The Sands of Gondama
The river Sewa carries incredible wealth through Africa’s poorest country. Hidden in the gritty sediment that is washed along the river’s path through Sierra Leone are flecks of gold and diamonds. Gondama is a testament to the industry of the Sierra Leonian people but it’s also an illustration of the country’s problems. A fortune flows past Gondama every day, but most of it will slip through the fingers of the people who work the river. In this small town, as in the country as a whole and perhaps in much of Africa, poverty is not caused by a lack of resources but by a lack of access to those resources.
The river Sewa at Gondama. The sand on the river's bed contains diamonds, yet most of it is sold
as a building material.
A laborer scoops sand up from the riverbed to sell to builders from the nearby city of Bo.
A fully laden canoe is moored to a post before the heavy sand it contains is unloaded onto the river bank.
Laborers stand by the piles of sand they have collected from the riverbed. Even a strong man, working from dawn till dusk, will struggle to earn $1 a day from selling sand.
A young man scoops sand into a sack to carry to his family’s pile. Each full sack weighs over 50kgs, a days work may require more than 50 sacks to be carried up the riverbank.
A diamond miner prepares to dive into the deepest part of the river with only an improvised air-hose. He will work blindly in the cold water for up to 5 hours.
At the out-flow from the diamond miners’ suction pump a man carefully checks the sediment for signs of diamonds.
Divers on a makeshift platform in the middle of the river wait their turn to dive into the cold waters in search of Diamonds. The men operate as a collective and share profits.
Laborers load a builder’s truck with sand from the river Sewa. Amongst this very same sand diamonds are found but, for most people, selling the sand as a building material provides a steadier source of income.
Workers load basins full of heavy sand to carry up the riverbank to their stockpiles, ready to be sold.
At the end of a long day workers carry basins full of heavy sand to their stockpiles on the riverbank.
A young boy, perhaps six years old, carries a basin of sand to his families stockpile in the riverbank.