Today is National Reconciliation Day, Yu don #DuSomtinfoSalone?

January 18 2002 was the day former President of Sierra Leone Ahmed Tejan Kabbah declared the end of the 11 years civil war that left the country in a state of restoration.

The Center for Memory and Reparations observes this as “National Reconciliation Day” annually. They do so by encouraging Sierra Leoneans to take 60 minutes of thier day to do a community service through their campaign #DuSomtinfoSalone.

According to the founder for the Center for Memory and Reparation Joseph Kaifala the Truth and Recociliation Commission (TRC) made reccomendations for the future of Sierra Leone at the end of their work, one of those recommendations was for the Government to declare January 18 every year as National Reconciliation Day.

“We have been observing the day annually while we lobby for a government declaration. We observe the day by encouraging Sierra Leoneans to take 60 minutes of their day to do a community service through a campaign we call #DuSomtinfoSalone – we encourage people to reflect on our horrendous past while doing something selfless for the development and progress of Sierra Leone,” Said Joseph Kaifala founder of The Center for Memory and Reparations.

The Center for Memory and Reparations is an oral history project dedicated to recording testimonies from survivors of the brutal civil war that occurred in Sierra Leone from 1991-2002, including former child soldiers, amputees, and rape victims.

Joseph Kaifala was featured on the Make Sierra Leone Famous Podcast were talked lengthly about the memory project and what they do.