Friendship

Young Francis Mandewah dreamed of a better future but saw no way out of his impoverished situation. Until one day when he met a man who would change his life.

"Friendship” shares the remarkable life journey of an African boy from the region made famous by the Academy-award nominated movie "Blood Diamond" starring Leonardo DiCaprio featuring a rebel war in Africa in which "blood" diamonds were used to finance warlords and their activities.

Two decades before the rebel war Thomas Johnson, a pilot from Minnesota, was employed to fly boxes of gems and alluvial diamonds in Sierra Leone from Yengema to Freetown, where a British Airways jet would fly the gemstones to London. This pilot met and befriended young Francis Mandewah, an impoverished Sierra Leonean boy, and gave him generous support that opened a new life of opportunity, which would eventually take Francis to America. Along the way Francis had many harrowing experiences, including crossing the Sahara Desert, which almost cost him his life. His challenges continued in Italy, Greece, and finally in America.

In the end, Francis became aware that his real voice that has emerged through all his trials and tribulations is one of deep faith and gratitude for God's miracles and wonders in his life.

Foreword by Sister Rosanne Rustemeyer, SSND. Development Director, Province of Africa.