Visitors from Bo flying over for first time since Ebola crisis

Six visitors from the city will be arriving on Monday October 10 for 10 days as part of One World Link’s (OWL) relationship between Warwick district and Bo.

Among the party from Bo will be the chair of Bo’s district council, who has never visited Leamington and Warwick before.

Cllr Jane Knight, who has been part of the link since it began 35 years ago, is looking forward to seeing the visitors.

She said: “They’re really good friends, but they’re almost like a family. At long last they will come over.

“Face-to-face contact is very important in any relationship and it will get the link back on track after the Ebola crisis.”

The visiting party will receive training from council officers to help them make planning decisions in Bo, and the teachers will visit local school to keep the school links going.

There will be an opportunity to meet the visitors at an open evening on Wednesday October 12 in the Dormer Conference Centre at 7pm.

A talk will be given by Peter Penfold OBE at the open evening. He was UK High Commissioner in Sierra Leone during its civil war in the 1990s and has a long and close relationship with the country and its people.

The Ebola crisis did not hit Bo as hard as other areas in Sierra Leone and west Africa, but its community was still affected.

OWL members raised £3,500 to help Bo’s residents invest in ways to prevent the disease from returning.

Anyone wishing to attend the open evening should contact Jane by emailing [email protected]. Visitors can voluntarily donate £5 to help cover the costs of refreshments.