Letters home: Sierra Leone

BBC World Service's World Today programme is looking at the end of year letters of ordinary people who lived through extraordinary events in 2003.

2003 saw peace continue to spread throughout Sierra Leone as the troubled African nation got used to life without fighting under President Ahmad Kabbah. This is a letter from 18-year-old Chernor Bah, from Freetown.

On New Year's Day, my pastor declared that 2003 would be a year of honour for all of us in our congregation.

True to his prophetic words and to the glory of God, I have had a year of honour.

The first thing that comes to mind when I start looking back through this year is that for the first time in all my childhood, I was entering a year without the fear of any rebel disturbances or the horrible sounds of guns and bombs.

In fact, just 18 days into the year, I was celebrating one full year since my president declared an end to a decade of an awful and catastrophic war which had almost brought my country to a standstill.

Remarkably therefore, this has been the most peaceful year in my country for as long as I can remember.

As founding president of a leading children's organisation in Sierra Leone, the Children's Forum Network, I had set as a target the establishment of regional chapters of the forum across the country, to give the children in these areas the same opportunities which we were enjoying - the right to participate and the right to a voice.

A new set of dynamic young people are leading advocacy for children all over Sierra Leone

With the help of several of our partners, we have achieved this. A new set of dynamic young people are leading advocacy for children all over Sierra Leone.

That has not been the end of it either.

Increasingly, the children of my country are being able to realise their potential and to enjoy their fundamental and inherent rights, which had been denied to us.

We have a children's radio station where I have the privilege to work as a producer, and numerous young people are benefiting form this. Thanks to the UN mission in Sierra Leone for this.

My family has been stable and everyone around me is happy. All this in one year.

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