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prolonged period of hunger before the next crops were harvested. Migration from farms
to towns and mining areas had been an established trend for several decades and
continued in 1976. However, villagers who attempted to escape the rigors of farm life
were seldom able to find full-time urban employment.
Life-styles of the well-to-do in Freetown or mining towns like Sefadu and Yengema in
Kono district contrasted sharply with those of villagers or the urban poor. They owned
automobiles, refrigerators, sewing machines, radios, and other durable goods. They
varied their diets with imported foods and had access to modern medical care.
On balance, inflation and unemployment also remained relatively low during this period.
The situation began to change significantly in Sierra Leone and the rest of Africa during
the 1980s. Between 1980 and 1990, Sierra Leone’s total economic growth slowed and its
industrial expansion decreased. To make matters worse, inflation is skyrocketing at an
annual rate that exceeds 40%, drastically reducing the standard of living of citizens
already suffering in a stagnant economy.
In real terms, the average income gross national product (GNP per capita) is about one-
half of what it was in the late 1970s. In 1976 no national unemployment insurance or
compulsory government program of old age benefits had been established, but certain
categories of wage earners were covered by injury and disability benefits programs. Most
Sierra Leonean continued to depend on their next of kin to help them in case of sickness
or unemployment and in old age.
Economic decline clearly affects children in specific ways. First, families have
substantially less purchasing power today. This translates into less food, less medicine,
less schooling, and fewer overall services for children. An increasing number of Sierra
Leonean families simply cannot afford even the necessities of life during this period of
severe economic stagnation and austerity. Street children are a direct consequence of this
climate. Second, the government and other national organizations do not have as much
money for programs to assist children and other vulnerable groups.
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