So life continues here in Makeni along with all of its joys and pains, jubilations and frustrations. I have been soldiering on as per usual, finding life easy and work difficult. I have an additional housemate, as Gearoid's girlfriend Natasha has made the long journey from the states to be with him this year.
I managed to take an escape from the town last week to go on a day trip. Father Joe from the Fatima Institute has been very kind to me, and he heaped yet more generosity in my direction through providing a vehicle and driver for myself, Gearoid and Natasha to go to Bunce Island.
My friend Kari made a video of her trip to Bunce, you can see Father Joe Turay here at Bunce Island only a week earlier:
http://www.jhr.ca/fieldnotes/view.php?aid=1448
It is a place that was used to house slaves before they were shipped to the new world in America. A World Heritage Site, despite its utter neglect and inaccessibility (if we did not have our own vehicle it is unlikely we would ever have got there), it is a harrowing and interesting place. The old fort is in ruins, though still intact are signs of that once was: a deep well, an oven that was used to heat pokers to brand the slaves, a prison-like sleeping quarters, and a graveyard for the “masters” who died. We hired guides from the nearest inhabited village, and they proved to be very knowledgeable, and their tree climbing antics and good humour took the edge off the experience.
We have now also officially joined a football team. After training with a number of teams, we took the decision to play for Megbente village. It is a poor village on the outskirts of town, who play on a downhill overgrown pitch bordered by the hills, with felled-tree goalposts. It is a dangerous yet beautiful pitch. We had our full debuts this week, playing against rival village Mathinka, and coming out narrow 3-2 victors.
It is hard to do justice to how amazing it is to play in this environment. There is singing and dancing before the game. There are huge speakers on the side of the pitch which blare out Krio-pop every time there is a goal and at half time. There are hundreds of spectators who all somehow know my name and go crazy when a goal is scored. There is a pitch invasion at full time. Its is a real privilege to be part of the team, and I am already looking forward to next weekend's game in far away Magbroka.
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Saturday, 8 November 2008
Obama Obama!
What a week!
Lets start with my trip to Freetown. I got up before sunrise, threw on some clothes and left the house. I got lucky and managed to flag down an okada (motorbike taxi) at that early hour, which saved me the half hour walk to the highway. Once there, I bargained with a driver for passage to Freetown (we settled on 12,000 Leones, or £2.50 for the three hour journey). I travelled down in a “poda-poda” which is essentially an old minibus crammed full with as many people as possible. A hot and sweaty experience, but not so bad in the grand scheme of things.
I had a pretty productive meeting with the solar energy NGO, and it looks like I will be able to pull a proposal together, but it will be really expensive (I suspect that we will be courting some European donors). I then headed out to meet the friends I made in Freetown, and eat some varied food, which was a godsend after the monotony of available meals in Makeni. We then hit the town, where a few expats had made the effort for Halloween, and I mad the most of the nightlife, getting no sleep whatsoever.
I had been invited down to Lakka the previous day by Chris, a VSO volunteer who lives there. It is a beautiful beach about 40 minutes South of Freetown. I managed to get there for free hitching in the back of a pickup truck, and I had a great time just relaxing, swimming, and eating freshly caught Barracuda. Chris has an amazing place on the beach, complete with running water and electricity. I think he got lucky with his placement! I got very lucky in Lakka – I ran into someone I know from Makeni, and they were heading back that day, so I managed to get a ride all the way back, which saved me from the poda-poda.
Back in Makeni, I had a regular Monday before heading to the Apex hotel to watch the Newcastle v Villa game (which was great!) and whilst at the hotel, I recognised a large bearded man as Mick Foley, a WWE wrestling legend. I introduced myself to Mick, and learned that he was in Sierra Leone as he was funding a school near Makeni. He was a really nice guy, and he invited me back to the hotel to watch the US election coverage the following night.
The hotel was full of local people, who were Obama crazy. People had T-shirts and badges, I cannot do justice to how excited people in Africa are about a black President in the USA. We settled in by the pool bar with a few beers and watched people leave as the early hours arrived.
When Obama was announced as the winner, the celebrations were great. Looking back, there was nothing strange at the time of staying up until 5.30am in Sierra Leone watching CNN, high fiving a pro-wrester whilst a security guard waved his machine gun with glee, a reporter held a dictaphone to the TV to record the speech, and the barman chanted “Obama! Obama!” over and over.
The next night, I had arranged to take Mick Foley and his entourage out for local food, as they had so far only eaten in the hotel (where I have never eaten as it is way out of my price range). He kindly picked up the whole bill, which cost less than £15 for 11 people, much to his surprise. He is a really nice guy. He seemed humbled that we were spending a year here trying to help, whereas he only spent 6 days in country. I have to disagree. This country needs investment. He has made more of a difference in those 6 days than I can ever hope to make in a whole year.
Lets start with my trip to Freetown. I got up before sunrise, threw on some clothes and left the house. I got lucky and managed to flag down an okada (motorbike taxi) at that early hour, which saved me the half hour walk to the highway. Once there, I bargained with a driver for passage to Freetown (we settled on 12,000 Leones, or £2.50 for the three hour journey). I travelled down in a “poda-poda” which is essentially an old minibus crammed full with as many people as possible. A hot and sweaty experience, but not so bad in the grand scheme of things.
I had a pretty productive meeting with the solar energy NGO, and it looks like I will be able to pull a proposal together, but it will be really expensive (I suspect that we will be courting some European donors). I then headed out to meet the friends I made in Freetown, and eat some varied food, which was a godsend after the monotony of available meals in Makeni. We then hit the town, where a few expats had made the effort for Halloween, and I mad the most of the nightlife, getting no sleep whatsoever.
I had been invited down to Lakka the previous day by Chris, a VSO volunteer who lives there. It is a beautiful beach about 40 minutes South of Freetown. I managed to get there for free hitching in the back of a pickup truck, and I had a great time just relaxing, swimming, and eating freshly caught Barracuda. Chris has an amazing place on the beach, complete with running water and electricity. I think he got lucky with his placement! I got very lucky in Lakka – I ran into someone I know from Makeni, and they were heading back that day, so I managed to get a ride all the way back, which saved me from the poda-poda.
Back in Makeni, I had a regular Monday before heading to the Apex hotel to watch the Newcastle v Villa game (which was great!) and whilst at the hotel, I recognised a large bearded man as Mick Foley, a WWE wrestling legend. I introduced myself to Mick, and learned that he was in Sierra Leone as he was funding a school near Makeni. He was a really nice guy, and he invited me back to the hotel to watch the US election coverage the following night.
The hotel was full of local people, who were Obama crazy. People had T-shirts and badges, I cannot do justice to how excited people in Africa are about a black President in the USA. We settled in by the pool bar with a few beers and watched people leave as the early hours arrived.
When Obama was announced as the winner, the celebrations were great. Looking back, there was nothing strange at the time of staying up until 5.30am in Sierra Leone watching CNN, high fiving a pro-wrester whilst a security guard waved his machine gun with glee, a reporter held a dictaphone to the TV to record the speech, and the barman chanted “Obama! Obama!” over and over.
The next night, I had arranged to take Mick Foley and his entourage out for local food, as they had so far only eaten in the hotel (where I have never eaten as it is way out of my price range). He kindly picked up the whole bill, which cost less than £15 for 11 people, much to his surprise. He is a really nice guy. He seemed humbled that we were spending a year here trying to help, whereas he only spent 6 days in country. I have to disagree. This country needs investment. He has made more of a difference in those 6 days than I can ever hope to make in a whole year.
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