Jody Ray

A tourist in Libya

Last summer, I finally visited Libya. Having worked as a freelance journalist throughout African countries for half a decade, I had wanted to visit Libya for years – not for the beaches or cuisine, but because I have long been drawn to the rough intrigues of North African politics, and the stories surrounding Muammar Gaddafi and his legacy. I also wanted to see the Roman, Phoenician and Greek relics that stand along the Libyan coastline, cut off from the global tourism industry.
What I discover...
AP News •

Ethiopia's Tigray region is caught between past conflict and fears of another

MEKELE, Ethiopia (AP) — Gebreegziabher Berehe has stopped waiting for tourists to arrive as many worry about a return to war.The tour guide in Ethiopia ’s northern region of Tigray says his bookings have dried up, ATMs in the city of Mekele are empty and he is considering leaving a country where he can no longer afford to live.“If war arises again, I think the situation will be even more severe than before,” the 37-year-old Berehe said. “My colleagues and I are now facing serious economic and mo...

On the world's largest hospital ship volunteers give people a chance at a better life

On the largest civilian hospital ship in the world, Australian volunteer medical experts offer life-changing health care that is transforming lives. It is just after dawn, and the Sun is rising over the coast of western Africa as doctor Phil Owen prepares for his first surgery of the day.It's been a short night of sleep for the soft-spoken Aussie anaesthetist but in just a few minutes a young man with a tumour that has slowly overtaken his jaw will be wheeled into the operating theatre.Dozens mo...
New Lines Magazine •

In the Hills Above Freetown, a Chimp Sanctuary Is Fighting for Its Existence

On a quiet afternoon atop the rainforest hills that sit above Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, Bala Amarasekaran leaned against the railing of the sanctuary he built from scratch. His eyes scanned the treetops where rescued chimpanzees swung between ropes and wooden pillars, grinning through the openings of half-buried rubber tires. “I’ll get a text from an anonymous number, and they’ll tell me they’ll burn this place down,” he said. “Sometimes hooligans will come here and make some noise....
The Telegraph •

Sierra Leone launches mpox vaccination drive as cases soar

Sierra Leone has launched a nationwide mpox vaccination campaign after an explosion in cases of a new, more dangerous variant of the virus.Health authorities in the West African country have now confirmed 763 cases of the virus, including 177 recorded in a two day period last week, according to data from the National Public Health Agency.At least six people have died, with most of the infections centred on the capital Freetown and the surrounding area.In response to mounting infections, the gove...
Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly •

Impact of International Aid Cuts on African Communities - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

The United States is cutting nearly all foreign aid, with sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected region, losing billions of dollars in funding that previously supported health, humanitarian, and development programs. The Donald Trump administration’s decision to cut 90 percent of US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) foreign aid contracts has halted programs that provided food aid to millions, supported health care systems, and fought diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria.An article...
Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly •

US Nonprofits Risk Losing Tax Status over Israel Criticism - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that HR 9495 was stalled in the Senate; the bill died without action in the Senate in 2024. In recent months, murmurs in the nonprofit world have turned into alarms largely stemming from fears that their nonprofit status could be stripped away for certain types of speech or activities. This stems in part from the US House of Representatives passing HR 9495, a bill that would empower the Treasury Department to eliminate the tax-exe...
Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly •

Bridging the Healthcare Gap: How Sick Pikin Helps Sierra Leone’s Children Access Lifesaving Treatments - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

In September 2021, a young girl from Sierra Leone boarded her first plane ride bound for New Delhi, India. She had been diagnosed with meningioma, a type of brain tumor that cannot be treated in her home country due to a lack of specialized neurosurgical care.For children in Sierra Leone, life-threatening conditions often become fatal due to limited access to advanced diagnostic tools and healthcare facilities. Without timely intervention, meningioma can compress the brain or spinal cord, leadin...
Internazionale •

Una storia che sparisce

I sierraleonesi hanno opinioni contrastanti su questa vicenda: da un lato, alcuni fanno notare che lo stato può disporre come vuole delle proprietà pubbliche e che molte persone avevano già ricevuto un risarcimento, ma siccome non se n’era­no ancora andate era arrivato il momento di farlo. Dall’altro gli abitanti delle board houses, o _bod ose _nella lingua locale krio, hanno dichiarato di essere devastati dagli sfratti e che il denaro non era stato distribuito equamente. Le case in cui vivevano...
Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly •

In Sierra Leone, Nonprofits Are on the Frontline Against Mpox - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

In an October 31 briefing, the Africa Union’s health watchdog issued a warning about the continent’s ongoing mpox outbreak, which started in early 2022. “The situation is not yet under control, we are still on the upward trend generally,” stated Ngashi Ngongo from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).This follows the declaration in August by the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, that “the upsurge of mpox in the Democra...
The Telegraph •

Inside Sierra Leone’s plan to end its reliance on foreign hospitals

When Isatu Isha Kamara’s teenage daughter developed a limp and began complaining of agonising pain in her hip, a race to find help began that took her all over Sierra Leone.Mabinty Paulina Bangura was battling Chronic Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (SCFE), a rare, debilitating condition stemming from damage to the growth plate in the hip which causes the ball-like end of the femur to slip out of place.Unable to walk properly or attend school, Mabinty urgently needed surgery. But there was a p...
New Internationalist •

Sierra Leone's vanishing history

Built by formerly enslaved people, Freetown’s historic ‘bod oses’ now face an existential threat as foreign embassies move in. Jody Ray reports.  On a humid March morning this year, police officers came to the scenic Hill Station neighbourhood in Freetown, Sierra Leone to evict civil servants living in historic board houses. The government had announced months prior that residents would be relocated, and their houses demolished in order to build Turkish and Saudi Arabian embassies.  Sierra Leon...
Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly •

Medical Ship Docks in Sierra Leone for Free Surgeries and Training - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

Disclosure: The author is a journalist and has been serving as a volunteer writer in the Communications Department on board the Global Mercy since January 2024. In August 2024, the Global Mercy, the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, docked at the port of Freetown for a 10-month field service to provide surgical operations and educational training by invitation of the government of Sierra Leone.
The ship’s first patient after docking was a 32-year-old police officer living in Freetown who h...
Thrillist •

A Port-by-Port Guide to the Canary Islands' Hidden Gems

‌The Canary Islands are an archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa, roughly 100 to 150 kilometers (62 to 93 miles) off the coast of Morocco. This chain of eight islands belongs to Spain and was formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago. Today it attracts travelers seeking year-round warm weather for a mix of nature, adventure, relaxation, and cultural activities.While the islands certainly have more popular areas than others, each has its own identity, flavor, and allure, drawing i...

A map to end malaria?

New vaccines offer hope in the fight against this deadly disease but there are still challenges to overcome. New Humanist joined the vaccine rollout in Sierra Leone to find out moreIt’s the start of the rainy season in Sierra Leone, the west African country known for its beautiful beaches and tropical rainforests. The coming of the rains brings relief from the heat, but also something else: mosquitoes. While Sierra Leone suffers all through the year, the rainy seasons are the worst for mosquito-...
The Telegraph •

Sierra Leone gets first doses of a malaria vaccine – but with major challenges ahead

It has been a little over a month since World Malaria Day, when Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, addressed the nation in its fight against malaria with a landmark vaccination campaign. Since then, Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and UNICEF have been busy rolling out the first 550,000 doses of the new vaccine to the furthest corners of the country. The vaccine RTS,S/AS01 – commercial name Mosquirix – is made by GlaxosmithKline (GSK) and is the first for two pioneering malaria jabs no...
Bean to Barstool •

The Ghosts of New Orleans: Finding non-alcoholic options in a city known for excess.

Issue 05 of Final Gravity, a zine that shares immersive and personal stories from the world of beer, is now available for preorder.

Final Gravity tells the stories that don’t often make it into the pages of glossy beer mags, the stories that together weave the fabric of the collective beer experience.

The Ghosts of New Orleans by Jody Ray—Finding non-alcoholic options in a city known for excess.
Thrillist •

The Case for Visiting Sierra Leone Before Everyone Else Does

Bimbola Carroll’s office sits in a historic building in Freetown, Sierra Leone, overlooking a highway in the northern part of the city. Below, swarms of motorbikes and rattling kekehs (Sierra Leone’s version of the tuk tuk) swerve through pricey imported SUVs and brightly colored, beaten-up taxis—an ever-changing display of the city’s socio-economic divisions. “How are you finding Sierra Leone?” Carroll, or Bims, as he’s affectionately known, asks me. Carroll owns and operates Visit Sierra Leone

Kenyan Courts Keep Telling Meta to Let Workers Unionize

Last year Kenyan courts filed three lawsuits against Meta, Facebook’s parent company, for its unwillingness to work with organized labor. Workers sued Meta, which used third-party companies to facilitate content moderation in Kenya, for failing to provide adequate pay, training, or health care for employees who are regularly required to watch images of rape, murder and torture. In violation of Kenyan law, subcontractors working for Meta fired workers who attempted to unionize last year. When the

The Niger Coup Risks Opening Another Front in the West’s War With Russia

On July 26, a splinter faction of the Niger military overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, confining him to the presidential palace. While telecommunications infrastructure was still intact, a tweet from the premier’s office claimed Bazoum and family were in good health but were prepared to call upon the National Guard to attack if the rebelling soldiers did not back down.

Within forty-eight hours, Colonel Amadou Abdramane, surrounded by nine other officers, took control of national airwaves, dec

How Tunisia Became the EU’s Border Guard

The European Union has struck a deal with the Tunisian government to quell migration coming to European shores. What has been termed a “strategic partnership” after weeks of talks between the two governments has resulted in $1.12 billion to Tunisia to rescue its fledgling economy and bail out debts to directly deal with a growing migrant crisis.

While the funds are contingent on specific economic reforms, human rights groups have sounded the alarm that the European taxpayer money is funding the
Country Roads Magazine •

How to Make West African Okra Stew

I’m pleased to report that Western-style supermarkets remain a rare enough phenomenon in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city. While I was there, I did eventually find one—all boxed away from the public with security guards at the entrance. This is where I got my quick fixes of frozen pizza, Pringles, Coca-Cola products—things shipped in from other countries at a premium.

For everything else, though, I ventured to the sprawling chaos of Dantokpa Market, the largest open-air market in West Africa.

As

Meta Is Trying, and Failing, to Crush Unions in Kenya

Meta is in hot water with Kenyan courts after three suits brought against it in the last year highlight its unwillingness to work with organized labor for better working conditions.

Last December, two Ethiopian researchers brought suit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for failing to adequately moderate extreme and violent content during the ongoing Tigray War, a devastating internal conflict in Ethiopia that has since left over six hundred people dead.

The researchers, Fisseha Tek
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