History
Before the British and Portuguese arrived in Sierra Leone, a farmer andDemographics
The district is inhabited by many of Sierra Leone's ethnic groups, however the largest and most prominent ethnic groups in the district are the Temne, Susu, Limba, Fula and Mandingo.Religion
International Health Operations in the district
Kambia District is home to several international health operations, including the International Medical Corps who arrived in 2001, Kambia Appeal, a United Kingdom-based non-profit organization that has operated in Kambia since 1992 and Doctors without Borders, a France-based medical non-profit agency that operates across the world in poverty-stricken areas.Government
The District has seven representatives in the Sierra Leonean parliament, of which six were elected for a 5-year term. The district is stronghold of the National Grand Coalition Party (NGC). Following is a list of the 7 Representatives and their affiliations:Administrative divisions
Chiefdoms
The district is made up of ten chiefdoms as the third level of administrative subdivision. # Briama – Kukuna # Khonimakha – Kabaya # Gbinle – Tawuya # Dixing – Mafaray # Magbema – Kambia # Mambolo – Mambolo # Masungbala – Kawula #Condition
All the chiefdoms had medical centres or posts with the only referral hospital located in Kambia town, the district headquarters town. There are less transport facilities in almost all these places to the headquarters town. This made it possible for the highest number of death rate especially infant and maternal mortality in Kambia than all other districts in the country. There are 13 secondary schools in the district, located in Kambia town, Rokupr, Kasirie, Kychom, Mambolo, Tombowala, Madina, Kamassassa and Kukuna; three of the 13 of the secondary schools together with the hospital were all burnt down in February 1999 during the intensive fighting in the district, while the remaining 10 were systematically vandalised to an extent of completely ruining them. As the district was hit later by the war than most other areas of Sierra Leone, it hosted a huge number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) until September 1998 when it sustained a heavy rebel attack by the RUF rebel fighters. Much of the population, together with over 40,000 IDPs who had sought refuge in the district fled to neighbouring Guinea. The inhabitants of this district constitute the majority of the refugees in the Forecariah prefecture (District).Economy
The district is considered as the main rice bowl of Sierra Leone. It has a large agricultural zone with extensiveProblems of the district
Kambia district was the last to experience the civil war, with the first wave of attacks by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in January 1995 and later in 1998. Finally, in February 1999, the rebels occupied all the major towns in the district including the headquarters town of Kambia until disarmament in May 2001. It is also here that the reintegration efforts have been less successful and have fallen victim to donor fatigue. In the early phase of the war, this border district functioned as host for a large number of internally displaced persons and transit zones for refugees. Later in the war, it became an operational zone and no-man's land for fighters of various factions. During the last year of the war and the disarmament period, it became the station for thousands of International peacekeeping forces (ECOMOG and UNAMSIL). Similarly the neighbouring district of Forecariah has been host to over 210,000 officially registered refugees (residing in 10 camps) during the civil conflict. Over 60% of these refugees originated from the Kambia district. It is estimated that more than 90% of them have now returned to their various communities in the district. Secondly, in addition to the domestic war, most of the heavy fighting between the Guinean troops and the rebels to dislodge the invading rebel forces from Guinea occurred in the district. As a result, the district suffered one of the highest rates of population displacement and possibly the worst infrastructure destruction. It is also significant to note that, the rebel invasion of Kambia town in 1995 was one of the first occasions in which children were abducted in large numbers since all the schools were in session when the town was invaded. Most of these children are now young adults and have returned to the community without passing through any formal demobilisation process and with very little resettlement and social reintegration support. A major consideration is that the large majority of these young people are unemployed. A small proportion of them survive on occasional casual labour opportunities as porters, cleaners and dancers. But by far their most important sources of survival are the smuggling of goods, mostly drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and light arms across the border, juvenile delinquencies, and as sex workers and concubines of the large number of national armies, peace-keeping forces, Para-militaries and long distance travellers. Since the end of the war in both countries early 2002, the district has witnessed regular and large-scale movements of people across the border. The reasons include the return of thousands of refugees and visits by relatives. But by far the most important factor is the rapid revival of the cross-border trade in the traditional weekly market towns and villages on both sides of the border. These markets, traditionally known as ‘Loumah’ have increased from 5 in the pre-war period to 15. Moreover, they now attract thousands of traders and other visitors from large and far-off towns including the capital cities (Freetown and Conakry) and mining areas of both countries. In addition to the Loumah towns and villages, the district also has several large towns such as Rokupr, Mambolo, Kasseri, Kukuna, Kamassassa, kychom and Yeliboya that are famous for their trade in fish and agricultural produce such as rice, groundnuts, palmoil and pepper and as ports for inland water transportation to destinations in both Guinea and the rest of Sierra Leone, including the capitals of Freetown and Conakry. These factors have encouraged a relatively large concentration of young people in these towns. Discussions with members of the community indicated that in addition to the consequences of the civil war, a major problem is the insufficient support for food production. Food scarcity is widespread and is one of the reasons for an increase in the number of street children, since few families could afford sufficient food. The current low levels of agricultural production and poor harvest of rice (the staple food) and groundnuts (the most important commercial crop for the district) are bound to reduce income even further and exacerbate the food problem. Similarly, support for income generation activities and self-employment opportunities are lacking, leaving members of the community especially young people with little alternative means of subsistence.References
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