For years, it has fought a losing battle for space with the neighbouring municipal refuse dump, from which piles of rubbish overflow on to the rows of overgrown headstones. Now, though, the tide is in reverse – as the cemetery overflows with the casualties of Sierra Leone's Ebola crisis.
When The Telegraph visited the cemetery last week, a procession of three burial workers picked their way through the graves, each with a tiny, knapsack-sized bag cradled in their arms. Edward Conteh, aged 3, Amna Kabbah Dumbaya, aged four months, and Mamayo Sesay, aged two weeks, were buried in a section specially set aside for children. It is also by far the fastest-growing section.
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"There are a staggering number of children being buried here on a weekly basis," says Fiona Mclysaght, Country Director for Concern Worldwide, which is supervising the burial operation.
"Between the first and the fifth of January 156 children under the age of five were buried here in King Tom."
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"There are a staggering number of children being buried here on a weekly basis," says Fiona Mclysaght, Country Director for Concern Worldwide, which is supervising the burial operation.
"Between the first and the fifth of January 156 children under the age of five were buried here in King Tom."
Follow 4119ja on twitter
Click here to "like" the 4119ja Facebook page, to get updates directly on your Facebook timeline. Subscribe to our BBM Channel (C00379595D or search for "411 9ja") to get live updates on published post. Please drop your comments below
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