06 Dec Sierra Leone Looking Up the Coast to The Gambia

Sierra Leone Conference is preparing to send teams to investigate starting ministry in The Gambia. Over the years, a number of United Brethren from Sierra Leone have relocated to the Gambie for work, and they have requested help to start churches. Sierra Leone Conference is now acting on that.

The Gambia is a small nation of less than two million people on the coast of West Africa. It is the smallest country on the African continent, extending about 200 miles from the Atlantic coast. The Gambia River runs down the middle of the country, with about 10-15 miles of territory on each side of the river. Except for the coast, Gambia is totally surrounded by the country of Senegal.

One of the smaller ethnic groups is the Krio people, who are descended from the Creole people of Sierra Leone. The are concentrated in the capital city of Banjul, near the coast.

About 95% of the people are Muslims, mostly Sunni. Christians, predominantly Catholic, account for 4% of the people. The evangelical community is very small.