I went back home after 3 years of studying in the States. I wasn’t sure about what to expect. A part of me was excited to see my family and catch up with my friends and another part was a little scared. I have heard a lot of international students like myself say they feel like don’t fit anywhere- “too foreign for home and too foreign away from home”. That was scary to think about.  When I got home, I was quite impressed with the improvement in infrastructure. The main roads were good and there was 24-hour electricity for the full two months I was at home. As far as I can remember, that is the longest time I have had consistent electricity in Sierra Leone. I was very much impressed. Although, the government is doing well with improving the infrastructure, there are very limited opportunities for youths. African youths are hungry for knowledge and are looking for ways to improve themselves and their surroundings. The government in a lot of African countries hardly provide opportunities for the youth and people in the Diaspora should be encouraged to come back and invest in their countries.

Visiting home wasn’t after 3 years for me was very important. I had lost my brother and his family to the mudslide and so it was an emotional period for me. I am grateful to have had a really strong support system. I also had an internship with the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, and my friends and I were organizing the first TEDxYouth focused event in Sierra Leone. It was a busy come-back, but I sure did make the most out of it. Organizing an event in Sierra Leone isn’t as easy as it sounds- there were so many obstacles and if it weren’t for the passion we had to make a change and bring something unique,  it wouldn’t have been possible.

My friends and I spent about a year and a half preparing for this TEDx event. We applied for our license 5 times and got denied 4 times- the final one was a yes. Even the first step came with challenges and required persistence. We were a team of 7 people and we divided up the work among ourselves. We had an overwhelming response from sponsors which made the work easier but however, we had a few lapses because nothing great really happens without a challenge. About 16 hours to the event, our camera crew bailed out on us and told us that they won’t be able to cover the event anymore. We have been talking to these people for weeks and everything was set out to happen the next morning, but they had some internal misunderstanding and ended up canceling. At this point, a few of my teammates were mentally exhausted from the unprofessionalism but luckily, AYV came to our aid. We rushed to the MD’s office who happened to be a friend and a mentor- we explained our issue to him, and he gave us a crew. If it weren’t for AYV, our event wouldn’t have been much of a success. We did reach out to a couple of other people for help but most of them thought we were making money off organizing a TEDx event, so they were asking for a ridiculous sum and the truth is we made Le 0 out of the TEDx event. It was all volunteering and giving back to a country we love so much and want to see improvements in every aspect it possibly can.

I had a really good time at home, and it was a much-needed break to reenergize as I start my final year of college. My internship with the bank went well and the TEDx event was a success. TED approved and uploaded all the videos we sent to them on the official TED YouTube channel. It was a unique experience for me, and I am eternally grateful to all the co-organizers, sponsors and everyone else involved in making the event a success. I am looking forward to probably help organize a bigger event in the near future.

By Michael Bengah

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