Part of the Sierra Leone Peace Museum, this monument created in the center of Freetown in 2011 as the first major memorial to their horrific civil war (1991–2002). It is a sculpture garden which includes a peace pole and peace bridge, texts of prayers, testimonies from survivors of the conflict, messages of reconciliation, and figures from Sierra Leone’s past, both historic and mythic.
The text on the front of the main structure reads:
To the glory of God and in honour of those Sierra Leoneans who gave up their yesterdays for us to enjoy our todays for the cause of peace, stability and prosperity.
The monument was first created following the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendation for the creation of memorials to the conflict as a form of peacebuilding, it was then clearly a war memorial, called the ‘Monument in Remembrance of Our Fallen Heroes and Heroines’. A year later, it was re-opened with its current name, and now reflects both its original role in memorializing the military while also creating a national narrative of peace for Sierra Leone.
