What is going on in Sierra Leone?
The Adjei Foundation has been working closely with Mr Tyson Conteh, founder and director of Future View Media Centre and a BBC Africa Eye producer and director, to help tackle the ongoing crisis surrounding the use of the illegal drug Kush in his country, Sierra Leone.
Tyson is a talented and successful filmmaker in Sierra Leone with humanitarian goals helping to highlight and initiate critical and thought-provoking discussions affecting his society through media. He is an internationally recognised filmmaker that has made striking and impactful documentaries partnering with the BBC and charitable organisations to produce works in Sierra Leone with themes surrounding teenage pregnancy, Ebola, disability awareness and sex work. His work has helped to bring attention and positive change to the lives of the people affected within each theme.
There is now a crisis in Sierra Leone that needs your urgent attention and support. Kush is an illegal synthetic drug ravaging communities in Sierra Leone. It is a cheap psychoactive drug taken popularly by the young and unemployed that can drive some to a state of madness, with reports of people killing themselves or harming themselves or others. There has been a stark rise in violent crime in the region, and its continued widespread use amongst law enforcement personnel has turned the situation into a crisis.
This fundraiser aims to help Tyson and his team at Future View Media Centre use their film “Kush into the Mad World” – the only documentary made around the widespread use of Kush in the country to raise awareness in Sierra Leone. Using a solar-powered cinema kit, the team will work to screen the film in and around ghetto and slum communities where Kush users and sellers are mostly found with a cost of around $425 per screening; they will document this journey.
The people who need to see the impact that Kush is having on their lives, communities and country are unable to due to poor telecommunications infrastructure. Tyson and his team want to travel throughout Sierra Leone, screening their film and facilitating discussions within communities to stop the spread of this drug and discourage current users from it. To do this, they will need your support.
Contact us: archibald@theadjeifoundation.com or tysonconteh@gmail.com to learn more about how your funds will be used and what you can do to support.
