The room is silent. Charlie lets a minute pass, watching us intently. Then he begins to hum softly a song that people in every corner of Sierra Leone have known for two decades. It’s the tune from Atunda Ayenda, the country's most famous radio series. "I can start singing the beginning of that tune anywhere, and I will always find someone to give me the next line," says Charlie.

20 years ago, Charlie was the creative head of Atunda Ayenda. A true jack of all trades for radio theater: writer, playwright, actor, director. An indispensable asset to Talking Drum in creating the radio drama that would help end the war.

"It was probably the best way to persuade the combatants to lay down their arms. The disarmament process had begun, but the rebels were not satisfied with the way they were treated. They continued to boycott the meetings, changing what they said from one day to the next. That's when TDS called me.”

At the time, Charlie had been living in the US for five years. He had fled at the height of the war. "This project was an opportunity to come home."

From the moment he arrived, Charlie went to the heart of the conflict — from faction to faction, living with the fighters, listening to their stories. He explains that he was the only one who could do the job. And for two reasons. "I had taught in so many schools, many of the rebels were among my former students. They respected me." The second: "I had dreadlocks. Nobody jokes about that, even in the United States," he laughs.

The reception varied, but the fighters opened up to him. "When I arrived in Kono, they fired 21 shots to welcome me, and then a crowd came out shouting, 'It's Charlie Hafner!," he says.

After weeks spent with the fighters, Charlie had enough content to start writing the show. "My job is to change perceptions, behaviors. To do that, I have to be with people. That's the philosophy of my theater: theater of the people. With the people, for the people.”

On air, the actors described the fighters' experiences and what their lives would be like a few years later if they chose to continue on this path. The program presented the options through the lens of their lives, the stories they shared.

Combatants began to lay down their weapons. Many were reunited with their children. "’Atunda Ayenda’ means ‘lost and found’ in Mandingo and Kuranko. Because even though people lost a lot during the war, this was a time of recovery."

Years ago, Charlie passed the torch to other talented members of Talking Drum Studio. Since then, the show has continued growing his popularity and relevance. "It's always a work in progress. Whenever a conflict comes up, they talk about it and resolve it the same way we did back then." Atunda Ayenda, a timeless story written together, is far from over.