It would be impossible for me to summarise this journey - and it was only a month! - but I hope that this blog has given you an idea of what my time there was like, the work I was doing, the places I have been.

The only way I can describe Sierra Leone is as a land of contrasts: it is at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index, yet the human spirit is higher and more positive than anywhere I have ever been; the country has the third highest level of rainfall in the world, yet only 20% of the urban population have access to piped water; most of the roads are in appalling condition, riddled with gaping potholes and regularly flooded, yet big flashy 4x4’s are not a rare sight; the city is noisy, chaotic, frantic, yet the beaches and hills are so peaceful; amputees and polio sufferers sit on the side of the road, while children sing and play and dance; men and children all urinate openly in the street gutters - the same gutters from which a young boy will later fetch his football.

This is a country still rebuilding itself after ten years of devastating civil war. It is still figuring out how to transpose its source of diamonds into fairly-distributed economic growth and development. Considerable progress has been made, but there is a long way to go, and more healing to do.

More than anything, this is a country full of HOPE. The warmth and love with which people greeted me was overwhelming - “You are from England? Did you know that it was Queen Elizabeth that colonized us? England is like our second home, and you are like our sister”, people would say to me. Elections are being held in November, and spirits are high - most people believe they will be free and fair, and that Sierra Leone will continue to make progress and move forward. Freetown, I look forward to seeing you again next year!