For many years, Bunce Island – the main slave port from Sierra Leone to North America and Europe – has been left in ruins. Sierra Leoneans consider the island a source of pride because of all the survivors of slavery but upon searching the grounds, journalists, students and teachers see that Bunce Island could use some work. Father Joseph Turay from the University of Makeni has been organizing trips for anyone that is interested in visiting the island.
jhr-trained journalists from Radio Maria came along to report a live play-by-play of what they saw. Kari Barber, a jhr trainer, took footage of the trip from which numerous videos and television broadcasts were produced. Father Joseph Turay hopes that the visits will help “create cultural awareness about our roots and a possible site for research and tourism.” The University is currently exploring the possibility of raising funds to help the people around Bunce Island.
Watch the original video footage by Kari Barber below