There is now only a few days to go until I am on the plane and homeward bound. I have had an incredible week, lots of ups and downs as usual but all crammed together.
My main aim of the week has been to complete a project that was funded by the VSO supporter group in Newcastle. The money is for building toilets in the village where I play football; an obvious health benefit despite long drops being a long way from the sanitation in England which I have learned to appreciate so much!
The project has been so inspiring and has made me happy to be leaving on a high. It has showed me that it really is possible to accomplish things here if you work with the right people. Seeing the Pastor work with the Imam is a real testament to the religious harmony in Salone. The chief and village elders have really supported the project. The community are doing all of the labour for free. Men dig and build, women bring water, sticks and other materials to the site (as well as cooking delicious food for break times!) and even children get involved (lets not dwell on the whole child labour thing for now...). The build is almost finished and the village seem happy.
A football match was held in my honour, like a testimonial without the money. Gearoid played for the opposition. It was a really fun game, with lots of drama. It ended a 1-1 draw after I scored the equaliser from an admittedly questionable penalty and Gearoid's last minute header was judged not to have crossed the line!
I had one memorably bad moment this week which was when my meeting with “his worship” the mayor turned into a pretty bitter argument. I would have punched him if he weren't as big as the guy from The Green Mile. Seriously, I'd probably have broken my fist. Hopefully my level-headed scathing comments will leave an impression, but I must admit I am doubtful. Local government in Sierra Leone has a long way to go.
Saying goodbye has been hard. I will miss my house mates, the other VSOs and expats, but most of all I think I will miss my Salonean friends. I have already received a couple of letters and gifts, and I must admit I choke up when I think about never seeing friends like Tyson, Emmanuel, Sullay and Edward again. These are good people, and they are being held back by elite, privileged people who have awakened more contempt within me than I knew was there.
Sierra Leone receives a lot of negative press, but it has been kind to me. There is so much promise and the truth is that there are a lot of great people here who deserve a good future. I sincerely hope that they get it, and there will always be a part of me that wants to be here to see it.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Monday, 30 March 2009
28 Weeks Later...
So, after 28 weeks in Sierra Leone I have come to the very difficult decision to return home to the UK. I will arrive home on April 7th (hey, that's my birthday!)
I never really settled into the job, and it is so difficult to achieve anything out here. I have become skeptical about the value of NGOs in Salone and aware of the negative impacts created by people who are here to help.
I love being here. Every day is an adventure, my Krio is always improving and I have made good friends who I will be sorry to leave behind. This is not enough though. I have already spent one year travelling for the fun of it, and I cannot justify staying just because I like it.
I am excited about returning home. I have really missed family and friends, good food and drink, music and of course, runnig water and electricity! I have a great life at home, and i will go back to it ready to enjoy it and appreciate it all the more.
I have no regrets about Sierra Leone. If I had never came here I would have always wondered. As it happens, it really has changed me, hopefully for the better, and I think there'll always be a part of me that's a Salone man.
I never really settled into the job, and it is so difficult to achieve anything out here. I have become skeptical about the value of NGOs in Salone and aware of the negative impacts created by people who are here to help.
I love being here. Every day is an adventure, my Krio is always improving and I have made good friends who I will be sorry to leave behind. This is not enough though. I have already spent one year travelling for the fun of it, and I cannot justify staying just because I like it.
I am excited about returning home. I have really missed family and friends, good food and drink, music and of course, runnig water and electricity! I have a great life at home, and i will go back to it ready to enjoy it and appreciate it all the more.
I have no regrets about Sierra Leone. If I had never came here I would have always wondered. As it happens, it really has changed me, hopefully for the better, and I think there'll always be a part of me that's a Salone man.
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Its been a while...
It has been some time since my last update.
I have been here for over 6 months now. All is well in the main, my friend John visited from England, and I took three weeks off work to travel around Sierra Leone with him. We had a great time, covered some good ground, and saw a few of the many faces of sweet Salone.
Here are some highlights of the last few weeks for me:
-Drinking good rum for the first time in half a year.
-Playing in a 2-1 victory over Flamingo FC, giving John an insight into the rough and raw nature of African football.
-Sleeping on Mena Hill with John and Kieran, despite falling into a cave!
-Visiting the relatively cooler climes and sampling the fantastic goat meat of Kabala.
-Swimming at the base of Bumbuna Falls, the coldest water in Sierra Leone.
-Hitting a crazy poyo (palm-wine) bar in Makeni, where I nearly bought a snake to save it from being killed for magic. We also met a drunken member of the 1970 -71 Sierra Leone National Football team, and watched people play draughts.
-Spending time on Lakka beach, my favourite place in Salone, and living a life of sun, sea and amazing food.
It hasn't all been good, but I am in no mood for negativity! Hope everyone is ok at home, watch this space for some major changes in the not too distant future...
I have been here for over 6 months now. All is well in the main, my friend John visited from England, and I took three weeks off work to travel around Sierra Leone with him. We had a great time, covered some good ground, and saw a few of the many faces of sweet Salone.
Here are some highlights of the last few weeks for me:
-Drinking good rum for the first time in half a year.
-Playing in a 2-1 victory over Flamingo FC, giving John an insight into the rough and raw nature of African football.
-Sleeping on Mena Hill with John and Kieran, despite falling into a cave!
-Visiting the relatively cooler climes and sampling the fantastic goat meat of Kabala.
-Swimming at the base of Bumbuna Falls, the coldest water in Sierra Leone.
-Hitting a crazy poyo (palm-wine) bar in Makeni, where I nearly bought a snake to save it from being killed for magic. We also met a drunken member of the 1970 -71 Sierra Leone National Football team, and watched people play draughts.
-Spending time on Lakka beach, my favourite place in Salone, and living a life of sun, sea and amazing food.
It hasn't all been good, but I am in no mood for negativity! Hope everyone is ok at home, watch this space for some major changes in the not too distant future...
Friday, 20 February 2009
Look! A naked white guy!
It was bound to happen eventually. I finally got ill. It's gone now, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't malaria, so its all good.
Its been as bizarre as ever, and full of ups and downs as usual. As well as the illness, the downs include weird infection on my toe and ankle, losing a very rough game of football that got out of hand, and dropping my mobile phone into a bucket of water, forever robbing it of the ability to use the 1, 5 and 6 keys (no texting for me!). Of course all of this is pretty irrelevant when put into perspective. For example, my friend Emmanuel found out that his brother, who is a teacher, was stabbed by a colleague in a row over sports day. Fortunately he is fine, it could have been a lot worse.
Now, onto the Ups! Tyson's movie (Provisionally titled AIDS is Real) is in the rehearsal phase, and will start shooting in March. The cast are rehearsing in an old community centre on the outskirts of Makeni that was partially destroyed during the war. There is no roof, and trees and plants grow freely through the bricks. There is a small stage area and the sun sets behind the remaining wall casting light on the actors. It really is a beautiful setting and the group are really working hard, its just great to be around talented, hard working people.
Another recent highlight was when Sullay, one of the boys from Magbenteh village (for whom I play football) invited me to stay at his place in the village. There's no way I was going to turn down the chance to experience village life.
We started the day by walking out the Sullay's farm, which is set at the base of a huge hill. Along with his brother, he grows cassava, beans, pineapples and a number of other things, mainly for subsistence. Farming is hard work at the best of times, in the heat here it is something else! From there we had our football training, and then it was time for a shower...
We took a bucket, a bar of soap and some sandals, and walked about 500metres from the village to a valley near a stream. There I found the rest of the football team, naked and going about getting clean. I felt twenty pairs of expectant eyes burning through me as I arrived. As my shorts came off there was a massive cheer and people went back to washing. I am no stranger to a bucket shower, but I've never had such an attentive audience before. I suppose people don't see many naked white guys.
We arrived home to find a plate of cassava leaves with rice waiting for us, which was devoured with our hands and washed down with generous helpings of water from the well. Sullay then decided it would be a good time to teach me how to ride a motorbike. My first ever lesson was on the Makeni-Freetown highway, at night, with no helmet and a pillion passenger. Good times (sorry mam and dad!)
We than returned to Magbenteh, and went to look for Kalusha, who is a strange fellow who owed Sullay some money. We found him at a youth club, playing draughts (checkers to our North American friends). It is serious business here, people gamble money and play very quickly and aggressively. Its really fun to watch, and too scary to contemplate playing. I loved seeing what young people do in their spare time. Coming together and playing games.
We then returned home. Sullay's father has three wives. He has 6 sons, and 14 daughters at my last count. Many of them also have children. Needless to say, there are a lot of people living in a small house. I shared a bed with Sullay, and found it uncomfortably hot and noisy (village noise: chickens, rats, dogs, radios, people).
The whole experience was amazing. I learned so much about Salonean life. As well as this deeper understanding and appreciation of life for people here, I think I gained a new level of respect and friendship from the villagers, for living just one day with them. One day may well become day one, as I intend to spend more time there in the coming months.
Its been as bizarre as ever, and full of ups and downs as usual. As well as the illness, the downs include weird infection on my toe and ankle, losing a very rough game of football that got out of hand, and dropping my mobile phone into a bucket of water, forever robbing it of the ability to use the 1, 5 and 6 keys (no texting for me!). Of course all of this is pretty irrelevant when put into perspective. For example, my friend Emmanuel found out that his brother, who is a teacher, was stabbed by a colleague in a row over sports day. Fortunately he is fine, it could have been a lot worse.
Now, onto the Ups! Tyson's movie (Provisionally titled AIDS is Real) is in the rehearsal phase, and will start shooting in March. The cast are rehearsing in an old community centre on the outskirts of Makeni that was partially destroyed during the war. There is no roof, and trees and plants grow freely through the bricks. There is a small stage area and the sun sets behind the remaining wall casting light on the actors. It really is a beautiful setting and the group are really working hard, its just great to be around talented, hard working people.
Another recent highlight was when Sullay, one of the boys from Magbenteh village (for whom I play football) invited me to stay at his place in the village. There's no way I was going to turn down the chance to experience village life.
We started the day by walking out the Sullay's farm, which is set at the base of a huge hill. Along with his brother, he grows cassava, beans, pineapples and a number of other things, mainly for subsistence. Farming is hard work at the best of times, in the heat here it is something else! From there we had our football training, and then it was time for a shower...
We took a bucket, a bar of soap and some sandals, and walked about 500metres from the village to a valley near a stream. There I found the rest of the football team, naked and going about getting clean. I felt twenty pairs of expectant eyes burning through me as I arrived. As my shorts came off there was a massive cheer and people went back to washing. I am no stranger to a bucket shower, but I've never had such an attentive audience before. I suppose people don't see many naked white guys.
We arrived home to find a plate of cassava leaves with rice waiting for us, which was devoured with our hands and washed down with generous helpings of water from the well. Sullay then decided it would be a good time to teach me how to ride a motorbike. My first ever lesson was on the Makeni-Freetown highway, at night, with no helmet and a pillion passenger. Good times (sorry mam and dad!)
We than returned to Magbenteh, and went to look for Kalusha, who is a strange fellow who owed Sullay some money. We found him at a youth club, playing draughts (checkers to our North American friends). It is serious business here, people gamble money and play very quickly and aggressively. Its really fun to watch, and too scary to contemplate playing. I loved seeing what young people do in their spare time. Coming together and playing games.
We then returned home. Sullay's father has three wives. He has 6 sons, and 14 daughters at my last count. Many of them also have children. Needless to say, there are a lot of people living in a small house. I shared a bed with Sullay, and found it uncomfortably hot and noisy (village noise: chickens, rats, dogs, radios, people).
The whole experience was amazing. I learned so much about Salonean life. As well as this deeper understanding and appreciation of life for people here, I think I gained a new level of respect and friendship from the villagers, for living just one day with them. One day may well become day one, as I intend to spend more time there in the coming months.
Friday, 6 February 2009
MPs, Movies and the Mongoose
It has been a while since I have given an update. This is largely due to the fact that I have been incredibly busy lately, my days are usually completely full. Its nice to have my motivation back.
I spend nearly every morning at the Fatima Institute, where I am trying to co-ordinate every project they have (there are many). I am trying to make sure that funding proposals are of good quality, and projects go ahead successfully. There is a lot of work. I have also had exams to mark so I can finally be free of my teaching responsibility!
In the afternoons I head to the city council where I have taken the difficult decision to start the development plan once again. From scratch. All the work we did last year will come to nothing, but I didn't have enough control over the process and I want to start over with a “bottom-up” approach to community development. So that is keeping me (and one or two others) occupied everyday.
Last weekend I spent in Port Loko, which is around an hour away from Makeni. I was there to give a presentation to members of parliament at their two day training seminar. It was really interesting meeting the country's leaders, many of which had spent considerable time in the UK or the US. My topic was Poverty, Inequality and Development, and my presentation was broadcast live on the radio. I then had a question and answer session with the MPs, which threw up a few 'interesting' questions, showing that some of the parliamentarians have a poor grasp on major issues. (my favourites include “why should we encourage breastfeeding? I thought you said we should have less children, not more!” and “where did AIDS start?”). I went down a storm, as shown by the feedback forms from the seminar, and I did enjoy myself.
I have been helping Tyson, a Salonean friend who has a drama group. He has written the script of a movie aimed at HIV/AIDS sensitisation, and I am going to play role of producer to get funding and equipment that he will need to do it. Tyson is a 21 year old guy, who is still trying to graduate high school, but he is really talented and imaginative, and he is a great organiser. I enjoy working with him, and developing a friendship with someone so different from myself, who grew up with nothing during a war.
I have been playing lots of football as usual, which is great. I am always constantly aware that I am in Africa when I play. Everything, from the style of play to the crazy stuff that happens. For example, in training, our 'goalposts' (made from sticks) collapsed, and we couldn't get them to stand on their own. So, a small boy was enlisted to stand and hold the goalpost for the whole training session. He actually seemed happy that he was involved in some capacity! That incident was bettered by the time we were training and a sudden commotion made everyone run off the field to where one of our boys was carrying something big and hairy. It turned out that it was a dead mongoose. Training stopped, a fire was lit and a mongoose was cooked and eaten right there and then. Its not every day these guys get to eat meat, especially something as substantial as Rikki-Tikki-Tavi!
I spend nearly every morning at the Fatima Institute, where I am trying to co-ordinate every project they have (there are many). I am trying to make sure that funding proposals are of good quality, and projects go ahead successfully. There is a lot of work. I have also had exams to mark so I can finally be free of my teaching responsibility!
In the afternoons I head to the city council where I have taken the difficult decision to start the development plan once again. From scratch. All the work we did last year will come to nothing, but I didn't have enough control over the process and I want to start over with a “bottom-up” approach to community development. So that is keeping me (and one or two others) occupied everyday.
Last weekend I spent in Port Loko, which is around an hour away from Makeni. I was there to give a presentation to members of parliament at their two day training seminar. It was really interesting meeting the country's leaders, many of which had spent considerable time in the UK or the US. My topic was Poverty, Inequality and Development, and my presentation was broadcast live on the radio. I then had a question and answer session with the MPs, which threw up a few 'interesting' questions, showing that some of the parliamentarians have a poor grasp on major issues. (my favourites include “why should we encourage breastfeeding? I thought you said we should have less children, not more!” and “where did AIDS start?”). I went down a storm, as shown by the feedback forms from the seminar, and I did enjoy myself.
I have been helping Tyson, a Salonean friend who has a drama group. He has written the script of a movie aimed at HIV/AIDS sensitisation, and I am going to play role of producer to get funding and equipment that he will need to do it. Tyson is a 21 year old guy, who is still trying to graduate high school, but he is really talented and imaginative, and he is a great organiser. I enjoy working with him, and developing a friendship with someone so different from myself, who grew up with nothing during a war.
I have been playing lots of football as usual, which is great. I am always constantly aware that I am in Africa when I play. Everything, from the style of play to the crazy stuff that happens. For example, in training, our 'goalposts' (made from sticks) collapsed, and we couldn't get them to stand on their own. So, a small boy was enlisted to stand and hold the goalpost for the whole training session. He actually seemed happy that he was involved in some capacity! That incident was bettered by the time we were training and a sudden commotion made everyone run off the field to where one of our boys was carrying something big and hairy. It turned out that it was a dead mongoose. Training stopped, a fire was lit and a mongoose was cooked and eaten right there and then. Its not every day these guys get to eat meat, especially something as substantial as Rikki-Tikki-Tavi!
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Back with a Bump
I have been back at work for two weeks now and have got little done. This place makes it easy for one to do nothing, and I am determined to snap myself out of the holiday mood and concentrate more on my work. The exams are coming up for the students at Fatima, and I will finally be free of my teaching responsibilities when I have marked the exams. I have set up a project board , who will be meeting next week under my control to organise the projects we will undertake this year. The return to the council has been uneventful. I have slotted back into work without any major issues, though it is clear that some people are very wary of me.
Natasha has been organising games of Ultimate Frisbee, which is a surprisingly great game and provides an excuse to bring the expats of Makeni together. As much as I have made efforts to integrate into the community and make Salonean friends, the foreign crowd are an important component of my social network. I naturally have more in common with Europeans and North Americans than Africans, and it is usually more socially comfortable. There is also the fact that they can empathise with being away from home (knowledge of life in the Western world!) and there are fewer cultural or language barriers.
I escaped the small town confines of Makeni last weekend in the form of a trip to Freetown and Lakka beach. It was Natasha's birthday so we had an excuse to spend a couple of days pretending that we were on holiday at a beautiful beach resort, oblivious of the country's issues or our real reason for being here! It was great fun down at the beach, and I had the best food I've had in Sierra Lone: freshly caught Bonita Fish with homemade chips. My favourite part of the weekend however, was walking through the Eastern part of Freetown, and two women were speaking about me in Krio. One turned to the other and said, “that white man has a fine body,” the other just shrugged and made a typical Salonean dismissive sigh, bringing me back to Earth with a bump!
Natasha has been organising games of Ultimate Frisbee, which is a surprisingly great game and provides an excuse to bring the expats of Makeni together. As much as I have made efforts to integrate into the community and make Salonean friends, the foreign crowd are an important component of my social network. I naturally have more in common with Europeans and North Americans than Africans, and it is usually more socially comfortable. There is also the fact that they can empathise with being away from home (knowledge of life in the Western world!) and there are fewer cultural or language barriers.
I escaped the small town confines of Makeni last weekend in the form of a trip to Freetown and Lakka beach. It was Natasha's birthday so we had an excuse to spend a couple of days pretending that we were on holiday at a beautiful beach resort, oblivious of the country's issues or our real reason for being here! It was great fun down at the beach, and I had the best food I've had in Sierra Lone: freshly caught Bonita Fish with homemade chips. My favourite part of the weekend however, was walking through the Eastern part of Freetown, and two women were speaking about me in Krio. One turned to the other and said, “that white man has a fine body,” the other just shrugged and made a typical Salonean dismissive sigh, bringing me back to Earth with a bump!
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Into the New Year
So, after Natasha and Gearoid perused the previous entries of the blog they have pointed out some inaccuracies. I feel I should come clean-
In the incident involving the spider (see blog entry 30th October, 2008) I did not “dispatch” the spider in such a masculine fashion as I made out. The fact is that I saw it after taking a shower, shrieked in a higher pitch than I would care to admit, and called upon Gearoid for assistance. His help came mainly in the form of laughing at me as I sized up the spider wearing only a towel and proclaiming over and over again that it was a very large spider.
Anyway, back to the present. New Year's Eve was pleasant, I spent it in the comfort of my own porch, with three friends. I had a good night, and I treated myself to a swim the following day at the hotel. I have spent a lot of time playing football and at the village where the boys live, I have made some good friends and I love the greetings I get from young and old alike; three kids holding each of my hands, whilst others jostle for a hold on the white man, and exchanging Temne greetings with old ladies, trying to avert my eyes from their bare, drooping breasts.
I have agreed to return to the council on a part time basis. They have acted on some of the issues I raised and have asked me to return to help to clean up the system. I thought about it long and hard, but the politicians seem committed, and the administration needs to be cleaned up. I feel sorry for the people who are genuinely trying to do their job, and I decided to stay and try to help, and try to achieve something with the organisation I came here to help.
The rest of my time will be spent in a new role at The Fatima University. I have given up the lecturing, I have decided that teaching definitely not for me. I will stay on as a Development Co-ordinator for the Institute, starting a number of income genrating projects and working on their existing good governance project, which involves training councillors in all of the Northern Districts in the country.
So after four months, I am finally in a working situation with which I am happy. I have the freedom to move between the two organisations, and I have made it clear to both employers what I am prepared to work on and what I am prepared to tolerate.
In other news, the UN Human Development Index was updated at the tail end of last year, and Sierra Leone is...... still bottom. It may seem difficult to understand how it actually manages to perform worse than countries like Somalia, which is in turmoil and has no government, but when you consider the indicators (healthcare, education, gender opportunities, governance) Sierra Leone really does have so far to go.
Who knows? Maybe we'll get them off the bottom of the list by the time I leave!
In the incident involving the spider (see blog entry 30th October, 2008) I did not “dispatch” the spider in such a masculine fashion as I made out. The fact is that I saw it after taking a shower, shrieked in a higher pitch than I would care to admit, and called upon Gearoid for assistance. His help came mainly in the form of laughing at me as I sized up the spider wearing only a towel and proclaiming over and over again that it was a very large spider.
Anyway, back to the present. New Year's Eve was pleasant, I spent it in the comfort of my own porch, with three friends. I had a good night, and I treated myself to a swim the following day at the hotel. I have spent a lot of time playing football and at the village where the boys live, I have made some good friends and I love the greetings I get from young and old alike; three kids holding each of my hands, whilst others jostle for a hold on the white man, and exchanging Temne greetings with old ladies, trying to avert my eyes from their bare, drooping breasts.
I have agreed to return to the council on a part time basis. They have acted on some of the issues I raised and have asked me to return to help to clean up the system. I thought about it long and hard, but the politicians seem committed, and the administration needs to be cleaned up. I feel sorry for the people who are genuinely trying to do their job, and I decided to stay and try to help, and try to achieve something with the organisation I came here to help.
The rest of my time will be spent in a new role at The Fatima University. I have given up the lecturing, I have decided that teaching definitely not for me. I will stay on as a Development Co-ordinator for the Institute, starting a number of income genrating projects and working on their existing good governance project, which involves training councillors in all of the Northern Districts in the country.
So after four months, I am finally in a working situation with which I am happy. I have the freedom to move between the two organisations, and I have made it clear to both employers what I am prepared to work on and what I am prepared to tolerate.
In other news, the UN Human Development Index was updated at the tail end of last year, and Sierra Leone is...... still bottom. It may seem difficult to understand how it actually manages to perform worse than countries like Somalia, which is in turmoil and has no government, but when you consider the indicators (healthcare, education, gender opportunities, governance) Sierra Leone really does have so far to go.
Who knows? Maybe we'll get them off the bottom of the list by the time I leave!
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