Childhood

The other night as I was walking home I took my usual route up the cut through which goes past a number of houses, a carpenter’s workshop and the local shop.  This is always a hive of activity as there is also a standpipe where people can draw water and do their washing

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Washing here does not mean separating the clothes and throwing them in the washing machine but is a far more labour intensive activity.  Usually it is the women or girls bent over the bowl but that day I witnessed a sight I would never see in the UK.  A wee lad of about 5 was bent over his washing bowl holding on to the washboard propped inside as with his other hand he was using a scrubbing brush to wash his school trousers.  I was initially charmed but then started to think about how different his childhood is to that of the 5 year olds I know.

Every day I see children working.  They may be selling packets of water in bowls precariously balances on their heads, collecting jerry cans of water from the local pipe and carrying them home without losing too much of their precious cargo.  The most impressive is often the 9 year old with 6 or 7 baskets of charcoal stacked on her head. There may be an older child carrying a baby strapped to their back as they lead another child to school. They cross busy 4 lane roads dodging okadas carrying the household rubbish to the local dirty box.   There are young girls with trays of mangos, ground nuts, washing powder... anything that can be sold. 

A heartbreaking sight is that of any child who has lost their balance and dropped her goods on the ground.  They will be sobbing uncontrollably as they know there will be a beating waiting for them at home since they will have lost the family some much needed income.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that with only one and five children in Sierra Leone reaching 5 years old so these children are the lucky ones.