Last Saturday brought a stamp in a passport, a chance to try on native clothes, a taste of foreign cuisine and a trip to Sierra Leone for 16 lucky children aged 9-14 at the Bermuda Youth Library.

For the second year, the Read-Around-The-World programme was launched at the Bermuda Youth Library by the Friends of the Library -- a volunteer organisation which supports both libraries -- the Youth Library and The Royal Gazette .

The programme requires the children to read a fiction, a non-fiction and a newspaper article about each continent. Each month, up to 30 youngsters aged between nine and 14 have an opportunity to "visit'' a particular country from one of the continents in order to learn more about that country's culture.

At the end of the school year, all those with a completed passport are eligible in a draw for prizes including book certificates from the Children's Bookshop and a trip for two to Washington.

This month's first destination was Sierra Leone, a small West African nation.

There was a guest speaker, Ayo Johnson, who is also a speaker for Amnesty International and a native of Sierra Leone. During his interactive talk, the children learned about Africa in general, the weather in Sierra Leone, why its capital is Freetown and about the war which started in 1991 and became serious in 1995. This led to a discussion on activism. Mr. Johnson was dressed as a wealthy person from Sierra Leone and he brought extra clothing for the children to try on.

They were then split into six "clans'' for a game to teach them about the meanings behind the African clan names. Each clan was given a paragraph explaining who their clan was and what they did, as well as a list of problems they faced. At the end of the session, each child was able to explain solutions to those problems.

Participants were also able to taste some of the native food in order to learn about another aspect of Sierra Leone life.

About one third of those who attended also took part in last year's programme.

When asked why they decided to take part again this year, comments included: "The food was good!'', "I had fun'' and "I liked learning about different places''.

Keitha Bassett, the assistant youth librarian, was able to fully explain how the programme works and was excited about the day.

Overall, the programme's first trip of the year was a success, and in the months to come, participants can look forward to the activities on Australia, China, Switzerland and Jamaica.