Meet Sierra Leone’s Essential Workers: The Bike Rider

I am a 35-year-old biker rider. I have three children; an 11-year-old boy, an 8-year-old boy, and a 1-year-old girl. We all live at home with their mom. My sons are currently staying at home because schools are closed. So, to keep track of their academic work, they are presently taking extra classes at home, which I pay for every month. We used to cook daily before the pandemic, and now we only cook on Sundays. On other days we manage whatever there is.

Before COVID-19, my life was pretty good. I used to pay the owner of the bike SLL 35,000 daily. With COVID-19, I am paying SLL 50,000 daily even though I have less profit. The rate of passenger flow has reduced drastically. I don’t take any passengers unless he/she has a mask because I need to protect myself from the virus.

Credit: Essential Stories/OSIWA

Follow Essential Stories on Instagram for more stories.