Sierra Leone (Woman) War Victim Presses On Despite Obstacles

Deborah Block – VOA news West Africa – Friday, 1 July, 2011 (originally published 28 June)

Damba Koroma, a survivor of the 1991 civil war in Sierra Leone. Image: VOA

For eleven years, the West African country of Sierra Leone was torn apart by civil war. The war began in 1991, when a rebel group (called the Revolutionary United Front) launched a campaign to control the country’s rich diamond fields. The rebels attacked civilians in villages, using machetes and axes to sever their arms, legs, lips and ears. Damba Koroma was only five when rebels cut off her left arm. As a young girl she was brought to the United States, where she has just completed high school.

On the right arm and hand – perfect nails. On the other – only a memory of what once was there. But Damba Koroma doesn’t dwell on the past. Cooking is one of her passions. Days before her high school graduation, she is enjoying making a salad in her cooking class. She uses special prosthetic tools.

Teacher Craig Scheuerman helped her get the cooking tools, which were donated by a non-profit foundation. He says Koroma is one of the best students he’s ever had. . .

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