Yengema is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Kono District Kono District is a district in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Its capital and largest city is Koidu Town. Motema is the second most populous city in the district. The other major towns in the district include Yengema, Tombodu, Jaiama ...

in the Eastern Province of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, lying approximately west of Koidu Town (the largest city in Kono District), and about east of

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

. The major industries in and around Yengema are diamond mining and agriculture. The town is home to Yengema Airport, the main airfield serving Kono District. A 2012 estimate of Yengema population was 13,358 people. The population of Yengema is ethnically diverse, though the majority of its residents are ethnic Mandingo and ethnic Kono. The primary language of communication in Yengema is the

Krio language The Sierra Leonean Creole or Krio is an English-based creole language that is the lingua franca and de facto national language spoken throughout the West African nation of Sierra Leone. Krio is spoken by 96 percent of the country's population, ...

, which is widely spoken in the town. Yengema is a predominantly

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

town, though with a significant

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

minority population. Yengema is home to the Yengema Secondary School (commonly known as YSS), which was among the most prominent secondary schools in Sierra Leone. Yengema is known for its archaeological site called Yengema Cave which was discovered by American anthropologist Carleton Stevens Coon in 1965. Before the civil war, Yengema was one of the most populous cities in Eastern Sierra Leone. During the Sierra Leone civil war, Yengema was heavily damaged and constantly fought over due to the rich diamond reserves in the area. This forced many of the residents to flee the city.

Religion

The majority of the population of Yengema are

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

at about 70%;

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

accounts for a large minority of the town population at about 29%. Muslim and Christian people in the town live peacefully together.

Religious violence Religious violence covers phenomena in which religion is either the target or perpetrator of violent behavior. All the religions of the world contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors of violence and war and also nonviolence and peacemaking. ...

in the city is extremely rare.

Sport

Like the rest of Sierra Leone, football is the most popular sport in the town of Yengema. The town does not have a major football club; however, the

Diamond Stars The Diamond Stars Football Club is a Sierra Leonean professional football club based in Koidu Town, Kono District, Sierra Leone. The club represent the diamond-rich Kono District and is a member of the Sierra Leone National Premier League, the ...

of Kono represent Yengema and the rest of the Kono District in the

Sierra Leone National Premier League Sierra Leone National Premier League is a professional football league in Sierra Leone. It was founded in 1967. The league is sponsored by Leone Rock Metal Group. East End Lions and Mighty Blackpool are the two biggest and most successful clubs ...

, the top football league in the country.

Notable people from Yengema

* Sia Koroma, First lady of Sierra Leone

Bibliography

References

Populated places in Sierra Leone Eastern Province, Sierra Leone {{SierraLeone-geo-stub