Sierra+Leone

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Sierra Leone is a country on the west coast of Africa.The land is 71,740 square kilometers. If you think about Norway's 386 433 sq. km, Sierra Leone is a small country.

History
In 1447 the first European came to Sierra Leone in Africa. The land was an area for gory combat and exploitation between ethnic groups and colonial power. The slave trade, colonialism and imperialism started. In 1550 the slave trade really started. The people was taken from East-Africa and transported to America. And there they worked on plantation. In 1555 Sierra Leone being invaded by their neighbor country Liberia. That’s the begging of a really gory war. In 1775 the liberation war started in USA. The Britain’s promised the slaves freedom if they came with an army, but when the Brittan won the war they didn’t know what to do with the slaves. In 1808 Sierra Leone being a colony under Brittan. The Brittan got the inhabitants to fight between each other, and then it was much easier for the Brittan to take over the land. (Less people to fight with) In 1960 decolonization in Africa, then also in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone geographic
Sierra Leone is a beautiful country in Africa. They have one big mountain they really are proud of, that’s Bintimani who is 1948 meters high. They got several rivers in Sierra Leone. The ten largest cities is Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Koidu, Lunsar, Port Loko, Waterloo, Kabala and Pandebu. The largest is Freetown with 5.7millions inhabitants; Freetown is also the capital city in Sierra Leone.

Why is Sierra Leone an English speaking country?
The native tongue in Sierra Leone is English. this is because Sierra Leone once was a British colony. It started in 1808, when the Britain’s came to Sierra Leone, they took the land and killed all the black people who fight against them, and then they took the native people and used them as slaves. Some of the people they sold to America where they worked as slaves on farms. In Sierra Leone, the Brittan used the native people as slaves, and they were making coffee, rutile, cocoa and they also got diamonds from mains, all this they sent back to Britain. That’s why Sierra Leone is so poor today and the Britain is richer.

sierra leone vs britain
In Sierra Leone is the government, education, traditions and culture different than in Britain.

The education system in Sierra Leone is based on six years of primary school, six years of secondary school, and the secondary school is further divided into junior- and senior secondary school. the primary- and secondary school is for children from 6 to 18 years old. In Government-Sponsored public schools, is Primary education free and compulsory.

In Britain every child from the age 5 to 16 years, must receive a full time education. The National Curriculum defines four Key Stages, which breakdown as follows: Key Stage 1: Years 1 and 2 (up to age 7) Key Stage 2: Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 (age 7 to 11) Key Stage 3: Years 7, 8 and 9 (age 11 to 14) Key Stage 4: Years 10 and 11 (age 14 to 16)

The National Curriculum's aim is to make sure that all pupils had a balanced education by stating the topics that should be taught and the standards expected to be attained by pupils.

Sierra Leone Government and Politics

Independence: From Britain, April 27, 1961. Constitution: October 1, 1991. Political parties: The Political Parties Registration Commission was formed in late 2005 to review registered parties to see whether they still met registration requirements. Most of the parties are inactive. Major parties--Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), All People's Congress (APC), Peace and Liberation Party (PLP), and People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC).

Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature and parlamient.

The current system of government in Sierra Leone is modeled on the following structure of government: The Legislature The Executive The Judiciary

The President is the head of state, the head of government and the commander-in-chief of the The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. The president appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers (including the vice president), which must be approved by the Parliament of Sierra Leone. The president is elected by popular vote to a maximum of two/five-year terms. The president power is checked by the parliament of Sierra Leone. To be elected president of Sierra Leone, a candidate must gain at least 55 percent of the vote. If no candidate gets the 55 percent requirement, there will be a second-round runoff between the top two candidates with the most votes in the first round. For qualification to be elected President of Sierra Leone, the person must be a: - natural born citizen of Sierra Leone - Should have attained the age of 40 years - Should be a member of a political party -Should be able to speak and read the English language.

The Parliament of Sierra Leone is unicameral, with 124 seats. 112 members are elected concurrently with the presidential elections The other twelve seats are filled by Paramount chief from each of the country's twelve administrative districts. All members serve five-year terms.

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The national song of Sierra Leone
High we exalt thee, realm of the free Great is the love we have for thee Firmly united ever we stand, Singing thy praise, O native land. We raise up our hearts and our voices on high, The hills and the valleys re-echo our cry Blessing and peace be ever thine own, Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

One with a faith that wisdom inspires, One with a zeal that never tires Ever we seek to honour thy name, Ours is the labour, thine the fame. We pray that no harm on thy children may fall, That blessing and peace may descend on us all So may we serve thee ever alone, Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

Knowledge and truth our forefathers spread, Mighty the nations whom they led Mighty they made thee, so too may we Show forth the good that is ever in thee. We pledge our devotion, our strength and our might, Thy cause to defend and to stand for thy right All that we have be ever thine own, Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

Links:

http://www.schoolzone.co.uk/community/information/UK.asp [|http://www.wikipedia.org] http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107959.html