Ebola A Special Report from Sierra Leone
The Ebola outbreak has claimed over 2,400 lives in West Africa. Sierra Leone is in the heart of the crisis - a country which is still recovering from its bloody civil war and that it is routinely listed near the bottom of the UN Human Development Index. We will hear front-line reports from Foday Sajuma of Radio Mao in Kailahun District -- an area on the border of Guinea and Liberia. We also will talk with Andrew Kromah, one of the founders of an Independent Radio Network in Sierra Leone. Foday and Andrew are using radio to provide life-saving information to a population that has a 73% illiteracy rate. We also will hear from Topher Hamblett, a former Peace Corps Volunteer, who is supporting radio stations in Sierra Leone and Liberia through The Foundation for West Africa.
Topher Hamblett
Topher Hamblett is president of the Foundation for West Africa, an organization that supports community radio stations and networks in Sierra Leone and Liberia. FWA raises funds for equipment and training, mostly for remote radio stations. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Independent Radio Network in Sierra Leone. Topher's connection with Sierra Leone began with his Peace Corps service in Kailahun - where Radio Moa is located - from 1985 to 1987. Here in the United States, he is Director of Advocacy for the environmental group Save The Bay in Rhode Island. He has also served on the board of directors of numerous organizations, including Rhode Island Public Radio, Common Cause of Rhode Island, and the International Institute of Rhode Island.
