Like the saying goes ‘Good work pays’ that is why the Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has been named in BBC’s list of 100 inspirational and influential women and female leaders that have helped us weather the storm. The list was released on Tuesday November 24, 2020.
According to a statement on the BBC website, BBC names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year. The BBC creates documentaries, features and interviews about their lives, giving more space for stories that put women at the centre.
Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr has been named in the leadership category of the BBC 100 Women in 2020 for her work leading Freetown through The Tree Town Campaign. “Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr ‘OBE’ is best known for her Transform Freetown plan, which targets 11 sectors – from tackling environmental degradation and climate change to helping create jobs in order to reduce youth unemployment.
During a year in which flooding and fires affected millions of people internationally, Freetown Mayor, Aki-Sawyerr has inspired residents to join her campaign to plant one million trees over a two year period.
The Tree Town Campaign was launched in January 2020 with limited resources. By October more than 450,000 seedlings had been planted, with the rest scheduled for the next rainy season. The trees are critical in addressing the challenges of flooding, soil erosion and water shortages.
According to a statement by
The Freetown City Mayor said in statement that “we probably feel frustrated and dissatisfied. That doesn’t have to remain a negative. We can turn it into a positive by allowing our dissatisfaction to give birth to the change we want to see.”
She makes the list together with other inspiring women including Sanna Marin, who leads Finland’s all-female coalition government; Sarah Gilbert, who heads the Oxford University research into a Coronavirus vaccine; and Angelique Kidjo, 4-time Grammy winner from Benin.
The FCC Communications further stated that this recognition closely follows two other awards – 100 Most Reputable Africans in 2020 and 100 Most Influential African Women in 2020 – received by the Mayor in 2020.
Congratulatory messages have been coming everywhere to Her Worship the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr for being named as one of BBC’s 100 Women in 2020. You have indeed inspired and influenced positive change in our city.
By Desmond Tunde Coker
26/11/2020. ISSUE NO: 7958