Keith Warner Background to Keith

Country profile: Sierra Leone, the poorest country in the world (UN).

A country ravaged by a brutal civil war in the 1990’s. The war was funded by diamonds, the so-called 'Blood Diamonds'.

The capital, Freetown, has historical links with the famous Abolishionist William Wilberforce of Hull, and has since become the twin town of Hull.

During the war, children became both the abused and the abusers.

Boys were abducted, drugged and forced to become child soldiers - they were called SBU’s (Small Boy Units).

Girls were sexually abused and forced into prostitution. It is estimated that 50,000 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands of families were torn apart by these modern day acts of slavery.

Sierra Leone emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002, with the help of Britain, the former colonial power, and a large UN peacekeeping mission. The country is now going through the challenge of reconstruction.

Reuniting the families separated by the war is continuing. There are just a handful of aid agencies who are doing this work. HANCI (Help A Need Child International), The St. George Foundation and AMNet (The Advocacy Movement Network) are examples.

Their vital work is hindered by the punishing road conditions of a country with few resources to repair or make new roads. On average it takes 7 journeys across difficult terrain to re-unite just one family. Robust transport is vital to continue this work. The aid agencies find it difficult to maintain, let alone replace, their small fleet of vehicles.

The Hull Freedom Trail wants to meet this need by donating at least five 4x4 vehicles to these agencies to continue and expand their work.

Video of the overview of the Project

1. To donate and deliver five fully equipped four-wheel drive vehicles to our twin town, Freetown, in Sierra Leone. Aid organisations will use them for humanitarian aid including re-uniting trafficked young people with their families. 2. Drive the vehicles to Sierra Leone, across the Sahara Desert, to make a television documentary which will raise awareness of historical and modern day slavery – trafficking. Supporting the Stop The Traffik campaign. 3. We’ll mark the 2007 Wilberforce celebrations with a landmark philanthropic project and help keep William Wilberforce’s original vision alive. The Vision

We are donating at least five Mitsubishi L200’s. Fully expedition prepared and ready for a new life in Africa. The Vehicles

We’re making a television documentary of our project filmed and directed by Claudio von Planta (cameraman/director for Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman’s Long Way Round and Race to Dakar). The Documentary As a focus within the documentary, we are also taking a group of young people from Orchard Park and Bransholme. This will give them a once in a lifetime experience of the other side of life.

This is a landmark philanthropic project because we want to engage the people of Hull to raise the money and help us donate a gift to our twin town - Freetown. A Landmark Project

Cost Vehicles£98,100 Fuel£6,500 Book Production£1,500 Local Documentary Duplication£3,000 Crossings£3,775 Young People Costs£9,925 Communications£2,910 Emergency Contingency£5,000 Equipment Costs£ 4,690 Food£ 2,651 Camp Sites£ 1,875 Hotels£ 3,000 Trailblazers’ Flights£ 6,000 Total£148,926 The Costs

Total Rotary£25,000 Hull City Council£5,000 Warner's Fitness Centre£8,000 Classic Hospitals£2,000 BP (Dimlington)£10,000 William Jackson & Sons£2,000 TBRUK£15,000 Driffield Flower Festival£2,000 Reckitt Benckeiser£5,000 Greens Signmakers L200 William Wilberforce£2,500 Greens Signmakers Vehicle Graphics£1,250 Various Cash Donations£500 Trailblazers’ Contribution to Group Costs£18,216 Pledge Total£96,466 Balance to raise£ 52,460 The Pledges

What are we asking for? Content here!

What we can give in return Content here!