Soon after I posted here last month one of the helicopters ferrying passengers to and from the Airport crashed. That day the Sierra Leone Stars had played an African Nations Cup qualifier against Togo at the national stadium and most of those aboard the helicopter were Togolese football officials. Rumour has it that all the airport fire-fighters were out to lunch at the time, and the fire engine was empty. When fire-fighters did reach the scene they poured water on the fuel fire, exacerbating the problem. Only one person survived the crash.
Election campaigning has started and it has been a very noisy couple of weeks in Freetown. Candidates throw all night parties to win support and people drive around the streets with loud-hailers and enormous sound-systems strapped to the roof. Outside the residence of the main candidate huge crowds of people gather to receive gifts of food and money to ensure their support. We have not heard of any election related violence in Freetown but will be confined to our compound over the election period this weekend.
Before leaving Kenema last time I did a weekend trek into the bush to visit an isolated community. It has no road and is about 5 hours walk though a forest reserve. We were greeted on arrival with drumming, dancing and speeches. We then presented our gifts of tinned food and rice. They cooked us a meal of rice, palm oil, chillies and fish heads in return, nice. After dinner we joined the community for dancing around the village until it got dark.
Election campaigning has started and it has been a very noisy couple of weeks in Freetown. Candidates throw all night parties to win support and people drive around the streets with loud-hailers and enormous sound-systems strapped to the roof. Outside the residence of the main candidate huge crowds of people gather to receive gifts of food and money to ensure their support. We have not heard of any election related violence in Freetown but will be confined to our compound over the election period this weekend.
Before leaving Kenema last time I did a weekend trek into the bush to visit an isolated community. It has no road and is about 5 hours walk though a forest reserve. We were greeted on arrival with drumming, dancing and speeches. We then presented our gifts of tinned food and rice. They cooked us a meal of rice, palm oil, chillies and fish heads in return, nice. After dinner we joined the community for dancing around the village until it got dark.
The community currently get their water from a swampy pool by the river, which they cooked our dinner and breakfast with, and we are planning to construct a well with them. We would also like to construct a road through to the community, but cannot fell trees in the forest reserve.
The Street Children in Freetown put on a great drama and dancing display to celebrate ‘Day of the African Child’. At the time I was reviewing sanitation and water supply in the slum areas of Freetown that we operate in and also helped to deliver instruments to the Street Children centres. It was a real spectacle for everyone to see an Expat bedecked with drums walking through the slums, followed by shouts of ‘Hey white-boy play us a tune!’.
Planning to go to Ghana, Togo and Benin at the end of this month for a break, think I will take the Hovercraft to the airport.
Da bodi well
Alex
The Street Children in Freetown put on a great drama and dancing display to celebrate ‘Day of the African Child’. At the time I was reviewing sanitation and water supply in the slum areas of Freetown that we operate in and also helped to deliver instruments to the Street Children centres. It was a real spectacle for everyone to see an Expat bedecked with drums walking through the slums, followed by shouts of ‘Hey white-boy play us a tune!’.
Planning to go to Ghana, Togo and Benin at the end of this month for a break, think I will take the Hovercraft to the airport.
Da bodi well
Alex
