Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013 Visits Wellbody Alliance Clinic

Hello world!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing great, thanks to the Almighty for blessings and lessons. This past Monday, I visited the Wellbody Clinic in Gbense Chiefdom, Dorma Town. Guided by the Clinic's Managing Director, Shirley Gao, I took a tour of the clinic, heard its Founding story and learnt about the services provided, and interacted with the staff.  Wellbody Alliance organization and its clinic was founded by Dr. Mohammed Bailor Barrie and Dr. Dan Kelly; Dr. Kelly was a judge at the 2012‪ Miss Sierra Leone USA‬ Leadership and Scholarship Pageant. During the pageant weekend, Dr. Kelly was very interested in learning about the personal platforms of titleholders. On the night of the 2012 Miss Sierra Leone USA Talent Presentation, I spoke extensively about my platform of Advocating for SHERO to Dr. Kelly, in return he spoke passionately of the work and service Wellbody Alliance and its Clinic provides to the people of Kono District.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Wellbody Alliance Clinic in Gbense Chiefdom, Dorma Town

Found in 2006, Wellbody Alliance has grown into one of the major healthcare providers in Sierra Leone. This non-profit organization serves over 30,000 patients a year from the Wellbody Clinic and their partner public clinics. This clinic offers free healthcare service to children 5 years old & under, pregnant women, and lactating mothers; a law that was established by First Lady Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma. In addition, Wellbody Clinic offers free healthcare services to: amputees and their dependants, individuals living with HIV/AIDS, individuals with Tuberculosis (TB), and destitute members of the community. The clinic provides free HIV testing, TB testing, pregnancy tests, and more; tests are done by the laboratory technicians.

Left-Right:
Mr. Foday Sheriff Kamara (TB Supervisor),
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson,
and Mr. Samuel Ndomaina (lab technician)

Left-Right:
Mr. Samuel Ndomaina (lab technician),
Mr. Abdulai Jalloh (Administration Officer),
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson,
and Mr. Foday Sheriff Kamara (TB Supervisor)

Construction of upcoming Wellbody Clinic's Women Center

Wellbody Alliance is currently building a Women's Center besides the Clinic, that'll be adjacent to the Administration Office. The purpose is to create a bigger space for women patients, pregnant women, lactating mothers and their children. Funds are still being raised for the completion of this structure.

Construction of upcoming Wellbody Clinic's Women's Center

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Aminata Bah (Pharmacist)

Fact: Wellbody, spelled wεlbכdi in the Krio language, means "good health" in english.

HIV/AIDS Awareness sign at the Wellbody Clinic

Observation Room at Wellbody Clinic

The Wellbody Clinic provides an Observation Room with 4 beds for patients, whereby patients are put under care for a few hours; the Clinic does not provide overnight services for patients, or perform any form of surgeries. The Clinic provides referrals to its patients to the Koidu Government Hospital.

Wellbody Clinic Reception area

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Ms. Shirley Gao (Managing Director of Wellbody Clinic)

Fact: According to the Wellbody Alliance website: "Our mission is not simply to provide medical services to the poor, but to build an effective healthcare system in the region that will save lives in a sustainable, equitable and just manner. We have a vision that drives all of our programs: the poor and all in Sierra Leone deserve the best healthcare possible, and Wellbody Alliance is dedicated to delivering it ... We have a mission that aligns our work: to provide healthcare as a human right to the poor in Sierra Leone. We do this through our community health work and high quality clinical care in Kono District."

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2012-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Left-Right:
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson,
Mr. Nicholas Kargbo (Finance Officer), and
Ms. Shirley Gao (Managing Director)

Special thanks to Ms. Gao and the Wellbody Clinic staff for being such great hosts. I am thankful for their service to the people of Kono District, their hard work is highly appreciated! To the Founders, Directors, sponsors, and volunteers of Wellbody Alliance and the Clinic, thank you for living by the mission and providing such a necessary initiative for the people of Sierra Leone. God bless you all!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson with some staff members of Wellbody Clinic

Fambul den, this is Salone!!!

Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

Like my Facebook Page & Follow me on Twitter (@MissSaloneUSA)

Miss Sierra Leone USA Celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr 2013

Hello world!!!

Hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing great, thankfully to the Almighty for blessings and lessons. This past Thursday, Muslims in Sierra Leone and around the world celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr. Eid Mubarak! This day is observed as a Public Holiday in the Republic of Sierra Leone. Although I am raised Christian and a believer, I decided to celebrate this holiday with my Muslim brothers and sisters, and observe Pray Day (as said in Salone). I accompanied my friend and Koidu Limited volunteer, Bisatu, to the Ansarul Islamic Girls Secondary School (AIGSS) field in Tankoro Chiefdom, Koidu Town for the prayers. Of course prayers are usually done in the Mosque but due to the fact that this was a bigger celebration, the religious leaders chose to organize the program at a bigger location to accommodate the bigger crowd. Never been to a Mosque, this was my first experience in a prayerful and celebratory Muslim gathering. Being raised in Sierra Leone as a young girl, seeing Christians and Muslims interact peacefully and work in unity is very common. This is one of the many reasons why my country, Sierra Leone, is great!

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Octea Mining Intern and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson with friend and Octea Mining Volunteer Bisatu

Fact: Sierra Leone is ranked as one of the most religiously tolerant nations in the world. Sierra Leone is a predominantly Muslim country, though with an influential Christian minority. People are often married across religious and ethnic boundaries. Christians and Muslims collaborate and interact with each other peacefully. Christians and Muslims celebrate Christian holidays and activities together, and vice versa. Religious violence is very rare in the country.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson
"Every Haja needs a handsome and stylish Alhaji by her side!"

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, Bisatu, Bisatu's daughter and cousins

Fact: Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid al-Fitr, also called Feast of Breaking the Fast, the Sugar Feast, Bayram (Bajram), the Sweet Festival and the Lesser Eid, is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). The religious Eid is a single day and Muslims are not permitted to fast on that day. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. This is a day when Muslims around the world show a common goal of unity. The date for the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on the observation of new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality. However in most countries, it is generally celebrated on the same day as Saudi Arabia.

"Just call me 'Haja Rubiatu'"
Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Muslim women after prayers on Eid-ul-Fitr

From the moment I got out of my room heading to eat breakfast, everyone at the company's camp base referred to me as "Haja." Haha... very funny. To make it more interesting, I told them that they could refer to me as "Haja Rubiatu" for the day. Some of my Koidu Ltd co-workers made remarks such as "Miss Sierra Leone USA is Chris-Mus," "I like how well you adapt and think outside the box," "Miss Sierra Leone USA is open-minded," and many more. In addition, they were impressed at how I could create an outfit overnight knowing that I'm not Muslim and do not own anything related to the outfits of the religion. Special thanks to Bisatu for taking me to town and helping me put together this ensemble in such little time. In the end, I enjoyed every moment of this Pray Day and glad that I could participate in it with my Muslim sisters and brothers.

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson on a bike

After being away from ‪Sierra Leone‬ for 10 years and returning back this year, I haven't had a chance to ride on a bike as public transportation. After prayers and leaving the field, I decided to change the fact that I had not been on a bike and give it a try to go around town. Since going to pray was a new experience for me, I thought why not try something else that is new to me. I was terrified at first knowing how bumpy the roads are right now because of the rainy season in Salone, but I ended up enjoying the fast ride!

Octea Mining Intern and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

Eid-ul-Fitr being a Public Holiday in Sierra Leone, workers have a day off and get to relax. However, I was given the opportunity of this internship as an international student intern and expatriates in the company don't have days-off. So after prayers and seeing town for a couple hours, I returned back to work. I wore my attire for a bit, but being that I had to get back to being a mining engineer I had to change outfits from my Muslim wear to my work clothes and return to the pits. Luckily, I did not work throughout the regularly scheduled time for a weekday, expatriates were let out early and I was able to get off work a couple hours early.

Fambul den, this is Salone!!!

Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

Like my Facebook Page & Follow me on Twitter (@MissSaloneUSA)

Adventures of Miss Sierra Leone USA - Life in Salone (Part I)

Hello world!!!

Hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing well, thanks to the Almighty. As some of you may know from my previous blog posts and facebook updates, I am currently in Kono, Sierra Leone doing an internship with Koidu Limited (Part of Octea Mining). I work Mondays (8am-5pm) to Saturdays (half day, 8am~12:30pm or later); on scheduled blasting days (Tuesdays and Fridays), I get off later. A couple of weeks ago, I got to work lengthily with the Blasting department and even got to ignite the fuse for the blast, make sure you check out a video I recorded of this moment on my Youtube channel.

Life at Koidu Limited - Part of Octea Mining
Holes that have been charged and stemmed for blasting

One of the awesome things about my job at Koidu Ltd is that I get to work with other departments of the company besides mining. This past Tuesday, I got to spend a day with the Community Development department and shadowed the Department's Head, Henry Vaag, along with his volunteer, Bisatu. Being that it was a blasting day, I escorted Mr. Vaag and Bisatu around town to make sure residents living close to the mine and hazardous blast areas surrounding evacuated before the blasting happens at 5pm. After the blasting, Mr. Vaag also goes around town to check the status of homes in the community and make sure they were not affected by the blast and residents were safe in the Safe Blasting Zones; there was only one incident in which a flyrock hit the roof of a zinc home that's was covered with a tapoline. The fallen rock was collected as well as information about this shelter; it was immediately arranged for the roofing to be fixed on that day for that house. Instances such as this rarely happen, because Koidu Limited created a Resettlement Program for the community in which they built homes for families that's farther away from areas that could be affected from the blasting, and gives the families an opportunity to move away from their former houses that are unsafe for blasting purposes.

Octea Mining Intern and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson with Mr. Sahr Randolph Fillie-Faboi

On this same day after driving around the community post-blasting, Mr. Vaag, Bisatu, and myself paid a quick visit to the house of the former Resident Minister East, Mr. Sahr Randolph Fillie-Faboi (shown in the photo above). He spoke with me about his experience in Public Service, working at the United Nations in New York, current events in Kono and Sierra Leone, and many more.

Kimbadu Community Healthcare Centre

On Wednesday, I got to spend another day with the Community Development's Head, Mr. Vaag, along with his volunteer, Bisatu. While in town, we paid a visit to the Kimbadu Community Healthcare Centre in Kimbadu. This center was funded and built by Koidu Limited - Part of Octea Mining, and formally opened in November 2011. The building was officially opened by Mr. Andrew Hart, Vice President of the Tiffany & Co. I spoke with the hospital staff and interacted with few patients during my visit, and got to learn about the history of the Centre. I'm pictured with one of the cutie patients, Little Mr. Mac. 

Left-Right:
Ibrahim Jalloh, CHO (Community Health Officer),
Octea Mining Intern and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson,
Agnes K. Ansumana, SECHN (State Enroll Community Health Nurse), and
Elizabeth M. Saquee, MCHA (Maternal and Child Health Aide)

Octea Mining Intern and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 with little cutie patient, Mac

Kimbadu Community Health Centre built by Koidu Limited - Octea Foundation

Kumba, Market woman at Kimbadu Local Market, with daughter and customer

This is Kumba, one of the market women at Kimbadu Local Market. Carry her beautiful daughter and attending to customers, she spoke with me for a while about the activities of the market and interesting facts about the people of ‪‎Kimbadu‬ and ‪‎Kono‬ District. Check out the beautiful and natural color of the palm oil she's selling.

Food (palm oil, pepper, etc.) display at Kimbadu Local Market

Fambul den, this is Salone!!!

Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

Like my Facebook Page & Follow me on Twitter (@MissSaloneUSA)

Miss Sierra Leone USA Talks Miss World 2013 - The Queens of Africa

Hello world!!!

Hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing fantastic, thanks to the Almighty. Being that the Miss Sierra Leone USA Pageant is the first and only pageant I've competed in, I spent time prior to the pageant and continue to grow, admire, and be inspired by past and present titleholders. One of the amazing things about the world of pageantry is that there are lots of titleholders, pageant junkies, and pageant systems out there to learn from around the world, it all depends on what traits and characteristics you're looking for out there because there's a role model Queen doing or an organization supporting your kind of platform! One of the most famous pageants in the world is the Miss World Pageant. The upcoming 63rd edition of MW will be held this year on September 28th in Bali, Indonesia.

Reigning Miss World 2012 Yu Wenxia from China

Fact: The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. The winner spends a year travelling to represent the Miss World Organization and its various causes. Miss World is part of the Big Four international pageants: Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss Earth, and Miss International. Beauty with a Purpose, formerly known as Miss World Scholarship, is an event established in 2001 that is celebrated during the activities prior to the Miss World pageant. It awards the contestant with the most relevant and important charity project in her nation. Other Challenge Events include: Miss World Talent, Miss World Beach Fashion, Miss World Sports, Miss World Top Model, Miss World Multimedia, etc.

Reigning Miss World Africa 2012 Atong Demach from South Sudan

Miss World Sierra Leone 2012 Vanessa Williams
Vanessa was a Top 15 finalist for the Miss World Talent 2012 Challenge Event

Fact: In the history of the Miss World Pageant, 4 women representing African nations (South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria). Agbani Darego is the first Black African woman crowned Miss World in 2001, she was Miss Nigeria 2001; Miss World winners from South Africa (2) and Egypt (1) were of European and Greek descent, respectively.

Miss World 2001 Agbani Darego from Nigeria

As a reigning titleholder and Brown girl, I am inspired by my fellow Queens of African ancestry in the Continent, as well as by Queens around the world. The purpose of this blog post is to to highlight the beautiful and elegant women representing the continent of Africa. There is currently no representative for the Republic of Sierra Leone for this year's edition of MW. The list of representatives shown below are those currently confirmed, the list may increase because some African nations may still need to crown a Queen and the MW 2013 is a month and half away (updates/additions will be posted when necessary). Link to the information for all contestants via Global Beauties. Presenting the Queens of Africa vying for the Miss World 2013 title/crown/sash:

ANGOLA - Miss Angola Mundo 2013 Maria Castelo

BOTSWANA - Miss Botswana 2013 Rosemary Keofitlhetse

CAMEROON - Miss Cameroun 2013 Valerie Ayena

CAPE VERDE - Miss Cabo Verde 2013 Christina Spencer

COTE D'IVOIRE (IVORY COAST) - Miss Côte d’Ivoire 2013 Aissata Dia Ezzedine

EQUATORIAL GUINEA - Miss Guinea Ecuatorial 2013 Restituta Mifumu Nguema

ETHIOPIA - Miss World Ethiopia 2012-2013 Genet Tsegay

GABON - Miss World Gabon 2013 Brunilla Moussadingou

GHANA - Miss Ghana 2012-2013 Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter

GUINEE - Miss World Guinea 2013 Mariama Diallo

GUINEA-BISSAU - Miss Mundo Guiné-Bissau 2013 Heny Tavares

KENYA - Miss World Kenya 2013 Sherry Wangui Gitonga

LESOTHO - Face of Lesotho 2013 Mamahlape Caroline Matsoso

MAURITIUS - Miss World Mauritius 2013 Nathalie Lesage

NAMIBIA - Miss Namibia 2013 Paulina Malulu

NIGERIA - Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria 2013 Anna Ebiere Banner

RWANDA - Miss Rwanda 2012-2013 Aurore Kayibanda Umutesi

SEYCHELLES - Miss Seychelles...Another World 2013 Agnes Gerry Emmanuel

SOUTH AFRICA - Miss South Africa 2012-2013 Marilyn Ramos

SOUTH SUDAN - Miss World South Sudan 2013 Modong Manuela Mogga

TANZANIA - Redd's Miss Tanzania 2013 Brigitte Alfred

TUNISIA - Miss Tunisie Heba Talmoudi

UGANDA - Miss Uganda 2013 Stella Nantumbwe

ZAMBIA - Miss World Zambia 2013 Christine Mwaaba

Good luck, African Queens. Bring that crown to the Continent!!!

Update: Miss World Philippines Megan Lynne Young is Miss World 2013. She's the first woman representing Philippines to have won the Miss World title. Miss France came in 2nd and wins Miss World Europe title, and Miss Ghana came in 3rd place and wins Miss World Africa title.

Ruby B. Johnson,

Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

Like my Facebook Page & Follow me on Twitter (@MissSaloneUSA)