In January 2020, a shipment of law books was officially handed over to Njala University in Sierra Leone. This shipment was the product of an extensive collaboration between the ILBF and a number of contributors across the legal sector, including the UK Sierra Leone Pro Bono Network, Anglo American, De Beers Group, Shell, Clifford Chance, Nottingham University and the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL).

The shipment was arranged to help stock the law library in the new law school at Njala University’s campus in Bo. Prior to the opening of the law school in Bo, law students in Sierra Leone could study only in Freetown or in Makeni. The opening of the law school was a huge step forward for the rule of law in Sierra Leone, allowing more prospective students a chance to study law and enter a legal career in the east of the country.

To support their fellow students, volunteers from Nottingham University’s Junior Lawyers Against Poverty Group held two book drives to collect and pack student textbooks for the shipment. Teams from Anglo American and De Beers, and Shell then packed a further 180 boxes of legal books for shipping, at Clifford Chance. 

As well as packing the books, the Shell team also wrote messages of encouragement inside the books―the idea being that law students would come across them in the future and feel inspired. In the end, the shipment comprised over 200 hundred boxes containing over 2000 books!

The shipment to Njala was funded by the Ambassadors for Good programme, a community programme backed by the Anglo American Foundation. In addition, a Wallace Breem grant from BIALL to Njala University enabled the law library to purchase and install new shelves to accommodate the books.

Momo Turay, Country Director of the UK Sierra Leone Pro Bono Network was the ILBF’s main contact in Sierra Leone and he organised the handover at Njala University, which included a representative from De Beers GemFair project.

‘The availability of good quality legal texts has an incredibly positive impact on the training of lawyers and judges, the administration of justice, the revision and updating of laws, and access to justice for whole communities…This has been a great example of the benefits of international collaboration and hopefully these books will be seen as more than just text of legal principles but a symbol of the broader support for the rule of law.’

Andrew Donovan, De Beers Group

Here is a short film of the handover produced for Njala University:

‘The ILBF is delighted to donate books from the UK legal community to Njala University. We very much hope that this donation helps to support the teachers, students and practitioners in their important work. I would like to thank Anglo American, De Beers and GemFair for the opportunity to partner with them on this great project.’

Katrina Crossley, ILBF Chief Executive

In our 15^th Anniversary year, and in challenging times globally, the ILBF is grateful for the continued support of the legal community and proud to celebrate these very successful partnerships, which provide valuable resources and support to future generations of lawyers.  

We wish the students at Njala University law school the best in their studies and future careers.

For more information on this collaboration, see:

Ambassadors for Good—making a difference in-house and beyond 

Student collaboration with the ILBF―building a global community of future lawyers

Shell and Clifford Chance collaborate to support and inspire future lawyers at Njala University