By Saidu Bah & Alie Turay
Many jobless youths within the Peninsular Area have reverted to sand mining for their livelihoods.
Many youths were dressed in rags some with dreadlocks and tattoos holding rickety shovels on their shoulders at the John Obeah Beach awaiting the arrival of five and ten tire tipper trucks buying sand.
We witnessed how eight muscular youths with shovels, flanked the tipper truck digging and sending the sand directly from a 5ft distance.
The job is difficult Alusine John Sesay the Deputy Chairman of the John Obeah Youth Organization told AWOKO over the weekend during a visit.
He said over eight hundred youths are involved in sand mining within the Peninsular area and the reason he said is due to the high rate of joblessness.
It is estimated that, only three out of ten youths are gainfully employed in the country thus forcing many others to revert to unsustainable means of making their livelihood.
At the John Obeah Beach several youths are fathers of two, three and four children whilst others are the breadwinners at home.
Some of the youths told AWOKO that, they are skilled but due to lack of jobs in the country they have reverted to sand mining for their livelihoods.
Alusine said there are three gates at the beach one for the youths, council and the community.
Eight Youths are paid Le6, 000 each to fill up a ten tire truck, and as many as 35 to 40 trucks come to the beach to buy sand daily.
Sand mining he said is done during the low tide of the ocean, so as to enable the trucks drive directly into the beach and they stop during high tide.
According to Alusine John Sesay preference is given to youths from Hamilton, Goderich, No. 2 River, and Tokeh where sand mining have been put on hold by the authorities.
“We have used some of the money to construct a community center at John Obey village and we also have a special fund for the welfare of our members” he stated.
The John Obey beach where sand mining is done is commercially viable as most of the traders come from Tombo and Waterloo to sell to the youths some basic food and household items. Officers from the Sierra Leone Navy are also present at the Beach.
Alusine Sesay said they are working towards the establishment of a skills training center for some of their members, that are not skilled and calls on the National Youth Commission to assist them in achieving their goals.
He however said it is better for the youths to be engaged in sand mining than creating problems within their respective communities.