From Refugee to Community Activist
While living in Sierra Leone and observing the violence during the civil war of the 1990s, Makalay Tarawally decided she wanted to do something to help the people
of her country. Now she is studying biology at New Jersey City University and would like to become a medical doctor. She believes that her education is key
to preparing herself to implement positive change in Africa.
Makalay's grandmother came to the United States in 1999. Makalay, along with her mother and siblings, came to the U.S. five years later in 2004. She was
thrilled to be in America when she first arrived, however, starting high school in a foreign place proved to be a challenge.
"I felt alone and so dumb," she says about her first few days of school in a new country.
It did not take long, though, for Makalay to get comfortable. Soon she was volunteering everyday after school at a daycare center. In 2005, she was named
"Who's Who in American High Schools," an honor that recognizes academic accomplishment and community involvement.
Currently, Makalay is the president of the African Student Organization (ASO), where she works to bring African students together to share their culture with the
larger community. She is also a member of the Biology Club and Opportunity Scholarship program at New Jersey City University, and sings in the choir at her church
every other Sunday.
As a student, Makalay does not have a paying job. "The only way I can help the community now...is by applying my time and effort, communicating with people, be[ing]
a leader, and mak[ing] a difference," she says.
Makalay says that her involvement in different organizations teaches her about different aspects of life, which she will be able to take with her in the future to
help people from different parts of the world. Her role in the community has taught her how to be more vocal as a leader. She says she used to be very shy, but now
is not afraid of public speaking and meeting new people. She would like to expand her activism by someday joining the Black Freedom Society and Peers Educating Peers.
She plans to broaden her community involvement through organizations that are not affiliated with the university, as well.
Sierra Leone outlined in red in the map above
Make a Difference!
As a result of the war, the primary schools in many regions of Sierra Leone were destroyed. According to UNICEF, from 1996 to 2004, it was estimated
that only 41 percent of children were receiving any education at all. However, Free the Children, an activist group which works to help free
children from poverty and exploitation, is determined to change that. The group is working to rebuild entire communities by constructing schools
and training teachers in the area. In fact, Free the Children has already helped to provide education to thousands of children in Sierra Leone.
In addition to that, they have also sent shipments to war-affected regions in the area, including $700,000 in medical supplies, as well as desks,
text books, and school kits. For more information on how you can get involved in the lives of the children in Sierra Leone, please visit
www.freethechildren.com.
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Sierra Leone: What's the Real Story?
With a population of over 5.3 million people and over 18 indigenous* ethnicities, Sierra Leone has a rich history from pre-colonial times to the present. The country
celebrated its independence from Britain in 1961, but the drums of victory were soon stifled by the country's political and economic problems. Severe political problems
began in the late 1960s, with coup* after coup shaking up the government and spurring violence for the next three decades. By the early 1990s, bands of rebels, led by
RUF (Revolutionary United Front) began fighting over control of the country's vast diamond mines, killing over 50,000 villagers in the process and using children as
soldiers. "The sad part about this conflict is that it is a battle over diamonds, which 90 percent of the population has never seen," writes Linnisa Wahid, a journalist
with The Cavalier Daily and former resident of Sierra Leone. A report released by Physicians for Human Rights also focuses on the scars left by war-related sexual violence
against women throughout the civil war. According to estimates from BBC news, violence from the civil war has caused nearly half of the population to be displaced.
Want more info?
Check out www.trcsierraleone.org and
Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stone by Greg Campbell.
*Indigenous: peoples, nations, and cultures that existed before colonialism
*Coup: a sudden takeover of leadership or power
Past Activists
of the Month
November 2005:
Stephanie Nyombaire
December 2005:
Kaley Rosinski
January 2006:
Kyla Carpenter & Erika Chase
March 2006:
Shelby Knox
April 2006:
Cisnell Baez & Ashley Cotton
May 2006:
Makalay Tarawally
June 2006:
Becky Marks
July 2006:
Geneva Johnson
August 2006:
Rachel Powell
September 2006:
Liz Funk
October 2006:
May Lan Dong
November 2006:
Karoline Evin McMullen
December 2006:
Maggie Astor
January 2007:
E. Jane Handel
February 2007:
Ana Slavin
March 2007:
Shaina Patel
April 2007:
Amity Paye
May 2007:
Evelyn Eng-Nol
June 2007:
Ava Lowery
July 2007:
Chela Élan Counts
August 2007:
Alexandra Pates
September 2007:
Alexandra Abend
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