Craft hits the beach

At the end of October we had a holiday for Eid.  This was the ideal opportunity to arrange a Craft Club outing. 

Craft?

During the rainy season a few girls formed a craft club as a way to spend the damp evenings.  It may be fair to say that craft sometimes played second fiddle to eating and drinking.  We would meet weekly at someone’s house where people would bring food , someone would cook or we would order in take-away.  The crafting was diverse – knitting, crochet, patchwork, quilting, cross stitching, jewellery making , rug making and lots of discussion of potential projects.  It must be said we were great at ideas but not so hot on the execution.

Back to the outing.  On Friday 26 October we drove off down the peninsula to spend a couple of nights at Tokeh.  We stopped at Black Johnson on the way for a delicious lunch which ended with apple crumble!

On to our huts at Tokeh and the beautiful views of the beach.

Our huts

View of Tokeh Beach

 On Saturday morning we walked towards No.2 River

Walking to No.2 River

  and when we reached our destination we were so happy we just had to jump for joy!

Me, Claire and Cathrin jump for joy

Vafa

Jess

The result is in...

One week after the election the presidential result was announced last night.

The result? Incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma of the All Peoples Congress (APC) held onto power and will lead the country for the next 5 years.  He won convincingly by gaining 58.7% of the vote in the first round.

So how did we learn the result?  Well not being told by the media.  We had to wait for the official returning officer Dr Christiana Thorpe to make the announcement.  There was much uncertainty about the timing and on Wednesday there was a false alarm.  Last night though I received a text message from VSO informing me that the result was due at 5.30pm.  I went straight home to tune to the Sierra Leonean Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) radio station.

Eventually at 6.10 Dr Thorpe started her press conference.  Standing on my balcony I could hear that everyone else was listening to this too.   When the result came a huge cheer filled the air.  This was followed by cars honking horns, pots and pans being banged, whistles, vuvuzelas and general noise - at high levels.

We had been advised not to go out when the result came in case any trouble erupted.  I am happy to report that in my area of town all was peaceful and I hope that this was the case all over the country.  In the words of an election song - Wi no wan violence na Salone!

Read the BBC report here

Here are a couple of the election posters

The Winner - President Koroma APC

The Rival - Julius Maada Bio SLPP

 

VSO’s Seven Dimensions in action

When I embarked on my VSO journey I had to go through the assessment process where VSO judges whether you meet the Seven Dimensions that they feel are essential for any volunteer.  The other day these came to mind and I thought I would map these against my experience in Sierra Leone so far.

Positive and realistic commitment

“Keep your expectations low” has been a piece of advice I have received often since I arrived in Sierra Leone.  It is so true –I am constantly pleasantly surprised when people reply to emails or provide information I request.

Commitment to learning

I came to my job in the Ministry never having worked in the public sector, worked in Health, worked in a development context and not having done a pure management accounting role for about 20 years.  The learning curve has been steep and challenging.

Practical problem solving ability

I envisaged this originally to be work related but each day life throws up problems to be solved: what to do with another aubergine? How to get to Makeni without your own car?How to make the contents of the water butt last as long as possible? What is the most efficient way of bucket showering? Who can I visit to use their shower?  Being a VSO makes you very resourceful.

Self assurance

Crossing roads requires an amazing amount of self assurance as you hope the okada or taxi does not suddenly increase its speed.  I am also developing a greatdegree of self assurance when it comes to asking for lifts – home from a night out, to the beach or to go up country.

Flexibility and adaptability

No electricity, no water, limited internet access, public transport, traffic, shopping, limited variety of food.  All these are things and many more have challenged my flexibility and adaptability many times.

Working with others

I am working not only with my colleagues at the Ministry but also Health Finance Officers from the districts, NGOs and VSO.  These interactions may be for capacity building, co-ordination, producing papers, discussing ways forward on issues.  In most I find I am learning so much as I know so little about the health sector.

Sensitivity to the needs of others

Being aware of the cultural differences between myself and Sierra Leoneans has been a huge issue for me.  At times I find myself becoming very frustrated and have to constantly remind myself that I am the visitor to this culture and my cultural norms may not be appropriate.

Eight Months and another 10 thoughts

This weekend is special in Sierra Leone as it is Election Weekend.  The voting took place yesterday and we are no awaiting the result.  This weekend also marks 8 months to the day since I arrived in Freetown.  So much has happened and so many learnings.  So, here are my 10 thoughts at this milestone.

1, Elections mean party, party, party and to be proud to wear you party’s colour in all sorts of ways as you fill the streets for the rallies

2. Even when the wedding ashobi appears challenging you can make it work

3. If you come to visit me in Sierra Leone mid-October to mid-November is the best time – the weather is still cool at night but there are sunny days with the odd shower of rains to bring respite from the heat

4. Have learnt the hard way to be very careful with my choice of words when making a comment on integrity
5. You can have tailor disasters – my dress just didn’t fit no matter what alterations he tried so now I have a new skirt
6. Wedding ceremonies at registrars can have Muslim prayers, Christian  prayers and vows from the bible – very different to a UK registry office wedding
7. The longer you stay in church the better – 3 hours for a wedding and 2 hours for a thanksgiving service
8. If you have your phone pickpocketed and you notice quickly enough you can retrieve it by shouting loudly and standing your ground
9. Visited beautiful Kenema for the first time - thank you for your hospitality Sarah and Dom
10. Planning a trip home for Christmas really buoys the spirits – Scotland and London with 5 shows booked already!

Sierra Leone - a hard place to have a baby

One of my closest friends here in Sierra Leone is fellow Scot Carolyn Ford and recently we spent a lovely night at the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, 40 minutes outside Freetown in the Penisula Mountains, with her visitors Cathy and Carita.

Carita, Me, Nad, Carolyn and Cathy in the forest

The fifth person is Dr Nad who along with Dr Carolyn works tirelessly at the Aberdeen Women Centre.

This is a wonderful centre providing ante-natal, paediatric and fistula care to the women of Freetown and across Sierra Leone. The Scottish connection is strong as the Centre's Country Director, Jude, is from St Andrew's and the Centre is supported by the Gloag Foundation.

Carolyn is an obstetrician and in this article highlights the challenges of child birth in Sierra Leone.  Please take some time to read this - this is an inspiring organisation who requires as much support as we can give them.

Thank you.

The VSO effect

There are times when you are a VSO volunteer that you focus on your own experience in the present day forgetting about the history of the organisation and those who have gone before you.

On Friday I found myself feeling proud to be part of this organisation which has been working in Sierra Leone for many years.  What brought this on?  A chat with my colleague Mr Sahr Henry Ensah who was taught by VSO teachers in the northern town of Kailahun.  The memory of those teachers fills him with great happiness and his face lit up as he sang the song Mr Beechy used to sing when the class became restless:

My name is Mr Beechy

My wife is Mrs Beechy

My son is Peter Beechy

And we come from London

He was a member of the Boys Brigade which was formed by Mr McCaw and is still involved with the Boys Brigade to this day.

My new mission is to see if I can find Mr Beachy as I would love to be able to reunite this teacher and pupil.

The 2012 Presidential Election

So it’s over – we know the result – the USA has voted and Barrack Obama has secured a second term.

But enough of that as here in Sierra Leone we must wait until 17 November for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

On that Saturday those citizens who have registered to vote shall be lining up at polling centres to cast their votes for elections.  The main vote is for the President with the current President Ernest Bai Koroma (APC), who uses the ingenious slogan to have a second term -" if the music's nice, play it twice",  running for a second term against Julius Maada Bio (SLPP).

There is a great hope that these elections will be free from violence and so far there have not been any major problems.  Everyone is hoping it will stay that way.  Songs on the radio convey messages to ensure peaceful elections with posters plastered on walls throughout town encouraging the same.  There have been rallies over the past few weeks, with the two main parties (APC and SLPP) attracting large crowds of people.

In Freetown, the rallies have been loud but peaceful. For the most part, people seem to be having a good time – singing, dancing, smiling, cheering and enjoying the moment. Around town there are billboards with large pictures of presidential candidates. People are wearing shirts in the colour affiliated with their political party – the APC is red while the SLPP sport green.

Here are some images of the rallies.  As you can see they really embrace the colours

APC in Freetown

SLPP in Freetown

Water Water Everywhere...

but not in my house.


When I first arrived in Sierra Leone I knew that there would be issues in obtaining the basics i.e. water and power.  This is one of the least developed countries in the world: ranking 180 of 187 on the UNDP Development Index with 77% of Sierra Leoneans living in poverty.  

After eight months I have come to the conclusion that I can live without power but no running water isa bigger issue.  I realise it is easy for me on the power front as I am lucky enough to be able to charge items at work where the electricity is pretty regular.  It's a luxury to have a fridge at home but I could live without one as I can shop at the market everyday.

Water is another issue. When it stops coming out of my taps and shower, as it did one month ago, you have to source it from local communal taps and have bucket showers.  At first I managed without this having filled the four water butts in the flat when water was there, but now they are empty so I have to ask Patrick downstairs to fill gerry cans for me.  He is a lovely strong lad for whom carrying these heavy cans is no effort at all.  Without him I would be struggling.

So why no water?  I'm told that some road works have cut through the main pipe as no-one in the vicinity has water and people are having to come a considerable distance to use the communal tap.  The annoying part about all this is that regularly there is water running down the streets from burst mains - seeing this wasted water is soul destroying.  I met a man in the street who was shaking his head and mumbling "wi waste wata na Salone" (we waste water in Sierra Leone) as he picked his way through a stream running down the street.  He is so right.

In all these things there are learnings.  From this one is my ever increasing skill at washing using less and less water in my bucket - although washing my hair is another issue.  I am now also very aware of how much water it uses to flush a toilet so refrain from doing so every time the toilet is used.  Something to think about everywhere as water becomes a scare resource.