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Welcome to our visitors from Bo

Warwick One World Link is happy to welcome three visitors who play key roles in Bo OWL: Maada Fobay, Catherine Kamara and Alpha Bah.

A busy programme has been arranged for them during their three-week stay from 15th June. You can download details or contact Chris King, 01926 421093, for more information.

Click here to see pictures of their activities

A lasting memorial to One World Link in Warwick District.

This idea has been proposed by Bo OWL. They now have the community centre as a living monument to the Link in Bo, and would like there to be some public presence of the Link here.

The committee decided to create a competition to find ideas for a monument that would be lasting, interactive, informative, and relevant. These will then be put to the vote.

The following suggestions have been received:

i. A display board in the temperate house in Jephson Gardens describing the plants which grow in Bo and encouraging people to look for them.
ii. A mural and statement about the link at the recycling centre.
iii. An automatic interactive kiosk giving information about Bo.
iv. A modern –style owl in the Jephson Gardens.
v. Mural of an owl flying over the world.
vi. A resources centre.
vii. Road signs at entrances to Leamington indicating our link with Bo.

The winner will be rewarded either with a prize or acknowledgement on the monument itself.

Community Building in Bo now open

OWL in Bo are proud to announce that the Community Building is complete. It is a joint venture between the groups in Bo and Warwick districts with guest rooms and, in the future, an educational resource centre.

The One World Link between Warwick and Bo Districts has always been a friendship link which specifically avoided the inclusion of AID. This is still the case after 27years. So how come that there is a great big community centre in Bo paid for mainly by Warwick District citizens? The answer is that one exchanges GIFTS with one’s friends and that is what the centre is..a great big gift. This gift was given to make up for the destruction and agony of the 10 year civil war borne by Bo friends, and to alleviate the frustration and misery and fear felt by Warwick friends because there was so little they could contribute to suffering friends during that time (1990s).

Bo OWL said they needed a community centre to be a concrete symbol of the strong relationships which had built up between the 2 areas and it would be used to support skills training and community building to contribute to peace in the future. Watching the centre grow and become functional has brought equal satisfaction and excitement to both Warwick and Bo.

Read the current newsletter

See previous newsletters ..

OWL supports waste management in Bo

Since the civil war, Bo has been unable to provide a full waste management service. Despite that, much of the town is kept clean. Market traders, shops and businesses gather their rubbish in large heaps which the council removes with the two serviceable vehicles it has for the service. They are unable to use their landfill site because they do not have a digger to manage it, so the waste is dumped and burned. In the centre of Bo an enormous hill of rubbish has accumulated over the years and needs to be removed (see the picture below).

Bo Central Dump

Families dispose of their rubbish by either burying or burning it at home.

Bo Council, with technical support from OWL Local Authority Group, are now looking forward to solving the problem. UNDP are providing rubbish skips, skip lorries, a digger and other equipment to Bo and to another city, Makeni, for a pilot project. There will be training for managers, operators and mechanics and for community leaders so that they can drive a public campaign for the use of the new system.

The equipment is due by March 2009 and training, which has already started, will intensify as officers from Warwickshire County Council provide technical training. This support is funded by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum. Bo OWL will be members of the management committee, so the involvement of One World Link will continue as the service becomes established and the problems of waste are eased.

Read more about the local authority link ... and see our archive of reports.

OWL Youth Group

The Youth Group have organised two highly successful events recently:
* A Food & Film Event for the Day of the African Child
* World Music - One World - One Weekend

Interested?
- email youth@oneworldlink.co.uk
- phone 07904 351247 or 01926 425403
- see our entry on Facebook (opens in a new window)

Loads of Links

We have added lots of new links relating to Sierra Leone about diamonds, football, art, culture, tourism, schools and more. See the Contacts & Links page

Teaching about Development?

Looking for information about school links, educational resources and teaching materials?
Visit our Education pages

Interested in Local Government Links?

Our Local Government Group has established a link between officials in Warwick and Bo districts. We hope that this will be the start of a three-year collaboration to the benefit of both Bo and Warwick districts.
See their recent reports

There are definitely two-way benefits to the local authority link - Nicola Cumberledge reported many and varied experiences! Read more ...

The Kayoma Women's Development Organisation

Members in Bo are talking about setting up a café to cater for those people using the OWL community centre. Meanwhile the UK group are collecting oral histories and the Leamington Soroptimists are supporting the link.
Read more about this programme