Assoc. Prof Ph.D. Vanja-Ivan Savić from the Catholic University of Croatia – Department of Sociology stayed from November 21 to November 27, 2023 in the West African Republic of Sierra Leone at the invitation of the German Organization for the Suppression of Leprosy and Tuberculosis (DAHW). During his stay, he visited the University of Makeni.
At the University, he met the Bishop Bob John Hassan Koroma and the Vice Chancellor, Rev. Prof. Ph.D. Joseph Turay, with an agreement to initiate inter-university cooperation and a potential area of joint work possible through the initiation of a program for the reintegration of former patients into the community, mostly those suffering from leprosy.
Professor Savić also pointed out that, although the West African Republic of Sierra Leone is mostly remembered for the civil war, the consequences of which are still visible today, and the Ebola epidemic, Sierra Leone is a beautiful green African country on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, full of natural resources. “Besides the wealth measured in kilograms of diamonds mined in the mines in the east of the country, Sierra Leone is a country of tough and good people who try to find a way to survive every day. Despite this, Sierra Leone enjoys an exceptional degree of religious coexistence, with around 80 percent Muslims and around 20 percent Christians, and as such represents a good example for Africa and beyond. The current president, Julius Maada, was a Catholic, married to a Muslim wife. “Behind the typical greeting ” hello boss” that everyone sends to each other and the tortured and rough faces often hide beautiful smiles that reach the deepest part of the soul to whom they are addressed,” concluded Savić.
