Pickens:
Now that the jet lag has dissipated, I'm finally able to provide my readership with a fluffed up version of events reasonably accurate account of my recent travels to the West African nation of Sierra Leone. This was my sixth visit to my friends at our sister church in the village of Maboleh, located in the central part of one of the poorest nations on earth. Many of you know this, but for those who don't, Maboleh is primarily a subsistence farming village, cut out of the jungle centuries ago, whose way of life has changed little from when the first huts were built. In 2009, we first visited the village and quickly became partners with the villagers there; over the years we have constructed latrines, painted schools and built a church.
The primary objective of our latest visit was developing a plan to construct housing in the village, for the teachers in the primary school (grades 1-6) that live elsewhere, and typically spend more to travel to/from school, than they make each day. There are 6 teachers and an aide (seen here) that, along with the Headmistress, are responsible for providing elementary education for more than 240 students, mostly from the village. Land for this project was donated by one of the families in the village. <Full disclosure alert: the Sierra Leonean idea of "donation" is a curious one. The family donated the land, but indicated that they would be happy to receive a monetary "gift" to honor their largesse. In America we call that a sale (or a shakedown).> This being the case, we were happy to provide said gift; happiness soon erupted.
With this piece of business out of the way, we then turned our attention to meeting with the Bishop and District Superintendent, to come to an agreement regarding the scope and ultimate cost of this project. Inasmuch as the school is a UMC school, these Conference officials have the ultimate authority over any buildings built for the school. This is an interesting twist, as there are typically multiple layers of authority figures to mollify, in nearly every circumstance. Assuaging concerns from church officials is merely one step; local village elders, Chiefs and ultimately the Paramount Chief (pictured) must also be satisfied with any plan, before providing their consent/blessing and permitting the effort to move forward.
Fortunately, our practice of meeting with the village elders, both Christian and Muslim, once again bore fruit. We explained all that we were doing, sought their input and gained agreement from those assembled. In all seriousness, I believe that we have been able to be successful there because we involve them in everything we do. We're there to address their needs and concerns, and they know that. Westerners in the past who've failed to understand this, and come to villages with fully developed agendas that do not take their interests into account, have not made lasting, sustainable relationships with the locals. They are our partners, not our workforce.
Having secured as much agreement and as much progress as possible on this trip, we then turned our attention to the remaining construction initiatives at the church that was built a little over a year ago. These Phase II efforts included tiling the altar and sanctuary of the church - this is typical in Sierra Leone, as an uncovered concrete floor will soon begin to crumble, given the humid environment and heavy use. We also provided funding to pay local carpenters to craft 40 new pews for the sanctuary, as the old ones were literally falling apart. Altar chairs and table, and metal windows for the adjacent parsonage complete the project. All these improvements should be completed by the end of March.
With this work underway, we then focused on an economic initiative undertaken by the women of the village. Last year, they formed a kind of co-op, the purpose of which was to raise crops for sale in the local markets. Their first year harvest yielded eight 50 kilo bags of ground nuts (delicious, by the way); these were stored and will be used to seed this year's crop that, along with cassava, will be harvested, processed and sold in what we believe will be the first of many steps on the road to provide the women of the village a better and more secure future. Visiting their fields and watching them work is a delight, and they're very proud to show it off.
We also do what we can to assist with the operations of the government run medical clinic, located at the end of the village. For years, we have brought donated supplies, bandages, ointments, etc. to provide them with the basics that often elude them, due to sporadic funding. This year, we asked Tahta, the nurse, to list the items she needed most, then we drove her to the nearest city, Makeni, where she was able to purchase several hundred dollars worth of supplies (pictured), that she'd otherwise never be able to obtain.
In a related development, we met a girl in the village that had an obviously acute infection on her finger. She told us she hadn't slept the night before due to the pain; looking at her finger (shown here - sorry, kinda gross), removed any doubt of that. As it was Saturday, the village clinic was closed, so we decided to take her to the hospital in Makeni to have the finger treated.
The abridged version of this story includes the trip to the hospital, her examination, the treatment - read, lancing - of the infected finger, and the screams and tears of what had to be a young girl terrified to death, not understanding much of what was happening to her. We ultimately wound up paying for her treatment and follow up visits, an astonishingly small sum - less than $20 US. It is likely that, without treatment, she would have lost her finger, perhaps her hand, and possibly her life; that's the grim reality of the third world.
We also made time to visit the UMC Secondary School (grades 7-12) located in Makeni, where each year we provide scholarships to the 4 top students from our village - 2 boys & 2 girls. The Principal has become a good friend and ally and we've been able to provide support to the school as well over the years. I'm seen here with several of the Maboleh students that we provide scholarships for, as well as with Bearcat and one of the teachers that I've befriended. He was the one who several years ago, led us up Wusum mountain; damn near killed me.
Our efforts in Maboleh and Makeni are only possible due to the incredible assistance and support of our driver, teammate and friend, Edison. Without him, we are literally and figuratively, babes in the woods. He is much more than a driver; he is our translator, our negotiator, our counselor and our partner in all that we do; his value cannot be overstated.
Our time there is also made much more tolerable by Rebeccah and her staff at the Women of Hope guesthouse in Makeni. In addition to being the best cook in West Africa, she too has become family to our teams over the years. She also has a wicked sense of humor.
In all, we spent 9 days away from home; in many ways, not long enough. Yes, I missed my blond bombshell, but leaving people that I've come to love is never easy. God willing, I'll return again to see my friends and see both our scheduled and future projects to conclusion. Thanks to all that support me and had the courage and apparent free time to read this all the way to the end. Don't get too used to this kinder, gentler stuff though. Ego sum infirmis........
