While Sierra Leone gained its independence in 1961, 53 years ago, its historical value in respect to the advancement of Africans across the globe and the pioneering nature of Sierra Leoneans dates back at least 200+ years.  In the 19th Century, Sierra Leone was hailed as the “Athens of West Africa”, specifically for the central role it played to the education of West Africans who attended the prestigious Fourah Bay College in Freetown, the first westernized university in West Africa.

Many of Sierra Leone’s older pioneers and changemakers started out in their 20s and 30s.  It was around his late 30s, in 1874 that Sierra Leonean Dr. Africanus Horton published the very first account of Sickle Cell disease in the world.  Sierra Leonean Dr. J.F Easmon was in his late 20s when he became the first in the world to coin the name ‘Blackwater” to the Malaria disease when he wrote “The Nature and Treatment of Blackwater Fever” in 1884.  In his late 20s, the world renowned Sierra Leonean Composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was invited to the White House by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.

More recently however, the ingenuity of Sierra Leoneans is being demonstrated at an even younger age, along with the recognition that come with the amazing goals they set out to accomplish.  As the country recently celebrated its 53rd Independence, it is incredible to see that young Sierra Leoneans continue to represent the symbolic nature of the “Athens of West Africa”, even if in this era, their achievements manifests itself around the world, in their respective academic and career fields, whether it is in London, Freetown, or D.C..

This is the first part of a list of 30 Sierra Leoneans under 30 who are making great strides in their fields in Sierra Leone and across the world.  They, along with others who will certainly be on the next set of lists that follow, continue the tradition and custom Sierra Leoneans before have set in the advancement of Africans everywhere.