Jay in Sierra Leone: Holding Hands

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Holding Hands

So there I am. Standing at the busy Murray Town Junction, holding the hand of a Sierra Leonean man. For a long time. For the whole of our 5 minute conversation. The man is a colleague of mine. Men like to hold hands here. I think it’s a Muslim thing. He says he wants me to join him at church this weekend. You have to think quickly here, because everyone wants you to be their friend and do something with them. It’s tough. On the one hand you want to experience these things, but on the other hand you have to pick and choose and not disappoint. My standard line is to turn all offers down. “I can’t give you my cell number, it’s work only … I’d love to start a new religion with you, but my mother would be upset … your food looks nice, but I’ve already eaten … I can’t pay for your school, I am a volunteer … I may be white, but I’m not rich…”

But the truth is, I am rich. I have an education and I can leave anytime to premium health care and a rich country. Many people believe that corruption and abuse of power is widespread here because people only live for today. There is little planning for tomorrow. Even my organization CGG. They are going bankrupt. Our accountant is having a hard time putting measures in place to stop the bleeding and right the ship. The organization mitigation strategy is to pray to the lord. (Photo: Neighbourhood kids Abraham & Diane, or maybe Diana. I can't tell the twins apart. My house to the left across from the mango tree)

It is challenging to interact with people here for all these reasons. My guard is always up. I’m expecting everyone to ask me for something. Anyone you befriend will eventually ask you for help. I don’t blame them. It’s overwhelming because you truly want to help people. My roommate Laura has a huge heart. She’s always stretching her finances thin by helping everyone she knows – taking kids to the beach for lunch and a soda, paying for hospital treatments and finding jobs for people. One older volunteer bought a taxi for a local, and many others have paid for tuition fees for young people.

There are so many opportunities to do small things that would go so far. $50 would be enough to put a roof on the small school next to my house. The teacher is a local volunteer, but will be unable to keep classes going during the rainy season. It would be very easy to set up funds for schools or even individual students, but the infrastructure here is beyond bad. It’s non-existent. You cannot transfer money to accounts easily. Even a tourist cannot get money in Sierra Leone. You have to bring US$. A thriving tourist industry is waiting for a sniff of progress to boom. I’ve gotten money out of ATMs in the middle of the desert in Egypt. No such luck in Freetown.

UPDATE: We’ve got water. The pump is now working. Glorious shower and flushing toilet has returned.

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Facts-o-Plenty

In 1462, Portuguese explorer Pedro da Cintra mapped the hills surrounding what is now Freetown Harbour, naming shaped formation Serra Lyoa (Portuguese for Lion Mountains). Its Italian rendering is Sierra Leone, which became the country's name. During the 1700s the major slave trading base in Sierra Leone was Bunce Island, located about 20 miles into the Sierra Leone River, now called the "Freetown Harbour."

The 2007 estimate of Sierra Leone's population stands at 5,866,000, the majority being youth and children. Freetown, with an estimated population of 1,070,200, is the capital, largest city and the hub of Sierra Leone economy.

Although English is the official language spoken at schools and government administration, Krio (language derived from English and several African languages and is native to The Sierra Leone Krio people) is the Lingua franca.

Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.

Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.

Jay in Sierra Leone

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Holding Hands

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Facts-o-Plenty

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