Happy 10th, Awoko!

August 10th is Awoko Newspaper’s 10th Anniversary. As I mentioned in the previous post, we’re going to have a grand celebration on August 29th, where Nigerian Leke Alder will be the keynote speaker and discuss the first step in “branding Sierra Leone.” This is going to be a fantastic event, with important Sierra Leoneans scheduled to be in attendance (except one?).

For today, Friday August 8th, we had a small gathering of no more than 15 guests at the Awoko Printing Press to celebrate the only four-color printing machine in the country. Awoko workers donned our bright yellow Awoko t-shirts and enjoyed a close-knit celebration.

Awoko Editor and chief, Mr. Kelvin Lewis, and the other reporters appointed me as the emcee for the gathering, which I thought was an interesting choice but I was more than happy to take on that mantle. I’m fairly comfortable with speaking in front of people (I mean, I just came back from the states having delivered a best-man speech at a sizeable wedding), and I enjoy the spotlight every now and then, so I was excited from the get-go.

The gathering was short and sweet, and – surprisingly- emotional. We started with a prayer (as we do before every meeting/gathering at Awoko) and I introduced Bishop Abu Koroma, a well-known and respected man around Freetown, to bless us and anoint our machine. Harolda Lewis, Mr. Lewis’ mother, was the ceremonial figure who officially commissioned the machine by pressing the button to print off about ten pages of the newspaper. Then I introduced Mr. Lewis to give a short speech.

An emotional and teary-eyed Mr. Lewis delivered a warm-hearted speech and somehow managed thank the people who have supported Awoko for the past decade as his voice cracked several times. Seeing his devotion and love for his paper and his staff, I was truly inspired and thought to myself: This is the kind of journalist and man that I want to become.

The gathering only lasted about 45 minutes to an hour, but it was extremely pleasant and intimate. Even though the celebration on the 29th will grab all the headlines and have more celebrities in attendance, I’m not sure if it what I feel then will top the pride and inspiration that I felt today.

Monday’s publication will include all of the Awoko reporters’ experience working at the newspaper, myself included. Lucky for you bloggers, you don’t have to wait until then for my contribution.

To read my ‘column’ on my experience at Awoko, click here.