ignited some responses from a few community based organisations, as well as cosmetic risk prevention cleaning of streets and irrigation of canals...

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson Even though his nation’s 2023-TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nation in Cote D’Ivoire was shattered by their Nigerian on Sunday, Leone Stars and Bo Rangers forward Musa Noah “Tombo” remains by far the most popular player from his nation. Kamara who’s soon to clock 23 on August 6 this year became the fans center of attraction at the SKD-Stadium in Monrovia when he replaced Mustapha Bundu during Sierra Leone’s must-win AFCON 2023 qualifier match against Nigeria despite his side bowing 3-2 to the visitors. Liberians, Nigerians among other spectators including President George Weah, a former Lone Star skipper and World Best Player enjoined Sierra Leoneans to cheer up the 22-year-old talismanic goal-machine. As if that was not enough, fans led by a teenager identified as one of the admirers of Musa “Tombo” jumped over the perimeter fence and hugged the player for photographs. From different angles in the stadium fans were shouting the football’s name in anticipation...