Sierra Leone China Friendship Association Delegation Visits BPAFFC

On November 16, 2023, Wang Yanxia, Vice President of the BPAFFC, met with the visiting Sierra Leone China Friendship Association (SiLCHA) President Onike King and Secretary-General Ibrahim Joenal Sesay and showed them around the office area.

Wang Yanxia introduced the basic information and functions of the BPAFFC to the guests, highlighting its exchanges with African countries. She invited SiLCHA to participate in the Belt and Road Sports Diplomacy Forum & Friendship Football Match, the CIFTIS Cultural and Tourism Promotion Exhibition, and the “Colorful World” International Youth Painting Invitational Exhibition to be held next year.

Onike King gave an overview of SiLCHA’s work in providing Chinese language training for kids and teens, promoting Chinese culture, and telling Chinese stories, and hoped to strengthen practical cooperation with the BPAFFC and promote greater understanding and amity between the two peoples.

The two sides made an extensive and in-depth dialogue on such topics as youth exchanges and the establishment of friendship schools, and exchanged views on future cooperation. They agreed that both sides should bring into full play their role as a bridge to strengthen mutual understanding and trust between the peoples and help promote people-to-people friendship between the two countries.

About Sierra Leone China Friendship Association

Founded in June 2017, Sierra Leone China Friendship Association (SiLCHA) aims to promote people-to-people friendship between China and Sierra Leone. Its founder and first president was Mariatu Kargbo, a Sierra Leonean artist living in China. Its present president is Onike King, chief of a private school.

SiLCHA is committed to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Sierra Leone. It publishes publications on the cultures of the two countries on a regular basis, provides Chinese language training in Sierra Leone, and offers training on the national language of Sierra Leone in China.

In 2022, on the recommendation of the BPAFFC, Mariatu Kargbo participated in the “Foreigners Are Not Foreign” series of CMG News Radio, sharing her stories with China. From November 8 to 9, 2023, Onike King and Wang Yanxia, Vice President of the BPAFFC, together attended the Second Meeting of Heads of China-Africa Non-governmental Friendship Organizations hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).