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| Before he died, Paul Williams set out to record the plight of the poorest children in Sierra Leone |
Six years after the conflict there ended Sierra Leone has managed to slip from 176 to 177 on the UN Development Index making it officially the poorest country in the world. The number of disenfranchised is growing and more children are hitting the streets, not because they are orphaned by the war but because of poverty. Many prostitute themselves for food while others pick pockets, or work the diamond fields for pennies.
Those who have been on the streets since the war are now young men facing long term unemployment or a life of crime. Sierra Leone ranks alongside Nigeria as the most corrupt country in the world.
In October 2007, filmmaker Hazel Chandler gave child protection officer Paul Williams a camera to film a video diary of the street children of Kenema. He was based at the Ben Hirsch Centre for war affected children, largely funded by Unicef. Either Paul misunderstood her instructions or, more likely, he had his own idea of what he wanted the world to see.
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| Six years after the civil war ended, Sierra Leone is officially the world's poorest country |
Within six weeks Paul was dead - he was 34. Before he died he set out with an incredible passion and shot 10 hours of footage of the poorest children in the poorest country in the world. He went to the diamond fields where children sift endlessly through rocks, he went to the under-age prostitutes in Bo and Freetown, he visited the children in prison and the street children. And he did not forget the rural children begging, toting or sweeping for food.
Paul also interviewed police and ministers and some say he got himself killed as a result. He officially died of malaria but his family thinks he was poisoned.
With the help of Paul's sister Dolly, this film follows in his footsteps using the moving footage he shot and interviews with Unicef, the new minister for child welfare and the police who have an almost impossible job.
This episode of People & Power airs from Saturday, July 19, 2008 at the following times GMT:
Saturday: 01.30, 12.30, 19.30
Sunday: 03.30, 10.30, 23.30
Monday: 07.30
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