November 29, 2019 – This week our own Luca Valpreda is on a “mission” in Sierra Leone as a Communication and Visibility expert on a project for the construction of a new road and four bridges in the rural region of Moyamba. The contract awarder is Politecnica, one of Italy’s largest providers of integrated architecture, engineering and urban planning services.
The new road, which has funding from the European Union’s European Development Fund, will bring new life to a particularly backward area of Sierra Leone, facilitating communication with the eastern and southern provinces and helping the female population reach the local farmers’ markets more easily.
In view of the specific local conditions, the Communication & Visibility Plan places a particular emphasis on meetings in the villages, presentations in schools, and the use of radio, the most popular medium in the rural region of Moyamba. Given the context, an extended linguistic approach is important. English is Sierra Leone’s official language, yet its use is confined to a more highly educated minority. The most widely spoken language in the north of the country is Temne, while Mende prevails in the south. Krio, a mixture of English and Creole, is the language used by around 10 per cent of the population, although it is understood by almost all Sierra Leone inhabitants.