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!!!