Painting of an Easter bunny carting Easter eggs:

Like every year, Othman is looking forward to the Easter celebrations. This 17-year-old youth from the SOS Social Centre "Home for the Physically Challenged" in Sierra Leone's capital Freetown shares with us how he expects the children and youths from the social centre to celebrate this Easter.

Easter is usually celebrated in a very unique and sociable manner at the SOS Home for the Physically Challenged in Freetown. We do not only celebrate for ourselves, but we also bring together our relations.

Prior to the climax of the celebration, we attend church service on Easter Sunday. On Easter Monday, our relatives prepare different varieties of food and drinks, which are put together with the food prepared by the home. Around 10:00 am, all the children, staff and our relatives walk down to the beach for a grand Easter outing.

At the beach, people go into various activities such as flying kites, volleyball and football matches. While some children make their kite themselves, others buy theirs at the beach. Seeing all these kites flying is a colourful scene. They are all of different shapes, sizes and colours. They also have a deep meaning: flying kites symbolise the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

While we are at the beach, a football match is organised between the boys of SOS Home for the Physically Challenged and Chersire Home, where physically challenged children are also cared for. A volleyball match is also planned for those who are interested. Others are getting involved in activities like singing and dancing competitions.

Easter Monday is a time when Sierra Leoneans find pleasure going to the beach. On that day, you will hardly find white people on the beach. As expected, some of us find pleasure in swimming, but we are not allowed to swim too far. In between our recreational activities, food and drinks are served to keep us going.

The celebration goes until late in the evening and I always make sure that I have a good time at the beach. Once everyone has gathered, we walk home with full blast music.

The Easter celebration is unique because it brings together different families. It is also a time to meet old friends and make new ones. It finally makes some of us remember about the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us by dying for our sins.

I always look forward to celebrating Easter because of the fun and good things surrounding the celebrations.