Life in Makeni

Makeni is considered a large city in Sierra Leone. It has certainly grown since I was last here 34 years ago. However it is very different from a city in the UK but probably typical of an African city in a developing world. The main road from Freetown to Makeni is a very good road and is called a freeway and there are a few other roads in Makeni that are very good but the majority of the roads are red laterite roads with many hollows and bumps. During the month of January and part of February the climate in Makeni is a little cooler because of the Harmattan winds which blow in from the Sahara desert but the down side to that is that everything gets covered in dust. When you get up in the morning you find a thin layer of dust over everything. Many people carry small pieces of material with them and before they sit down they’ll wipe down the surfaces. You see this a lot in Church. Just like back home the days are getting slightly longer here but it’s not as dramatic as back home. The first month I was here it was still pitch dark at 6.30 am but now it’s much lighter at that time. Also in the evening darkness fell about 7pm but now it’s a bit later around 7.20pm. Darkness just falls suddenly. There is no twilight.  Around 6pm there is a haze that lies above Makeni. This is from the dust and smoke. Everyone cooks outside and there are fires all over Makeni in the evening time. Some of the fires are for burning wood to form Charcoal.

Selling bags of charcoal.

You will then see small bags of charcoal that are up for sale sitting outside some of the houses. Many houses will have small tables or stools set up outside selling something. Sometimes its oranges or bananas or sometimes it might be a small tray with a few empty glass bottles as I saw last night when I was out for a walk. Whenever I go out for a walk all the young children will call out to you ‘Porto’ ‘porto’ or ‘Oporto’ and many of them will run up to you wanting to touch you. Oporto means white man which comes from the Portuguese who were the first settlers in Sierra Leone, . Most of the children are lovely and very friendly but you’ll get a few cheeky ones who will start asking for money. They still associate white skin with money. They think all white people are rich. On every street there are now wells and every evening you’ll see children filling up buckets of water and carrying them on their heads to their houses.

The only cow in Makeni

There are Mosques all over Makeni. Apparently Gaddafi  gave Sierra Leone money to build a mosque every two miles. Though the country is predominantly Muslim they get on very well with the Christians.  All the streets in Makeni are very busy with motorbikes. There are hundreds of them around. They are also used as taxis and to transport all kinds of goods.

Sierra Leone is rich in minerals and during the past two years many international companies have moved in and started mining. This has resulted in many local people finding employment and are being trained as plumbers, electricians etc. There is vibrancy about Makeni and its great early in the morning to see so many people on their way to work. Sierra Leone is now only beginning to recover from the terrible civil war that that wrecked the country. Though the majority of people would not have much money they all look healthy and are well dressed. Football is very popular here and you will see boys all over the place playing football.

Selling furniture

There are swamps dotted all over Makeni and the local people cultivate these and grow corn, cassava, potato leaf and ground nuts. They remind me of allotments back home. Everyone here has a mobile phone. There are no land lines. So when the mobile phone was introduced about 10 years ago it took off big style!!!. When I was here 35 years ago the exchange rate was two Leones to the sterling pound. Now it’s Le6800 to the £ !!! It’s a plastic bag that one needs to carry your money around in rather than a purse. At the weekend I had a flood in my bedroom which was rather ironic for a country where water is a precious commodity. A plumber came to fix it for me. It wasn’t a big job but he still spent a couple of hours at it. The price he charged for completing the job was Le 10,000. That is roughly £1.50  So that gives you an idea of wages here.

These photographs are ones that I took at random when I was out for a walk last night.

Graduation Party

Tuesday 12^th February 2013

Sr. Mary Sweeney who is the Manager of St. Joseph’s Hearing Impaired School entered the convent 50 years ago yesterday and she has spent 40 of those years working in Makeni in Sierra Leone. The amount of work and what she has achieved is tremendous. It’s only now that I can really appreciate the tremendous amount of work that these religious people who have devoted their lives to working in Sierra Leone have done. They really do have a vocation. Sr. Mary has been supporting, every day of her life for the past 40 years, people like those I met last weekend at the Amputee Village and at the Lepers’ House. As well as doing that she is teaching and running a school. When she first came out here she was Head teacher at the local Primary school and then she founded the Hearing Impaired School. Apart from this she has been involved in so many projects which has brought relief and supported the suffering of so many.

The children at the Hearing Impaired School are very well cared for. They come from all over Sierra Leone. If this school wasn’t in existence these children would not be educated and many of them would be left to fend for themselves. Many of the pupils are boarders but there are also a number of them who are day pupils. All the children have chores to do before and after school so they are treated like any other child in Sierra Leone. They get up at 6.30am and do their chores before showering and having their breakfast. Their chores consist of sweeping and cleaning their compound. Fetching water and preparing breakfast. Then they change into their school uniform. After school they change out of their uniform and into their play clothes. They are at school from 8am until 3pm. School officially finishes at 1.30pm/2pm depending on their age. The younger children have a nap after school. From 2-3pm the teachers are paid to work an extra hour doing Art/P.E activities etc with the children. 

Yesterday there was a special celebration at the school to celebrate four of the teachers graduating from Makeni University with a Diploma in Special Education. They were the first students to graduate with this Diploma at Makeni University. Until now if any teacher wanted to do this Diploma they had to go overseas to complete it. Sr. Mary has been the driving force behind setting up a Department in Special Educational Needs at the University and it now has recognition and approval from the Government. It’s the first of its kind in Sierra Leone.

Food and drinks for the party was funded by friends overseas. Some of you specifically asked that the money you donated be used to give the children a treat. All the children and staff had a plate of Jollof Rice, chicken and fish. Jollof Rice is traditionally what is served at a celebration. Each child was also served with bottles of soft drinks which is a big treat for them and they also got a small packet of biscuits each. Then there was dancing afterwards. All the children have great rhythm and love dancing despite their impairments. So a good time was had by all, children and staff.

In the evening  & at the weekend there is a whole programme of events & activities organised for the children who are boarding. As well as encouraging the pupils to go down the academic route there is also a very good vocational programme for the pupils so that they can develop good skills to help them get work when they leave the school.

There is a very good Home Economics Dept.  and they develop hostess, cooking, budgeting and marketing skills. This department runs the Host Accommodation  where guests can have bed & breakfast and an evening meal if they wish. Last year the Host Accommodation brought in one third of the running costs of the school. Their whole curriculum is organised around this. i.e. Their literacy & numeracy programme. It’s the first time that I have seen a totally integrated programme.

Tailoring: All the pupils learn to sew and use a sewing machine. They then go onto make garments as well as other artefacts. E.g. Tablecloths & napkins to match, scarfs, baby clothes, handbags, laptop bags etc. Bracelets and so on. These are sold to visitors who visit the school. They also make all the school uniforms and they take in contract work.

Carpentary: This department supplies all the furniture for the school. Last month a new building was completed  for the Infant Department. All the tables, chairs, cupboards etc. were made by this department. They also do contract work and make beds, dressing tables etc.

The Farm. The school has its own farm and the pupils practice their agriculture skills there. As well as growing pineapples, bananas, groundnuts, cassava, potato leaf etc. they have a very successful poultry department. They supply the school and host Accommodation with fresh eggs and chicken. They have recently won a contract to supply fresh eggs daily to a local supermarket.

Tuesday 12^th February 2013

Sr. Mary Sweeney who is the Manager of St. Joseph’s Hearing Impaired School entered the convent 50 years ago yesterday and she has spent 40 of those years working in Makeni in Sierra Leone. The amount of work and what she has achieved is tremendous. It’s only now that I can really appreciate the tremendous amount of work that these religious people who have devoted their lives to working in Sierra Leone have done. They really do have a vocation. Sr. Mary has been supporting, every day of her life for the past 40 years, people like those I met last weekend at the Amputee Village and at the Lepers’ House. As well as doing that she is teaching and running a school. When she first came out here she was Head teacher at the local Primary school and then she founded the Hearing Impaired School. Apart from this she has been involved in so many projects which has brought relief and supported the suffering of so many.

The children at the Hearing Impaired School are very well cared for. They come from all over Sierra Leone. If this school wasn’t in existence these children would not be educated and many of them would be left to fend for themselves. Many of the pupils are boarders but there are also a number of them who are day pupils. All the children have chores to do before and after school so they are treated like any other child in Sierra Leone. They get up at 6.30am and do their chores before showering and having their breakfast. Their chores consist of sweeping and cleaning their compound. Fetching water and preparing breakfast. Then they change into their school uniform. After school they change out of their uniform and into their play clothes. They are at school from 8am until 3pm. School officially finishes at 1.30pm/2pm depending on their age. The younger children have a nap after school. From 2-3pm the teachers are paid to work an extra hour doing Art/P.E activities etc with the children. 

Yesterday there was a special celebration at the school to celebrate four of the teachers graduating from Makeni University with a Diploma in Special Education. They were the first students to graduate with this Diploma at Makeni University. Until now if any teacher wanted to do this Diploma they had to go overseas to complete it. Sr. Mary has been the driving force behind setting up a Department in Special Educational Needs at the University and it now has recognition and approval from the Government. It’s the first of its kind in Sierra Leone.

Food and drinks for the party was funded by friends overseas. Some of you specifically asked that the money you donated be used to give the children a treat. All the children and staff had a plate of Jollof Rice, chicken and fish. Jollof Rice is traditionally what is served at a celebration. Each child was also served with bottles of soft drinks which is a big treat for them and they also got a small packet of biscuits each. Then there was dancing afterwards. All the children have great rhythm and love dancing despite their impairments. So a good time was had by all, children and staff.

In the evening  & at the weekend there is a whole programme of events & activities organised for the children who are boarding. As well as encouraging the pupils to go down the academic route there is also a very good vocational programme for the pupils so that they can develop good skills to help them get work when they leave the school.

There is a very good Home Economics Dept.  and they develop hostess, cooking, budgeting and marketing skills. This department runs the Host Accommodation  where guests can have bed & breakfast and an evening meal if they wish. Last year the Host Accommodation brought in one third of the running costs of the school. Their whole curriculum is organised around this. i.e. Their literacy & numeracy programme. It’s the first time that I have seen a totally integrated programme.

Tailoring: All the pupils learn to sew and use a sewing machine. They then go onto make garments as well as other artefacts. E.g. Tablecloths & napkins to match, scarfs, baby clothes, handbags, laptop bags etc. Bracelets and so on. These are sold to visitors who visit the school. They also make all the school uniforms and they take in contract work.

Carpentary: This department supplies all the furniture for the school. Last month a new building was completed  for the Infant Department. All the tables, chairs, cupboards etc. were made by this department. They also do contract work and make beds, dressing tables etc.

The Farm. The school has its own farm and the pupils practice their agriculture skills there. As well as growing pineapples, bananas, groundnuts, cassava, potato leaf etc. they have a very successful poultry department. They supply the school and host Accommodation with fresh eggs and chicken. They have recently won a contract to supply fresh eggs daily to a local supermarket.

The Lepers and The Amputees

 I’ve now been in Sierra Leone two weeks and I want to share with you how some of the money that people  gave me is being used to help the poor As well as donations for the school, many of you gave me money to be used directly on the poor. Yesterday morning along with Sr. Mary Sweeney I visited elderly Lepers and amputees. At one time there was a very strong leprosy programme in Sierra Leone funded from Germany. However this was eventually taken over by the Sierra Leoneans. There are not as many lepers as there once was. It is diminishing Thank God! Its now part of the TB & Leprosy programme. However there is no help for the elderly, housebound lepers and it was them we visited today. There were 14 sharing a house. Many of them had sores but were unable to walk to the hospital or clinic to get them attended to. As they are old they have no means to make a living. So today when we visited them we gave each of them two small bags of rice. Your money helped buy this rice. They were living in very poor conditions. Members of their family were also living with them and it’s them who attend to them but they are also very poor. There was one wee boy there who was dirty, ragged and obviously had both mental and learning difficulties. There was a stench of urine from him. I think one of the elderly lepers had taken him in. You often find that here. People who are poor themselves will share what they have with others. Some of the elderly lepers were also blind. One man was crying because he had completely lost his sight in the past week. I found shaking hands with the stumps that had  once been their hands very difficult. Also many of them had only a blob at the end of their leg where once their feet had been. However they all had good sandals on to help protect their feet. Once we distributed the rice they all prayed giving thanks for this help. It was very emotional. So you can all be so proud of yourselves because your money really found a very deserving cause.

We then drove to a village outside Makeni. At the far end of the village 21 houses had been built by the Norwegians to house the Amputees. These were people who had been mutilated by the rebels during the war. This wasn’t quite as sad as the lepers as these people were very happy and living in nice conditions. The last of them only moved into these houses before Christmas. However it was still some sight to see people of all ages with only one arm or two stumps for arms and others with only one leg. Many of them told me their story and that was very harrowing to listen to. One young girl told me how they had been  fleeing from their village to Guinea when the rebels caught up with them. They then lined them up and asked them if they wanted ‘Short sleeves’ or long sleeves’? Depending on their answer they hacked off their arm either above the wrist or just below the shoulder. To  some of them they hacked off both arms. Some of the women were also raped and mutilated internally. Though they now have a house they are quite isolated being out of town and because of their disability find it difficult to make a living. When we arrived at this camp all the people came out to greet us and started singing ‘Thank-you God, Thank-you God for sending us Sister’. We spent a few hours talking and listening to these people. Again we gave each household two small bags of rice. I suppose this is what they mean by Global Citizenship!!!

Last week when I came into school there was a child lying sleeping on the step. It wasn’t one of the Hearing Impaired children. Sr Mary enquired about this child and it transpired he was the son of one of the teachers and and as he was sick the teacher had brought him with him to school. The teacher didn’t have the money to take him to the hospital. So again your money was used to send this child to the hospital. For two days it was touch and go. The child was very ill. On the third day he began to make progress. He is now out of hospital and doing very well. All these people whom you helped will remember you in their prayers. I didn’t ask them to do this. They themselves said they would do this. Some are Muslim and some are Christians but they all have a great sense of spirituality.

I'm still living in the host accommodation. There have been a number of people passing through and that’s been interesting meeting different people. e.g. There was a German girl, Martina, staying here last night but only for the 1 night. She was on her way back to Germany. There were two Dutch guys here all week but left on Friday. They were here doing workshops. Most of the people who pass through are only out here for a few days or so, visiting all the projects that their agency is sponsoring. I enjoy meeting & talking to different folk and it’s a change from talking solely to Monica who is the other lady who  is working here as an audiologist. She works very hard supporting the teachers in class, testing the children’s hearing and making sure all the children have hearing aids. She comes out from England at her own expense several times a year. I’m supposed to be moving into a house this week but at the moment nothing is settled. The first house that was earmarked for me still hasn't had any electricity connected. So another house was suggested. I went to see it yesterday but I have doubts about it.. Though it’s a nice house it only has one very  small bathroom.  It’s actually meant as an ensuite to one of the bedrooms. So that bedroom has to stay vacant so that folk can get access to the toilet or shower. That’s what I'm not entirely happy about as I'd be sharing it with two guys and it’s so small. There is no sink anywhere in the house and the kitchen is outside. I could put up with it but it’s also quite a distance from the school. I know compared to the accommodation that many other people live in I’ve a cheek to complain but it would take me 40/50 minutes’ walk to and from school. The morning would be fine but in the afternoon carrying my laptop etc. home in the heat!!!

Sunday 20th January 2013

- Sunday afternoon 1.45pm and I'm here in the office about to do work!!!!! Thought I'd left that behind me. However there is nothing else for me to do and once I'm established I can assure you I won't be working on a Sunday!!!! It’s just some documents that I want to read to get information about the school etc.  It’s really very hot at the moment. Another reason that I decided to do a wee bit of work because this office has air conditioning & there is no-one else here at the moment. So I’ve got it all to myself.

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              This morning I was out at a village about 10 miles outside Makeni to go to mass. It’s a small church and therefore not as crowded o as hot as going to mass in the Cathedral in Makeni. It was also very informal and colourful. Great music and dancing throughout mass. One of the kids was dressed in a Celtic strip!! The children are absolutely lovely. They are well dressed and look very healthy. Many of them were dressed in their Christmas clothes. Coming out of mass some women and a group of children came running up to us because they heard that we were working in St. Joseph's Hearing Impaired School and they had a child with them whom they said was deaf. So Sr. Mary arranged for the family to bring the little boy in tomorrow and Monica will test his hearing. Monica is an audiologist from England who is also here as a volunteer and working at St. Joseph's H.I. School

     On our way home we called into a Limba  village to check up on a few children who still haven't returned to school from the Christmas Break. It was a lovely village with many traditional mud huts. They are round with straw roofs. Then we went to the Supermarket. There are two supermarkets in town and are well stocked with European goods. It’s expensive but it’s good to be able to buy a few treats.

Mary in Makeni

Well I got here safe and sound on Thursday afternoon. The flight was mobbed. I don't think there were any empty seats. So needless to say I wasn't upgraded!!!!  It was chaotic at Lungi Airport but I got through it okay. When I moved outside the airport there was a man Mr Abu with a sign with my name on it. Sr Mary Sweeney was ill again So she couldn't make it to the airport but sent a driver Mr Abu to meet me. Once I was in the vehicle he phoned Sr. Mary to let her know that he had got me and then I also spoke to her on the phone. We then drove to the ferry. What a ramshackle boat that was. A real rust bucket. It was very busy. Full of people and jammed full with vehicles. I was in first class. It was a room on the first deck with loud music, a fan and seats to sit on but very very basic!!! I went to the toilet. There was no light once you shut the door and it was a hole in the ground. The stench was awful. However I met a few other British folk on the boat and one of them held the door ajar so that I could get a bit of light. They were all nurses who are here for a few weeks to do primary care in some of the villages.  Getting off the ferry was a spectacle. I couldn't get to the vehicle because of the way all the cars were parked. There was very little space between the vehicles and if there was any space it was full of someone's belongings or basins of fruit or vegetables that a foot passenger was bringing to the market in Freetown. All the cars Lorries etc. had to reverse off and everyone was trying to go at the same time. The air was thick with fumes. However Mr Abu is a very good driver and he managed it without any mishaps.

We then headed up to Makeni. We arrived here just after mid-day. I was given a big welcome. Zoe the girl whom I had been corresponding with was there to meet me. She had also phoned while we were driving up to welcome me to Sierra Leone.

            At the moment I'm staying in host accommodation at the school. I shall move into my own house in three weeks’ time. So at the moment I've got my own room with ensuite!!! It sounds grander than it is but its fine. Very basic but I have a toilet, a shower and a fan. So it’s definitely a big improvement on what I experienced before. When I was here in Makeni 35 yrs. ago, we had no water or electricity. The town of Makeni is a real shanty town but very busy. It has grown a lot and is a lot busier. People everywhere, motorbikes, bicycles and cars constantly tooting their horn as they drive along the road. There is litter everywhere. On the journey up from Freetown we met a snake on the road. A cobra. It had its head raised up just as you see in photos. Abu reversed the car over it several times to kill it. Just as well because moments later a motorbike drove up on that side of the road and there was a good chance that he would have been bitten. I spent Friday in school going around the classes meeting the teachers.  Everyone has been very welcoming.   I must say I've been pleasantly surprised. My overall impression is that the school is very good. However we'll see how things are once we get down to the nitty gritty. Sr. Mary Sweeney who is the manager wants me to put systems into the school, mainly reporting & assessment.  So we'll see................ I've arranged to sit down with the HT on Monday morning and I want her to tell me how the school operates and what they have in place at the moment and perhaps from there I can see how I fit in.

              Anyway I'm going to take it slowly. On Thursday night, my first night here, I did wonder to myself 'what on earth am I doing here' but once I went into school on Friday and met the staff etc. I felt much better about it all. We'll see how I feel next week!!!

 Some of the teachers here have not been paid for four years.  So they have been surviving on wages paid by the Catholic Mission to keep them going.

It’s hot here but not too bad. The temp is about 28-30 degrees. At the moment it’s actually 33 degrees and that is with the fan on. Apparently it’s cold for the Sierra Leoneans. At the moment there are not too many insects around but there are wee small ones crawling around my computer screen!! As I type. Also up and down my neck. Today I also got local sim cards for my mobile phones. So I feel pleased about that. So I'm now off to have a star beer. The local beverage or at least one of them!!!