ROBIN GRAY explains. 

The ‘Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link’ has been working since 2003 to improve the lives of the residents of another Hastings over 3,000 miles away, in West Africa. The little town was virtually destroyed during the Rebel War in the 1990s and appealed for help.

SOWING THE SEEDS OF CHANGE

Combined churches in Hastings & St Leonards (known as the LOAF Project) rebuilt thirteen simple bridges, and The Link has continued that work, helping the local people to build a community centre and to extend and refurbish the Health Centre. Perhaps the most amazing development has been the dozen school partnerships which have led to global curriculum work, teacher exchanges and the setting up of ‘school farms’. Starting with a donation of seeds from Battle Horticultural Society, The Link has funded a project that now involves some 30 schools in and around Hastings SL. The children have taken to the theory and practice of raising food with great enthusiasm, and thanks to the country’s warm, wet climate, they proudly produce more than one crop of all kinds of vegetables each year – either to improve school meals or to sell and raise funds for basic school materials.

A group of our teachers has just returned from Hastings SL where they spent their half-term holiday teaching in their partner school. Two members of the group studied the present state of sanitation in the schools, updating a survey that The Link had carried out before the Covid epidemic. We now have a clearer idea of what is needed. A reliable water supply may require a deeper well or borehole, and repairs to a water-pump or the building of a water-tower. Most schools have utterly inadequate sanitation, which has a serious impact on the education of the children, especially girls. This will be a huge and expensive undertaking over time, so The Link’s various fundraisers are vital.

FUNDRAISING FUN

Recently, Sussex Brass gave a wonderful concert in Alexandra Park for The Link, and there was also a highly successful music quiz. The two fundraisers coming up are a cryptic quiz competition and a wine-tasting evening. (The questions for the quiz are easily obtained online at hastingshastings.org.uk or from the Community Information Hub on the side of the Old Town Hall, off Priory Meadow).

This year’s theme is ‘In the Garden’. There are modest cash prizes, but above all, hours of brain-teasing amusement for the family over the Christmas holiday. The wine-tasting evening will be run by wine expert Ted Bacon at St Leonards CEP Academy, Collinswood Drive, St Leonards at 7pm on Saturday 9 December. It’s a fascinating and convivial evening, and we’ll sample wines that Ted suggests might accompany the different stages of a Christmas meal. The evening includes a raffle, a wine auction and a buffet supper. Should be fun. 

Details and reservations from lynnwhi@live.co.uk 

Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link’s ever popular Music Quiz returns to St Paul’s School, Horntye Road for the fourth time at 7.00pm on 20th September. Regularly attracting large crowds and committed quizzers, these memorable occasions have raised several thousand pounds for projects in Hastings, Sierra Leone over the past few years. 

Sierra Leone health centre

Some may have wondered about the huge beach party on 4th August this year (See HIP Issue 133: Sierra Leone Comes to the Beach) with hundreds of families from Sierra Leone enjoying the sun and sea – and a smaller gathering of several coachloads the week after. There are many reasons for the choice of venue, but it’s partly due to the fact that Hastings UK is twinned with Hastings Sierra Leone. That country has had a troubled history in recent years, most notably the brutal civil war that ended in 2002. Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link is our town’s way of supporting this wonderful country.

For ardent quizzers and family teams alike, the Music quiz is a fun occasion with a mix of challenging questions and some light-hearted moments too – guaranteed fun and enjoyment for everyone.

This year the funds raised will go toward the Schools Sanitation Project and the Teacher Exchange programme. Children often miss out on education because they spend hours every day collecting water and are exhausted if and when they get to school. Many older girls have to miss school on a regular basis due to the lack of menstrual hygiene facilities. We can help improve the prospects for the future of children in schools we are twinned with in Hastings, Sierra Leone by ensuring they have a sustainable water supply, good basic sanitation and hygiene facilities. 

A survey of the schools has already been undertaken to establish what facilities they currently have and don’t have. The Friendship Link is now working with the schools to plan how they can improve these facilities and give the children a better chance for the future. 

Why not get a last-minute team together and join in the quiz? Entrance fee is £5 per person. Contact Robin on 01424 436603 to book a table or email secretary.hsfl@gmail.com. If you miss this year, get ready for 2020 or join the Friendship Link as a member. www.Hastingshastings.org.uk/about/

If you’d like to sponsor Dain and help him beat his previous total and raise much needed funds for the people of Hastings, Sierra Leone, please follow the link below https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/dainjensen2 

• Find out more about the Link and the work it is doing in Hastings Sierra Leone at our website: hastingshastings.org.uk/about

Last Saturday saw the seafront of Hastings transformed into a colourful beach party. Huge crowds of Sierra Leoneans from London and the surrounding areas were down in Hastings to make the most of the summer weather. Although intermittently overcast, the weather was hot enough for enjoying the usual beach activities like swimming, playing beach games and sitting around having a great time – and music!

PICTURE: Dave Young

Sierra Leone has its own Hastings, twinned with Hastings in East Sussex. But when asked why they had chosen our Hastings as a destination, this did not figure in their responses: 

“Because it’s a beautiful part of the world.”
“It’s nice. The beaches are lovely.”
“It’s a beautiful place. Good air.”
“It’s straightforward to come here, park up and join the rest of the group.”

When we asked one day-tripper about the purpose of the day, he explained that: “It’s an opportunity to have a reunion with friends and family. Not everybody can afford an extended holiday.” He went on to explain that Sierra Leonean families often meet up every month and this was an opportunity to do something different. Like many groups on the beach, this family was not attached to the main organised event but had been prompted to join in as an individual group.

The main event was organised by the Kono District Development Association charity (KDDA UK). This has been in existence in various forms since the 1950s, originally to bring together descendants of Kono District in Sierra Leone, an area of extensive mining in the centre of the country. Since the early 1990s KDDA UK has undertaken advocacy, and its members have aspired to provide support services both in the UK and Sierra Leone. 

Since 2010 KDDA UK’s members have focused on sustainable development and human rights in the Kono District, social and support services in the UK, and bring together descendants of Kono District in the UK and Sierra Leone. 

But on Saturday it was about an enjoyable day out with friends and family, and, for Hastings locals, an opportunity to experience a flavour of African culture and its sense of community. For anyone who missed this event, there is a chance to meet with a smaller group, just three bus loads, coming on 10 August, organised by the Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link.

• For more information on KDDA visit www.kdda.co.uk or for the Hastings Sierra Leone friendship Link  www.hastingshastings.org.uk