Sierra Leone is a country in West Africa rich in minerals but poor otherwise.  For many years now there has been a very bad war.  People are fighting for control of the country's most important minerals: diamonds.  Some rebel groups are mining and then selling diamonds to buy weapons.  Many Sierra Leoneans have fled their homes and are now living and suffering in refugee camps. 

Our teacher Ms. Edinger lived for two years in Sierra Leone as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  This war disturbed Ms. Edinger a great deal so she wanted to do something and told us a bit about Sierra Leone last fall when we were studying immigration (especially forced immigration, slavery.) Recently a classmate came across an article about Sierra Leone and mentioned it to the class.  This caused a conversation about what was happening there and Ms. Edinger asked the class if they'd like to help Sierra Leone.  Every single person said yes. 

Ms. Edinger reminded the class of the visit of Wendy Smith of the International Rescue Committee last fall.  She told us about solar powered radios that would be useful for people in the refugee camps to hear news.  The class decided to have a bake sale to raise money. They also decided to learn more about Sierra Leone and teach others about it. 

On Thursday, June 8th, 2000 we held a bake sale and exhibit for Sierra Leone.  We gave out hundreds flyers about Sierra Leone to people from the School community as well as those passing by.  We raised over $250 at the bake sale.  Several members of our class also raised money in their buildings so all together we raised almost $600. We will give this money to the International Rescue Committee for radios and school supplies.  We also are happy that we raised awareness about Sierra Leone.