“I HADN’T been to Sierra Leone in 40 years,” explains Q Radio presenter Ibe Sesay of finally getting the opportunity to reconnect with his West African roots on a recent trip to Sierra Leone with humanitarian organisation, Concern Worldwide.
“My dad came to Belfast in the mid-1970s to study chemistry at Queen’s University and the intention was always to return home, but then he met my mum and I came along in 1980 - so I kind of derailed plans a bit.”
Just a few months after Ibe was born, his father was offered a job at a university in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, which saw the family swap west Belfast for West Africa.
“For my mum, it was difficult. It was a completely different way of life compared to what she was used to, but for my dad she stuck it out as long as she could.
“So, in early 1983, mum and I returned to Belfast first, only because my dad had to finish the year in the college. And when he did that, he came back - and he’s still here today.”
It was this connection that encouraged Ibe to get involved with Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organisation dedicated to ending extreme poverty.
“I got an email from Darren Vaughan from the organisation – had never heard from Darren before in my life, but he’d heard about my heritage and Concern Worldwide were taking a trip to Sierra Leone to show people back in the UK the lives they’ve helped change for the better.
“So, whenever I read the email asking if I’d like to go, I just thought it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Growing up, I always heard my dad talking about Sierra Leone and Freetown, so to have the chance to go firstly to see where I used to live, but also to see the work that Concern Worldwide do, was incredible.”
The organisation has been working in Sierra Leone since 1996 and currently operate primarily in the districts of Tonkolili, the rural and urban areas of Freetown, and Port Loko, where Ibe visited a hospital supported by the charity.
“On one side of the coin it was very sad to see, because I’m comparing it to our medical facilities here, the Royal Victoria, the City Hospital and the Mater, and all these state of the art hospitals - and over there, they were lucky if they had electricity.
“Whenever we were getting a tour of the facility, we went into the equivalent of an ICU unit where they were trying to resuscitate a baby who died, and the baby’s mother also passed away that day.
“It was horrendous, and the unfortunate reality is that it happens a lot, which is something Concern Worldwide is desperately trying to change.
“With their help they’ve been able to put in solar powered panels which gives them electricity most of the time, which is an absolute game changer.”
Concern Worldwide also strive to help those living in poorer regions of the country become more self-sufficient.
“We visited the Musulaimani community in Sierra Leone which has been supported by Concern Worldwide for a number of years now.
“And because of their help they’ve been able to do things like set up a forest reserve, which enables them to go in and forage for food and use stuff like branches and bamboo shoots to build homes.
“They’ve also set up what’s called a VSLA (Village Savings and Loan Association) which is similar to our credit union and they can save a maximum of 25 Leone a week, which is like £2,” Ibe explains.
“But one gentleman borrowed from the VSLA and built himself this thing that looked a bit like a pizza oven, but he was making loaves of bread in it.
“And he could make and sell around 300 loaves a day, so very quickly he was able to pay the money back into the VSLA and provide for his family.
“It really shows how the smallest things can dramatically change lives.”
In addition to witnessing the life-changing efforts of Concern Worldwide, Ibe had the opportunity to visit and connect with his paternal family, some whom he’d never met in person before.
“My aunt lives out there, and in the evening we were in the hotel and this 4x4 pulled up - and it was my aunt, her brother, her son in law and his two girls.
“They’d travelled three-and-a-half hours from Freetown to where we were staying just to see me.
“It was the loveliest thing and she told me that my grandfather was buried five minutes down the road from where we were staying - which floored me es,pecially because it was a complete coincidence.
“So, we jumped in the car, and I went to see my grandad’s grave, which was really emotional.”
However, this is not the only coincidence surrounding Ibe’s connection to Sierra Leone.
“I met my wife Colleen over 20 years ago and within a couple of weeks she wanted to introduce me to her parents, so we went up to the house and I got chatting to her mum and she asked what my origins were.
“So I said ‘my dad is from Sierra Leone’, and she asked ‘whereabouts in Sierra Leone?’, and I said ‘Freetown’ and she turned round and said ‘I lived there for 10 years’ – this is a woman from Antrim,” he laughs.
“It turned out that Colleen’s grandfather went for a job interview in 1960. He was offered the job under the condition that he went over to Africa for a year to work, so he went and one year turned into 10 years.
“And they lived seven minutes away from where me and my family lived in the 80s, so the connection is just crazy.”
Continuing with the crazy connections, Ibe also managed to recreate an image taken more than 40 years ago outside the house he used to live in with his parents in Sierra Leone.
“I FaceTimed my mum and she was going, ‘keep walking, walking, stop, go left – that’s it’ and she was able to place me in the exact spot the original photograph was taken, which was amazing.”
Since returning from his “eye-opening” trip, Ibe says his perspective has been totally transformed.
Follow me as I embark on a journey back to my roots! I’m travelling to Sierra Leone West Africa with @concernworldwideuk to see the amazing work they do. It’s where my dad is from and where we lived in the early 80’s. #concernworldwideuk #charitywork #africa pic.twitter.com/HGssQFqCHc
— Ibe Sesay (@radioibe) June 7, 2024
“I have four kids, and they are spoiled – they can go to the fridge and lift out milk or Coke or chocolate,– whatever they want - and it’s just not the case over there. It was really humbling.
“But also, to think that could’ve been me, had my mum settled into the way of life over there, that could’ve been my life. Trying to process that was really emotional at times.”
Having recently been appointed as a Concern Worldwide UK ambassador, Ibe now hopes to encourage more people to get involved with the group.
“You don’t even need to go on a trip. Here in NI, there’s six brilliant charity shops, or you could run a marathon or donate on the website, there’s so many ways to get involved.
“Concern is working with people all over the world who are living in really difficult situations and what they really want to do is bring about lasting change – who doesn’t want to be part of that?”
