<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Hidden Voices Salone]]></title><description><![CDATA[Non-political humanitarian magazine that tells unheard stories that are not mainstream media.]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 09:19:37 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.hvsl.org/es/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[No Law, No End? The Politics of FGM]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura A young girl is held down, not by strangers, but by women she has known and loved all her life. They tell her to be strong. One day, they assure her, she will understand. She cries, resists, but the hands are too strong. Then, it happens...the pain – sharp, unforgettable, all-consuming. They still call it love. Because this is how it has always been framed. You believe that love protects, it does not harm, it does not leave wounds that linger long after the body has...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/no-law-no-end-the-politics-of-fgm</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ebbd5217d7e96ee46f30d0</guid><pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2026 19:02:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4654da_1060c5e9997146ac9d4caf6e9f80821b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Welcome to the Other Side: Trash, Sweat and the Price of Dreams]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura So, I have dreams. I always thought we all did… I never stopped to consider what it truly means to be without them, to wake up each day not chasing your own future but fighting to secure someone else’s. To live in a space where hope no longer belongs to you, but must be transferred, protected, and paid for through sacrifice. By the time most of Freetown is still stretching awake, Mohamed is already on the streets, unseen, uncelebrated, yet essential. He drags behind...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/welcome-to-the-other-side-trash-sweat-and-the-price-of-dreams</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69c689b4d1d6d2cc9359dba2</guid><pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:00:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4654da_d06585f4d7b64ddab82f890aaf33ea3c~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[If Education Is the Key, Why Are Some Still Locked Out?]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura   We grew up believing education was the “master key”. Study hard, pass your exams, collect your certificate, and doors would open. Not someday, not maybe, just… open. For many graduates today, the key is still in their hands. The doors are real, but nothing clicks.   Every year, Sierra Leone produces thousands of graduates. They leave university with transcripts that speak fluently and confidence that has been rehearsed for years. Yet, when they step into the job...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/if-education-is-the-key-why-are-some-still-locked-out</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6975063eab3e711552f0280c</guid><pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:15:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_888373a3bf944a65b25f006027abf6a6~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_828,h_539,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Beyond Laws: A Tale of Stolen Childhood]]></title><description><![CDATA[BY: Augusta Osmatu Bangura There was a boy, barely twelve, whose mornings began not with breakfast or toys but with the naked will to survive. When he was five, most of his peers were already in school, learning their letters and numbers, but he was not. His parents were alive, young, and seemingly able, yet for reasons he could never understand, they did not put him in school. Another woman, seeing his hunger to learn, took pity on him and enrolled him. But when he came to live with his...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/beyond-laws-a-tale-of-stolen-childhood</link><guid isPermaLink="false">691f5cea7598a27c82bf3499</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 18:32:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_0dd4a6c399134f4698aaf4e665762e62~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_787,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The law is there, but beyond paper, does it truly exist?]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura A young woman arrives at the Family Support Unit clutching her baby, her left eye swollen, her voice barely above a whisper. It isn’t the first time she’s been hit, but it is the first time she has dared to report it. If you’re going through the same thing, you know you can be like her, right? And speak up! It happened hours earlier on the outskirts of Freetown. Children sat quietly in a compound, too small to understand the raised voices that broke the afternoon...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/the-law-is-there-but-beyond-paper-does-it-truly-exist</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69120cbda4e27e509d174dba</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2025 16:15:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_888a136082b94132b823df74b53047de~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_784,h_536,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Client 7 NLT’s Escape From Modern Slavery]]></title><description><![CDATA[For months, the brick dust in Almaty clung to his skin like a curse. Every morning before dawn, Client 7 NLT, a young Sierra Leonean man, woke to that same cruel reality. He would join seven others, including two fellow Sierra Leoneans, five Nigerians, and a Ghanaian, to mould and lift bricks in silence. Their passports were gone, their wages stolen, their hope slowly dying in a factory thousands of miles from home. Back in Sierra Leone, his family waited for the dream they had...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/client-7-nlt-s-escape-from-modern-slavery</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69025dd6335d8fd2f2df16de</guid><pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:41:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_373257ccd18a492c894e9ca3f454d852~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_716,h_493,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[You Don’t Need Money to Stay Healthy, You Need Discipline,” Says 60-Year-Old Kadiatu Kamara]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura The heart – the moment it stops, so does your life journey. Yet, all too often we neglect the wellbeing of...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/you-don-t-need-money-to-stay-healthy-you-need-discipline-says-60-year-old-kadiatu-kamara</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68e556f66ca2133a56e73cd4</guid><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 07 Oct 2025 18:14:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_14d14e91e42344d1876c9f11e593acbf~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_828,h_453,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Married Young, Widowed Too Soon, Loved Forever]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura   Hi, it’s Agnes Waggay again. The last time I told you how I got married at 16 and was widowed at 32 after my...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/married-young-widowed-too-soon-loved-forever</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68d28e85dffc39c2e36b5135</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><category><![CDATA[Views]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:15:35 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_1b5f822a20224fefa671b719d1d1feac~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[He Didn’t Just Witness History, He Helped Heal It.]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura There they were, begging on the streets of Freetown. No one stopped. No one really saw them. They hovered...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/he-didn-t-just-witness-history-he-helped-heal-it-by-augusta-osmatu-bangura</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b5f2161238bda5c492d7e5</guid><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Game Changers]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our History, Our Story]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:30:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_c33d531356214a058e954e975f18f113~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_784,h_539,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Workshop For Change]]></title><description><![CDATA[Gathering in Freetown, JNJF convened a special Widows Empowerment Workshop, bringing together chairladies and secretaries from its...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/a-workshop-for-change</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68b08610d6f73cd0caa85cdc</guid><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><category><![CDATA[Game Changers]]></category><pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2025 16:53:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_5db9978f6c3445fc997573246840c476~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_810,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Welcome to the Other Side: A Peek into Lives that Keep Going]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura ‎Meet Mathilda Conteh, a 45-year-old market trader at Kroo Town Road Market in Freetown.  She’s known for her quick hands, generous smile, and selling cassava and potato leaves, a trade she’s carried on since she was 12. ‎ ‎But before her story, consider this: ‎For many, the rainy season is cozy. It’s warm blankets, the soothing rhythm of raindrops on rooftops, the perfect excuse to rest indoors. ‎ ‎Now, come to Mathilda’s world. ‎For her and countless other market...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/welcome-to-the-other-side-a-peek-into-lives-that-keep-going</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68a610e46b5eada2982383f2</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 20 Aug 2025 18:38:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4654da_4a3ed158a91f4e71a4cf2998af40d319~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_810,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Can You Honor Culture Without Being Confined by It?]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura    She was born in innocence, believing she would be the master of her own life. Little did she know her path had already been carved by tradition.    From the moment her tiny hands could grab tin cups for “play cook,” her parents—rather than handing her a pencil to write—offered her something they thought was better: an abackor to cook. When her innocent body began to change—breasts like calabash, hips swelling like cherries—they declared she was now a woman. It...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/can-you-honor-culture-without-being-confined-by-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68963f8f399919cdeed1a735</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><pubDate>Fri, 08 Aug 2025 18:29:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_05f7261ebf134df3938e36fa04f522aa~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_695,h_425,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Tribute to Widows...]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura She met someone she believed was the love of her life. They had dreams—not of riches, but of togetherness. To raise children, to walk through life’s hurdles side by side, to love each other through it all. They didn’t have much, but they had each other—and that was everything. With time, their love blossomed into a growing family. She was proud to raise their children in a home full of warmth and care, where both parents showed what it meant to love and be loved....]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/tribute-to-widows</link><guid isPermaLink="false">685964a50e059fd8db975a26</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:41:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_f75bc3de323d45c69e9db3f6732ecfa8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_665,h_407,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[June 16th: They Dance, but Do They Remember?]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura African Child's Day. What is it exactly and why do we celebrate it? June 16 marks the day of the African child. It's a day set aside to honor the brave students of the 1976 Soweto Uprising in South Africa. Those events were captured in the musical Sarafina, which has become essential viewing every Day of the African Child. The saying, "wait till you're older" didn't apply to them. Bravery comes in different age and size.  The story reflects the courage of young...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/june-16th-they-dance-but-do-they-remember</link><guid isPermaLink="false">685034b98792748ca4570d7a</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jun 2025 15:34:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_c8941ed2b7e04d5b8aa07fdb5e93069d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_853,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Great Expectations: Can a Newly Renovated National Stadium Transform the Sports Sector?]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Alphina Johnson When the National Stadium closed to the public due to renovation in 2019, athletes and fans alike prepared to adapt to a difficult and unpleasant new normal. Events that would have drawn thousands of fans to the main bowl would have to be relocated to other venues and athletes from various sporting disciplines would have to find somewhere else to train. The tradeoff though, would be that by the end of the renovation period, the National Stadium would get a desperately...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/great-expectations-can-a-newly-renovated-national-stadium-transform-the-sports-sector</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68482bef087fd38deae64e09</guid><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><category><![CDATA[Arts & Entertainment]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:06:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_5a1ddd1fdb124aa4be267137eb1fcf8e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_736,h_730,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[So You Didn't Become a Lawyer, Doctor, or an Accountant — What Now?]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura I saw something today. Something we all see every day but never really pay attention to. But today was...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/so-you-didn-t-become-a-lawyer-doctor-or-an-accountant-what-now</link><guid isPermaLink="false">682872471018716c56f1a971</guid><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 17 May 2025 11:37:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_ea5ef623ef394436803b333cf0fc39d3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_810,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Monkey-pox in Sierra Leone: Understanding the Threat and Building Resilience]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Alphina Johnson Sierra Leone, a country with a recent history marked by devastating health crises, is currently grappling with a new...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/monkey-pox-in-sierra-leone-understanding-the-threat-and-building-resilience</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68285b311018716c56f194f5</guid><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 17 May 2025 10:00:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_253065bc0d0047d58f121a4d9becd3d0~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_809,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Alphina Johnson</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Teenage Pregnancy in Sierra Leone: And What Seems to Be Hope]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura    Every day, 20,000 girls under 18 become mothers. In Sierra Leone, 28% of girls aged 15–19 are either...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/teenage-pregnancy-in-sierra-leone-and-what-seems-to-be-hope</link><guid isPermaLink="false">681a6c450df3ca0cb500340f</guid><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2025 20:18:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_b608346c6e7e43f7ad9d0bf0a0274629~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Where Society Stops Looking: The Cost of Being Overlooked.]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura     "I'm fed up with this," says Kadie Conteh, a widow at the Congo Town community whose life has been shaped...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/where-society-stops-looking-the-cost-of-being-overlooked</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6809103a4770b98ece88b016</guid><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2025 16:34:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_d0fbb56cd2884ef7b4266a7bed63c1b8~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_810,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Revolutionary Land Laws and the Uphill Struggle for Justice.]]></title><description><![CDATA[By: Augusta Osmatu Bangura "What? Are you sure this is in the lease agreement?" The three Paramount Chiefs asked, both stunned and...]]></description><link>https://www.hvsl.org/post/revolutionary-land-laws-and-the-uphill-struggle-for-justice</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67fe49b0bcc8b9d9ea61bacf</guid><category><![CDATA[Feature]]></category><category><![CDATA[Our Community]]></category><category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 12:08:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b8c9a4_4e013293376a4a85a39bfb606ef65ff6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Augusta Bangura</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>