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| The view from the Xaverian Mission House in Lungi |
The school closed on the 12th April for the
holidays. It was quite an exciting time for the pupils. The majority of
children’s parents arrived at the school during the morning. All the parents
visited the class teachers to collect and discuss their child’s school report.
At the end of each term the parents receive a school report about their child.
Then at the end of the morning there was a Parents Teachers meeting. I was
astounded at the number of parents who attended and all the class teachers
participated in the meeting. It was a
very lively and long meeting. All the parents had travelled by public
transport. Public transport here is a lorry or van which is packed with people
and their belongings. Many of the mothers had young babies on their backs and
had travelled for up to five or six hours. That night there was still about
forty pupils left in the Boarding School but gradually over the weekend members
of their family came and collected them until there was only about twenty left.
Those pupils stayed on because they were due to sit national exams soon and
their teachers gave them extra tuition during the holidays.
I continued to work during the first week of the holidays
but at a more leisurely pace. On the Wednesday of the following week I went to
Lungi for five days’ rest. I stayed at the Xaverian Mission House which is perched on a cliff
overlooking the ocean. It was beautiful and there were lovely breezes blowing
in from the sea. It was very quiet and peaceful and I had a wonderful rest.
Lungi is where the Airport is. As we drove into Lungi I was surprised to see
street lights powered by solar panels. What is even more surprising is that
though Lungi has street lights they don’t have any town supply of electricity.
So any accommodation that has electricity has to have their own generator. The Xaverian Mission had its
own generator, so we had electricity for a couple of hours in the morning and
the evening. They also had a television. So I saw and heard the news each
evening. My first since coming to Sierra Leone!!!
Though the beaches in Lungi are lovely they are spoiled by
garbage. They were full of rubbish, mainly plastic. The beaches were littered
with plastic bottles, plastic lid, flip flops, shoes etc. Apparently it’s all
the rubbish washed up from Freetown which is opposite Lungi.
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| Enjoying lunch at the Mission House, Lungi |
On the Friday of that week the pupils who were left in
the Boarding School came down to Lungi for the day. The majority of them had
never seen the Ocean. So they were all very excited. On the way down they also
saw a freight train. This was the first time that they had seen a train!!
When they arrived at the mission house, we all had lunch
and then we went to a beach further along the coast just outside of Lungi. We
were joined there by some of the local youth. They all had a great time playing
together and swimming. Afterwards they all had a picnic together before the
Hearing Impaired pupils returned to Makeni.
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| It was a steep descent to the beach outside Lungi |
I stayed on in Lungi for a few more days. One day I
visited a beach at Konakridee which is further along the coast. We walked along
the beach for several miles outside of Konakridee before we found a clean beach
with no rubbish washed up on it. It was so clean that it was full of crabs.
There were thousands of them but every time I tried to take a photograph of
them they scuttled off into the ocean. It was a beautiful beach with fine white sand.
On our return journey back to Makeni we picked up a number of pupils who
lived in the Lungi area and gave them a lift back to school.
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| Some of the pupils on the beach at Lungi |
Last week which was the first week of the new term was a
very busy week for me as I was trying to complete my work. I spent every day
giving at least two workshops each day to the staff. It was hard work in that
heat!!. The sweat was running off me. It was so hot and humid. Last Tuesday and
Wednesday night we had two almighty thunderstorms which helped clear the air
for a little while. It was so cool for a few hours after the thunderstorm. It
was wonderful. I even pulled a sheet over me in bed both those nights.
Well this week has been a very emotional week for me as I
prepare for returning home. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Makeni and
working at the Hearing Impaired school and I’ll miss all these wonderful
children but it will also be nice to be back among family and friends.
. It has been a very positive experience for me. It’s
wonderful to see children so happy and both willing and motivated to learn.
Despite the obvious poverty that one witnesses all around you in Sierra Leone,
there is an air of vibrancy and joy. They are also so appreciative of any help
that they receive.
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| Enjoying a tug of war in the sea |
I feel honoured and
privileged to have lived among this community and shared in both the Highs and
lows of their lives. I’m also so grateful that I got this opportunity to return
to Sierra Leone after 35years and in this capacity rather than as a tourist.
Today
there were a number of ‘lows’. The first was the news this morning that the
father of one of the HI pupils had died. It was wonderful to witness the
supportive manner in which the Director of the school, Sr. Mary broke this news
to the boy and how the Head Teacher, class teacher and the boy’s peers all
rallied round to support and comfort him. Late this afternoon one of the
workers came running into the compound with her teenage son looking for help.
He was writhing in pain. Yesterday he had been diagnosed with typhoid and
malaria. Immediately staff and pupils helped out by organising transport to the
hospital and comfort for his mother. This is typical of how tragedy can strike
the local people so suddenly.
The Community of St. Joseph’s unite together not only to
teach and support the Hearing Impaired Pupils but also one another.
In the school the teachers are keen to learn and develop
their own teaching skills and it was with them and the Senior management team
that I did the bulk of my work which is only a drop in the ocean of what needs
to be done. So if you are thinking of volunteering, Go ahead and take the
plunge. You’ll enjoy it immensely.
Some of the Highlights of my time here at St. Joseph’s
has been:
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The children teaching me their sign language
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Participating in their school assemblies
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Watching the children at play
- Observing the children learning and
communicating with such joy.
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| Its mango season in Sierra Leone. |
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