Kalangba

Kalangba is a small town in the Gbendembu Ngowahun Chiefdom (an amalgamated Chiefdom), in the Bombali District, Northern Province of Sierra Leone. It is located about 15 miles north west of Makeni, Sierra Leone's third capital city. Kalangba is a multi-cultural settlement with significant number of Lokos, Fulas and Madingos. The natives of Kalangba are the Loko tribesmen, the fifth largest ethnic group in Sierra Leone, who are believed to have originated from Liberia. The name Kalangba has its origin from its founder, a fisherman known as Pa Ngangba. The British colonial administrators could not pronounce Ngangba well and so they called it Kalangba. Pa Ngangba was a member of the Loko tribesmen and used to fish along the waters of Manqwa, the name of a stream with literal meaning “if we cut ourselves” running through what is today known as Kalangba (or "Ngangba" in Loko).

Pa Ngangba’s comrade Pa Cigolo (Cigolo meant “spider” in Loko) settled on the other side of the town now used as a cemetery. A nearby settlement known as “Makambie” founded by a warrior called Kambie was merged with Kalangba. According to oral tradition, it is believed that prominent men of the slave era like Gumbu Smart and Bai Bureh (the hut tax hero) came from this humble town of Kalangba.

The inhabitants are mostly engaged in unsustainable livelihood activities - agriculture, fishing and hunting - for sustenance. The town lacks most of the basic needs and services required for modern settlements. However, Kalangba has a Junior Secondary School and a Primary Health Centre that serves the community and the peripheral villages. Kalangba also has two elementary schools, one founded by the American Wesleyan Mission in the late forties and the other by the Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood in the late seventies.

It is a very religious community with coverts and traditional Christians and Muslims. The town has a majestic structure imposingly located at the center of the town, the Wesleyan Church with a capacity to host not less than five hundred people. There is also a Baptist Church and two Mosques.