Young Life in Freetown | The Human Billboard

Abdulai Sesay became a model in 2007. He was just out of school in Bo, Sierra Leone’s second city.

As the athlete got better at keeping his pose for hours and hours, his fame spread to Kenema, the third-largest city in Sierra Leone.

Before he came to the capital Freetown, Abdulai went to Makeni to show off his skill. He struck a pose for a full 9 hours on the roof of a car.

In Freetown, he posed for 10 hours at the National Stadium, while people made fun of him.

Abdulai poses for very long hours. Perhaps the longest stretch was in Bo when he stayed in character for 14 hours and 48 minutes.

Abdulai has always been excited by Spider-Man, the superhero in American comic books. He often paints his body like one of the fictional characters.

It takes Abdulai a couple of hours to transform into Amazing Spider-Man or Wall-crawler. Once he applies his makeup with water paint, it might stay on his skin for a day.

Abdulai came to Freetown in 2013. While he settled into life in the capital, he signed up with a human billboard agency to advertise company brands and logos.

Abdulai and his team also do advertisements for celebrities and politicians. When the team gets paid, their earnings are set aside for their monthly bills.

Another way he earns money is by posing in public for tips from passers-by. His favorite spots are at Portee in the East End, PZ and central Freetown

Sometimes he gets invited to fundraising events. If the event organizers make a profit, Abdulai and his team get paid huge sums. If not, they take home a very small amount of money.

When one of Sierra Leone's presidential candidates for the 2018 elections died after a short illness, Abdulai mourned Moseray Fadika with full-body paint in green, white n' blue. Fadika was the first Goodwill and Business Ambassador for the Commonwealth Africa Initiative, vice chairman of Shandong Steel SL Ltd., and executive director of Pan African Minerals Ltd.


Report by Inyilla Borteh Conteh


Comments

  1. AskiaMarch 25, 2017 at 5:39 AM

    Beautiful writer and chronicler of youth lives in Sierra Leone. Excellent service. Are you, Yaya Conteh's daughter?

    ReplyDelete

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