- B82 -

The Sierra Leone community in central Ohio is estimated to be about 5000 strong a number that is comprised of both Sierra Leoneans and Americans with ties to Sierra Leone. The community registered significant growth in the last decade or so and this can be attributed primarily to relocations to the region from other parts of the state and the U. S and since the late 1990s to the resettlement family reunification programs triggered off by the countrys civil war 1992 to 2002. Many view central Ohio as an ideal place to live work and raise a family.