Sierra Leone and Guinea
ABOUT 500 years ago, near the mouth of the Sierra Leone River, a tiny silk-cotton tree took root and sprouted. For 300 years the tree grew tall as a tragic procession passed before it. Ruthless slave traders shipped nearly 150,000 men, women, and children overseas to foreign slave markets.
Freetown’s historic Cotton Tree
On March 11, 1792, hundreds of freed American slaves gathered under the Cotton Tree to celebrate their repatriation to Africa. That day they founded a settlement that embodied their fondest hope—Freetown. Freed slaves continued to arrive until the settlement included over 100 different African groups. These new citizens adopted the Cotton Tree as a symbol of freedom and hope.
For nearly 100 years, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sierra Leone have been comforting their neighbors with the hope of a far grander freedom—“the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:21) This freedom will mean liberation from slavery to sin and death when God’s Messianic Kingdom brings peace and Paradise conditions to the earth.—Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:6-9.
Over the past 50 years, the Sierra Leone branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses has also supervised the preaching work in Guinea. This neighboring nation has experienced political, social, and economic upheavals, prompting many of its citizens to welcome the Bible’s heartwarming message.
Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sierra Leone and Guinea have proclaimed the good news in the face of countless obstacles. These include physical hardships, deep poverty, widespread illiteracy, ingrained traditions, ethnic divisions, and appalling violence. The account that follows testifies to the unswerving faith and devotion of these loyal servants of Jehovah. We trust that their story will touch your heart and strengthen your faith in “the God who gives hope.”—Rom. 15:13.