Joseph Kaifala from Sierra Leone has been appointed as a Writer in Residence at the Library of Africa and the African Diaspora (LOATAD). He is among a selected group of West Africans and the first Sierra Leonean to receive this honor.

The Library Of Africa & The African Diaspora (LOATAD) is a private library in Accra, Ghana, founded in 2017 under the name, Libreria Ghana by Sylvia Arthur. LOATAD’s focus is on books by writers of African descent including African, African American, Caribbean, Black European, Afro-Latin, and Indigenous writers.

The library has over 4000 volumes of literary fiction and narrative nonfiction dating from the early 20th century to the present day. From Algeria to Kenya, Liberia to Zimbabwe, our collection represents the rich diversity of the African continent and its vast Diasporas. Joseph Kaifala is the founder and principal of the and common narratives around the Sierra Leonean civil war.

He is leading the mapping and protection of mass graves across the country. He has also facilitated the construction of a civil war memorial, offering Sierra Leoneans a remembrance space.

Joseph is also the founder of the Jeneba Project, an initiative that provides educational opportunities to adolescent girls in Sierra Leone. The Jeneba Project started the Sengbe Pieh Academy, allowing girls access to quality high school education and paving a way for them to forge a brighter future. The Jeneba Project has constructed a water supply system that provides 20,000 liters of potable water to the school and Robis village.