Young Life in Freetown | After the fire at Susan's Bay

Since Monday April 3rd, when fire raced through Susan's Bay, hundreds are still coming to terms with the disaster. Thanks to the World Food Program (WFP) in Sierra Leone, survivors have gotten by on donations of rice and cooking oil. The WFP also helped put up makeshift tents.

  Sanoh Yasaneh said she’s grateful to the WFP for giving whatever support they can. However, she said, not everyone got supplies. There also aren’t enough tents, according to Sanoh.

"We're over fifty, sharing a tent,” she said. “What if there's disease, wouldn't we all fall victim? Eyes need to be drawn here or else, we might not survive this crisis," she said.

  Momodu Turay complained that his family didn't receive supplies either. Momodu said getting a bed in the tents is difficult because they are so overcrowded.

“We need help. It is not safe.  My family and I have given up,” he said.

  Nancy Sowa said Susan's Bay  is a mess because there are no public toilets.

"Everyday we wonder if we will ever come out of this alive," she said.

Monday's tragedy at Susan's Bay was reportedly caused by electrical fire. But no one knows for sure whether it was a loose outlet, worn switches, old and corroded extension cords, or improper wiring methods.

People watched helplessly as more than a hundred homes were burned to the ground, including whatever valuables were owned by the coastal community people. Thankfully no life was lost.

Some sought refuge from neighbors, whose houses were miraculously spared.

Fatou Kamara, a mother of three, said she lost everything but her children are safe and sound.

"I don't have the slightest idea how to fetch them food though," she said.

  Tiangay Mbayo is a student. She said she stopped going to school the day the fire broke out because she lost her uniform and all her school materials. With exams around the corner, 17-year-old Tiangay is worried she might miss out.

“I don't want to repeat the class. I need to get on with my academic work. This place is no longer home,” she said.

  Charles Koroma, a tailor, said the fire had brought him great loss. Clothes and fabric belonging to his customers, worth about three million Leones, were destroyed. Charles worries about how his customers will react.

“I have nothing. This fire took my livelihood and my peace,” he said.

  Alusine Barrie is a shopkeeper who also lost everything in the fire.

Alusine said his business worth about five million Leones, was reduced to ashes.

"My heart breaks when I see that my shop no longer exists. It was my only source of income. I used it to settle my debts and to take care of my family members," he said.

 People in Freetown have often condemned the Susan’s Bay community and residents have been asked to leave. For years, the area has been clogged with debris. Vulnerable to disease, Susan Bay residents have suffered higher death and child mortality rates than other communities.

 The government hasn’t said whether they will move residents to another location or build them new houses in the same community.

Last June Concord Times’ Regina Pratt said some Susan Bay residents were willing to be relocated during the raining season if the government had provided housing.

In September 2015, heavy rains caused flooding in coastal communities around Freetown, causing deaths and leaving thousands displaced, according to Concord Times.

Government relocated some of the flood victims to Mile Six, a settlement along the Freetown-Masiaka highway, but many reportedly returned to the same vulnerable communities, Concord Times said.

For Young life in Freetown, I'm Inyilla Borteh Conteh