The Way Home -- Planes, (no) Trains and Automobiles on Snowy Highways

On our last day in Sierra Leone, Ed and I were picked up at the MTC at 7am and made a quick dash to Freetown where we met up with the CRC Director who had business with the bishop as well as shopping for a small bus for transporting the CRC children.

We met at the Crown Bakery which is a favorite spot for teams when transiting Freetown. Additionally, we stopped a harbor-side marketplace where we could purchase some wood carvings, hand-made jewelry and hand-dyed cloth.

This all may sound very straightforward but, had my camera not broken half way through the trip, I would show you the incredible press of humanity and bumper-to-bumper cars, trucks and motor bikes all packed into most every street in Freetown.

Having completed our foray into Freetown, we made our way back to the ferry landing to wait for loading and transit across to Lungi where we would stop at the Airport Hotel to clean up before starting the long trek home.

Little did Ed and I realize how long that trek would be....

At the hotel, on Friday, I checked my email while Ed showered and took a nap--British Airways was kind enough to send me an automated email notifying us that our flight to Dulles the next morning was cancelled due to weather. When we arrived at London Heathrow, we had already been rebooked on to the third and last flight out that evening, which was also already scheduled to depart two hours late.

To make a long, 48+ hour travel adventure into a shorter story, we ended up waiting 8 hours in London to be told our second booked flight had been cancelled and that ALL flights out on Sunday were already full; we could either stay in London for two nights (on our own dime) and get on the first flight Monday, or we could run to catch the last plane out which was going to JFK in NYC.... Tough call. But both Ed and I wanted to get home so we thought we roll with whatever came up in New York.

Now fast forward 9 hours--we travel light to avoid having drivers licenses with our home addresses fall into the wrong hands; we only have our passports and a credit card: NO rental company will rent us a car. The last Amtrak that night is full, but we can stay in a hotel and catch the first one out of Penn Station to DC in the morning--how much is all that going to cost? Well over $200 dollars.

It would so happen that there was another guy, who was also looking to get to DC that night, who ALSO lived within 3 miles of Ed and I (what are the odds of THAT?!?). We talked a mini-van driver to take us home from JFK for about as much as what a hotel and train ride would have cost (but not the food, taxi and tips). So we set off into the unknown of the snowstorm's aftermath.

About 5 1/2 hours later, I'm dragging my suitcase and plastic trunk through the snowbound streets of my neighborhood; backpack on my back, no hat or gloves and only a fleece I use on the plane and my tropical vest for "warmth".

I got to the house with only a couple stops to warm my hands; fortunately the wind wasn't blowing hard. Ahhh...into a hot shower, a loooong-overdue teeth brushing and then into bed.
What a trip--blessed, even in the curve-balls thrown our way. Thank you for going on the journey to Bo with me this trip. I hope we can do it again soon--next time I'll bring my driver's license.

While Ed was working with the new Child Rescue Centre Director, discussing budget issues as well as interviewing candidates for Business Manager, I did my usual puttering around to see how we might help improve energy, water and waste management operations.

The entire facility, all on about 23 acres, includes about 5 acres for the CRC, 1/4 acre for the lodging site (MTC=Missionary Training Centre) and a large chunk of land for the 25-bed Mercy Hospital and Lab, along with various outbuildings, homes, a small primary school and church.

We are working with the United Methodist bishop of Sierra Leone, Bishop John Yambasu, to improve and increase the capacity of the facilities so there are reliable water sources, improved trash handling and sustainable energy capabilities so as to reduce reliance on diesel generators and the public electric utility company which, in the dry season, has limited reliability.

One project I'm working on is how to utilize the CRC generator house (picture of the caretaker there, Alfred) so we can use the building both for diesel generation as well as for solar electric storage.

Another persistent challenge is the water supply. In America, we see time is money; in Sierra Leone, I think they'd say labor is money--most wells, building and cistern construction is done by hand--but that limits the results if something hand-labor cannot cope with (like a rock layer when digging a well).

At the MTC we have tried to dig two wells, both meeting an outcrop of rock about 10-20 feet down; without a well, the facility relies on water being trucked in during the dry season and filling a cistern dug next to the building (during the rainy season, water from the roof is directed into the facility so there is an abundant supply then). Trucking in water is expensive and, in this case, even more costly because there is a leak in the cistern.

The picture at the right is when the MTC caretaker, Tommy, and I climbed down into the cistern to inspect the work done to tile over and seal some cracks before the water trucks arrived that afternoon.

Unfortunately, the seals didn't hold and the cistern continued to leak. Before departing Bo, I was able to meet with two representatives from the "Korea Group"--a well-drilling enterprise from South Korea operating in Sierra Leone which uses seismic technology to locate water tables, heavy drilling equipment so as to go deep and through rock with impunity, and offers a guaranteed water flow for a year at capacity. Of course, this comes with a pretty high price tag; however, when compared to the fact that we've almost spent that much to dig two holes in the ground at the MTC which are NOT providing water, I see a deal with the Korea Group at this point as a very good idea.

Other activities included getting a team-sized gravity feed water filtration system set up in the dining room of the MTC because, up to this point, every team has been purchasing bottled water so as to avoid some nasty bacteria and viruses in the water which we are not acclimated to like the residents are.

Of course, do the math, three 1 1/2 litre bottles of water per person per day equates to as many as 300 plastic water bottles generated per team visit. Yes, the water bottles are distributed locally for people to use, but they eventually break or lose their purpose and end up on the side of the road or in the makeshift land fills, or burned.

I see the implementation of the water filtration systems as a cost-saving and environmentally responsible solution to the massive amounts of waste that can be generated by the 40-60 well-intentioned North Americans staying at the MTC each year.

Whew! Hot and sticky, but what a joy.

Just a quick note because I don't want to sweat into this guy's MacBook; I'll need to catch up later in the week so I can provide more narrative and photos.

Busy couple of days working on solving water supply issues and taking measurements to hopefully create a solar electric solution for the lighting here at least.

The children are great, warm and welcoming as ever; have taken some beautiful pics as well.  So good to see healthy smiles--gives me hope.

More later in the week.

Peace from Kulanda Town, Bo, Sierra Leone.

What It's All About

Every evening, the resident children participate in vespers (evening prayers) and then, if there are visitors, they will separate to the boys and girls dormatories for "story time"--for the boys, this is usually stories they make up or traditional stories which they share (Ed likened it to Cub Scouts since, I guess it's universal to the y chromosome, the stories usually involve some combination of somebody doing something stupid, a bodily function and/or someone getting hurt or killed). Story time with the girls usually involves reading a story book and listening to the girls singing in beautiful 3-part harmony.

The picture here was taken during story time with the boys on our second night in Bo. The young man over my left shoulder, in the white striped pajamas is Afiju, who is one of the two children I sponsor at the CRC. As you can see, the boys are healthy, clothed and well taken care of--there is the usual drama of growing up and taking on responsibilities, as well as the dynamics of group home living, which is foreign to me so all the teams go there with open hearts, patience and encouragement.

I wish my camera hadn't broken mid-week because I would like to share more of the faces and smiles of the children. At any rate, I find it a privilege and a blessing to be able to see first-hand how these children are being positively impacted; living in hope to make a better life for themselves and their community/country.

The Ferry To Freetown

Being on a small team (like 2 people instead of 14 on last summer's team) has its advantages; the first noticable advantage is agility.

Note the two guys standing next to the Toyota 4Runner--we were able to quickly load and drive on to the ferry that runs between Lungi and Freetown in record time. Also, turning the thing around to get back off the ferry was fast so we were quickly on the road. The usual herding of stragglers was absent which again permitted us a rapid departure, quick stop for gas, bread and water.

Finally, the road from Freetown to Bo, which used to be a 110 mile bone-jarring, pot-hole-weaving journey of 5-6 hours is now a swift 3-hour journey over smoothly paved asphalt (except for about 5 miles of graded gravel, for which we barely slowed down). The only places we slowed down for were the larger villages and junctions where we met the usual jumble of people and/or goats.

The hope is that, with the completion of the road to Bo (originally interrupted by the rebels destroying all the road-making equipment during the civil war) is that now heavy goods and larger buses of people can move out to Bo and further on to Kenema so as to increase commerce and, hopefully, personal and community prosperity with it.