“ I was born in Sierra Leone in the city of Freetown. Freetown was chosen in the late 1700s for the resettlement of Africans who were enslaved and taken over to the Americas and to settle my ancestors. After the abolition of slave trade and slavery, which still continued after that, the city was chosen to settle my ancestors.
I grew up in the Creole culture and we speak a language called Krio. It is the language which has become National and it was heavily influenced by the British when they colonised Sierra Leone. I had a humble childhood with significant lack but a lot of freedom and happiness in our situation. I have 6 siblings, we lost one sadly. My brother is here but the others are still in Sierra Leone.
I loved school and I loved reading. I love the spoken word, be it English or Creole. When I finished high school I got into theatre and it gave me a lot of intellectual and social development. I was a timid teenager given my situation with poverty and lack but once I got into theatre I felt a freedom to be who I am, no matter what. I built up my confidence and I felt I had more power being on stage. I was also involved with professional theatre companies where we toured schools and regions in the country.
I’m the eldest in my family so I had to find a job. I call my mother Sisi which in Krio means sister. My Mother was 17 when she had me so my Grandmother raised me. My mother was living with us but I called my Grandmother Mama. I am very close to my mother. She came to Australia in 2015 and stayed for 3 months.
I ended up doing a few jobs including acting, radio presenting on the National radio. I read the news and in training they told us to listen to the BBC so that helped my English accent. I worked with the British Council and we were sponsored twice to go to Kenya and Uganda for young African leaders conferences. That really helped me to have a window into the wider world.
I had my son Phillip at 32 who is my only son but I adopted another child, Dennis who is living in Sierra Leone. He is an adult now. I went to University as a mature age student and I did a Diploma in Theatre Studies but then the war came and we had to flee to Guinea in West Africa as Refugees. Eventually we were accepted to come to Australia. People usually say Refugees but this is something I speak against, even long after they have settled. The moment I stepped foot in Australia in 2008, I was not a Refugee. I was a refugee in Guinea. I was accepted as a permanent resident when I set foot in Australia. People still call us Refugees.
We were brought to Lismore and I always say it was one of the best decisions someone else made for me. My son was 10 years old when we arrived here. Sanctuary Northern Rivers helped settle us into Lismore and connected us with volunteer families who took us into their homes until we got ours. I have a ‘mum’ and a ‘sister’ and lots of beautiful friends throughout the Northern Rivers, mostly Lismore. I loved Lismore, mainly because of the people. We were well received and it was like we belonged here. That changed over the years and I probably wouldn’t say the same now though I still want to be here and I never regret coming to Lismore and I would do it all over again. I’m still grateful for the kind people. I was so hungry for knowledge that 2 months after arriving I was taking an exam at SCU to start my writing program. While waiting to see if I got in I enrolled in Tafe but then I was accepted to SCU so I started my Degree in Film and Writing. I finished my degree and I wanted to do theatre but it wasn’t a course that was offered at SCU and I didn’t want to move to Armidale. I felt safe raising my son in Lismore so I took up Film.
My friend took me to the Library and introduced me to Lucy. Working at the library has enhanced my life and my knowledge. It was there that I decided how I could help children back in Sierra Leone. I’ve always had a passion for educating children, especially those experiencing lack like I had. I can identify with them now and it is so rewarding helping them get that confidence that I got with my education.
I started collecting books when I was studying and finished in 2014 which is when we sent our first shipping container of books to Sierra Leone, with much thanks to the Lismore community. The first container arrived as a book depot and we’ve made it into a Library. We sent the second container in 2016 which is also now a Library and reading space. We are currently filling our 40 foot container. We lost our other 40 foot container and all the books in it in the 2022 flood. It was almost full. It was full of books and lots of beautiful new things that this community had bought for the children.
I’m still displaced after the floods so I’m living in a pod in Wollongbar. I was rescued by helicopter standing high waving my red shirt in the air surrounded by an ocean of flood water. When the army officer descended with the rope, I screamed. It felt far more terrifying than watching the water rise rapidly around me. The wind from the propeller seemed to shatter everything in its way, including my home. I was now standing at the open door, petrified. Soon the harness came around me, earmuff on, I held on to the rope. The soldier opened his arms. Like a child in the loving arms of a mother, and a startled start, we began to ascend. We were spinning and spinning and jammed into tree branches. It was total surrender. I was rescued. North Coast Community Housing have been very supportive and are doing their best to keep us safe, sane and happy at the pods.
We are now filling another container. This time a 40 foot that Alstonville High have generously donated and we are partnering with the school and Alstonville Rotary Club. Rotary has supported us immensely in the past and I wanted to assist with their work, so I joined them after a friend invited me and have donated some funds again for our next container library. We have 3 school libraries now and one community library that we manage and we employ library teachers to work in the library full time. Every month we pay a salary to those workers so we always need funds. To raise funds to keep the libraries open I have been braiding hair at the markets and I also cook and serve dinner once a month at Rous Unplugged. This has been a great opportunity. I’ve been doing this for 2 years now which also helps.
If people want to donate books they can contact Alstonville High School. The head teacher of HSIE is Doug Gardiner and he is the champion of the project. The container takes up to 2 months to arrive so when I go I like to be there when it arrives so I can make sure it goes where it is needed.
We are looking for support. It’s not about the money even though that helps, it’s about assistance. Two of the main things we need help with now are – Alstonville High have been amazing and provided the 40 foot container and the schools around have given beautiful books but now we need to transport that container to Brisbane. For example, if a truck can move that container for us to Brisbane, we don’t need the money. If we can get a company to do that for us, that would be fabulous. Also with the shipping, if someone knows someone who can help. There’s a lot of good people out there. Later on we will be needing funds to transform the container into a library with windows, doors, seating, etc.
I love the Lismore Library and they have been so supportive and helped me feel so settled here in Lismore. I head off soon for about 2 months to work with the teachers and the kids and see my family in Sierra Leone.”
