Travel Moments - Sierra Leone - 5 Photos

This is possibly the most difficult contest I've entered since becoming a member for the simple reason that there too many options to choose from with their own merits. So I've chosen the location that changed my perspective on life for the better. And I've chosen 5 out of the 818 photos I have of the trip - I hope you like them and the story behind them.

When I visited Sierra Leona in 2012, perceptions in the west were still very much of a dangerous country, unsafe for westerners so when I told my family I was going there to run a marathon, they weren't impressed. At the time, Salone was one of, if not the poorest country in the world but I was given the opportunity to go, which I took. We'd heard that Sierra Leonians liked their football so we collected as many football shirts as we could take and shared them out amongst people we met. It was incredible coming from London where I lived at the time to visit people who literally had nothing, in most cases a tin roof was all that they had, catching rain water in old, discarded plastic bottles. Yet they were happy. In many cases, happier than most of those that were back home in England.

So here are my 5 photos and a small part of the story behind them...

Street Child Camp

The marathon was organised by a charity, Street Child of Sierra Leone and was staged in Makeni. We travelled a week before the race (admittedly not the best preparation for a marathon) and this photo was taken at one of their camps where they provide a safe environment for homeless children to eat and play. We played football with this group, having donated them shirts and it was an incredible experience. Unfortunately, the shirts were kept at the camp due to the risk that they'd be beaten up and robbed of them on the street but the joy it brought them can be seen.

A random group of locals that we ended up playing football with

More football - we were told Sierra Leonians liked their football and there was certainly a lot of truth in that.

Visit to a local school

I love this photo and it shows again the love for football.

A lodge we stayed at

Now this place was amazing, I think it was in a place called Suffolk beach (a lot of the places were named after places in Britain) and when the tide came in, you were totally surrounded by water. We were asked if we'd like lobster for dinner and we thought that would be nice. So a couple of hours later, they came back with a lobster they'd just caught. You don't get that in Eastbourne.

Part of the Marathon Route

I wanted to enjoy the race so jogged very steadily (I'm no athlete) and took plenty of photos on my way around. With about 100 runners and being alone for most of the race, there were certainly moments when I wasn't sure where to head. This is my favourite photo from the run.

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So these are my 5. A life changing experience and when things get tough, I touch the hand made wooden medal I got from the run to remind me of how grateful I should be.