Here we go. FINALLY some pictures of
my last trip to Africa.
...On a one [wo]man mission this time, off I went to another to "Are you crazy?" trip to West Africa.
Luckily, having lived there for a couple years and revisited again, I had many friends to help me out even before I arrived, including visa issues, place to stay etc. And by the time I left, I had many more options of places to stay.
AFRICA... It's a love/hate relationship. While you are thinking "I'm never gonna do this again" you already know you will, because, let's face it; You love it!
I count myself privileged to engage in so many wonderful and
interesting experiences!
You will be greeted with a wonderful mess upon arriving in
Freetown.
But don't worry it will get worse, because when you get off the plane you're not actually in Freetown yet. You still have to get: a) A ferry. b) A speed boat. c) A helicopter. To get across Africa's largest natural bay/harbor. (Nope, no bridge option here.) You'll probably arrive at night, (least by the time you're actually IN your final destination) so when you first meet the city in the morning (no, not your little perch up in that nice hotel - if your one of the "lucky" ones.) that's when you will be greeted with the wonderful mess, sights and smells. (True story, West Africa has a very distinct smell. Lol!
But it's not all chaos. You will also have the pleasure of seeing some of the worlds nicest beaches on the weekends (fine, or weekday if you're a beach bum. :P) and have the most amazing seafood ever. BEST fish, huge shrimps, even lobsters, all at very accessible prices. If you have a boat (or good suspensions on your SUV) you can go even further away from the city and have absolute PARADISE.
I arrived on a weekend, so first things first:
Fishing and snorkeling? Double fun!!
Lunch time!
My pretty fish. I caught 9 that day. P:
Cocktails much? lol
And NOW we are ready to work.
My main mission (In collaboration with my team in Germany) was the "Sponsor a Book Program": Deliver thousands of books and other inspirational products to Schools and
a Hospital in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Most of which were already in a storage in Freetown for almost 6 months! That got cleared. More books and children's bibles were then purchased completing a total of ...Hmm, let's see 1234567... ok about 2,000+ items.
The children and teachers were very thankful
to receive such quality material that they would not have access to otherwise.
The looks on the children’s faces made all preparation of
logistics, traveling for long hours, being on the work field alone, working against
time and all the little hindrances that are so
"TIA"* totally worth it all.
(*This is Africa!)
Aw look at those smiles! Yes, totally worth it. :)
It's so cool to come back after years (on and off) and see our work still standing in the classrooms. The children know the quotes and verses by heart by now. And when I tell them that I drew a lot of the art on their walls, uh ...they just smile and wave. lol!
One of the schools we have worked with for the past 3 years (whenever we are in Sierra Leone) has painted some of my art on the school walls. :D Awsh!
Calendars with inspirational quotes for one of the main hospitals in Sierra Leone.
Children's ward at the hospital.
A pause for a beach getaway moment. -.-
Perfection.
Night fishing by the rocks, ROCKS! :P
My messy temporary
"office space".
Apart from all that running around to the schools, clearing and picking up books, visiting sponsors, putting together request and thank you letters, having all this stuff printed, signed etc... (all that may sound simple, not in Freetown; the land of "tomara"! *Mañana)
I STILL had a whole dusty garage to clear out, full of stuff we had stored when moving out last year. Arrrgh!!
I got by with a little help from my friends. Still... Blah, don't even get me started! ...It was CRAY-ZEH!
Managed to fit in some of our traditional Bible studies with our dear friends.
Downtown. "The Cotton Tree." (No, it's not an actual cotton tree, it's just the name.)
More fun on the sun...
All in a weekend:
Baby monkey, crocodile, dolphins and of course, seagulls and pretty fish!
It's not all that bad see? ;)
I visited a total of 6 schools and 1 Hospital and some material was taken to a school up country.
I made a short trip to Liberia as well. Visited yet another school and had some of my favorite sushi in the whole World!
(In Africa?? Odd, I know. P:)
Some of these poor kids at this school in Liberia have no home or parents to go back
to at the end of the day, so the school lets them sleep in the class rooms at night.
But they're such sweet and polite kids in spite of it all.
At least they get to attend a school and have a place to sleep at night.
Doesn't do much to keep me from crying every time I think of them. :'(
Then - true to African regular minor disasters- my flight back to Sierra Leone simply wouldn't show up at the airport! After the 3rd time going to to the airport and back. I had to rebook to another airline to make it on time for my flight from Freetown back to Brussels. Everything was rushed at the last minute, as usual, but I made it back to cold Germany. ...Then back to Brazil a few days later, where I am now. :)
Goodbye Salone once again!
Pray tell, were else do you arrive at the airport soaking wet?!!!
(from being in the speed boat that's taking you there.)
Truly TIA! :/
This is when you have that thought:
"Gosh I'm never doing this again." But I know I will.
The natural beauty of Africa makes it a
place you always want to come back to, albeit all the difficulties and
sometimes hilarious incidents. (We laugh so as not to cry) I wish you could be
there too!
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