Life in the village

Hello everyone,

I know it has been a while but the village where I am staying at does not have internet.

I walked almost 2 miles to the next village to get access to the internet to send this post. I have a lot of photos but I cannot post them until Saturday. (My mom, as a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone '73-'76, has access to recent photos taken by former volunteers visiting here this summer and will post a few here today. Like this one --this is how a walk on the road to another village looks.)

I have met with a local doctor and we will start doing diabetes and cholesterol screening on Monday. With permission, I will also start going to villages to talk about diabetes, high cholesterol and stroke prevention. I have met several Peace Corp Volunteers who are stationed in villages around mine and they have informed me that there is very little knowledge about strokes in this community. So with the help of my leader I have added this to my program so I can be more helpful toward meeting needs in this community.

I have made several friends, especially the little children! They always chase after me when ever I am walking around. The kids here gave me a local name--they call me Kona. A few days ago I walked a half mile to pump some water from the village well and carried it back to my house on my head, along with other women and children. It is very hard work and it strains your neck.  I am learning to speak a little of the local language which is Mende. "Bua.  Bisse.  Bisse weh?  Bo bi gohwen?"

  

As I visit schools, I have been giving out a few soccer balls I brought for kids to play with. I have never seen kids so happy and excited! (This photo was taken about 2 weeks ago, in another village, by a former PC Volunteer when he gave a soccer ball to the students at the school in his village.  Just a soccer ball.)

Yesterday I went to an all-girls high school and talked to the the girls to encourage and motivate them to stay in school and work hard. Teenage pregnancy is a problem in this community.

Well, I must go.  I have my 2 mile walk back.  I'll be posting more stories on Saturday!

Arrival in Sierra Leone

How de bodi? (How are you?)  I made it to Sierra Leone yesterday evening and the President of Sierra Leone was on my flight into Freetown!

This morning I woke up to the beautiful view of the ocean. I explored a traditional Sierra Leone backyard garden which consists of yams, cassava leaves and ground nuts (peanuts) and mango and avocado trees. After a morning of exploring I took my first bucket bath shower (one bucket of water only).  It has truly made me appreciate a shower head and unlimited water.

By noon, I left Freetown.  I took a 3 hour car ride down Kenema Highway to Bo, which is the capital of Southern Province. Immediately after arriving in Bo, I went to the open-air central market to buy fabric and food. It's pretty overwhelming and crowded.  People negotiating prices, while young boys and girls walk around with buckets or plates filled with smoked fish, fruits or vegetables they are displaying for sale. Bargaining with the sellers was a rush of excitement. Why can't we bargain for clothes and food in America?

When I got back to the house I am staying at, I sat down and ate a traditional Sierra Leone dinner of cassava leaf rice chop (cassava leaf stew on top of rice). To finish this yummy meal I had cakes puffs, which are like puffy pancakes. When I was done, I walked to the tailor where I chose a style from a book with millions of designs for skirts and tops. And now I am relaxing on a veranda (porch) while I listen to the sounds of thunder in the near distance. It’s rainy season.  The storms blow out to sea and cross the Atlantic to become our hurricanes.

Tomorrow I have to be up early to drive on to Pujehun, where I will stay for the next week. In Pujehun I will visit schools and teach students about the different food groups and the importance to the body of  portions from each group daily. We will also be working with a hospital staff in doing screening for diabetes. For those who are diagnosed with diabetes, we will have a class to educate those people on how to eat to lower their blood glucose levels.  We’ll also discuss ways to prevent diabetes from developing in family members and friends. 

The Countdown Begins!

I depart in a few days for Sierra Leone, West Africa and boy I could not be more excited.  In preparation, I have been given A LOT of advice on what to expect and how to stay safe and healthy. Lucky for me I grew up in the Sierra Leonean Community in Houston, surrounded by the beautiful clothing and artifacts displayed in my house and those of my “aunties”. My parents have told me stories of their adventures in Sierra Leone, where they served in the Peace Corps and met and got married. Growing up, all I ever dreamed of was traveling overseas to explore this amazing country I have heard so much about.

                Now that my dream is becoming a reality, I could not be more excited.  My journey could not have been possible without the support of the non-profit The Family Empowerment Services, all the generous donations from my friends and family, and the will of God.  While in Sierra Leone I will be near a town called Bo, capital of the Southern Province.  While in this region, I plan to work with women in the community to explain the importance of a balanced diet and create guideline. There, the typical diet consists mainly of Carbohydrates. I have worked with one of my Nutrition Professors at UT to identify locally grown and affordable substitutes that can be consumed to help people include more protein and healthy fats in their diet. But the education doesn’t stop there.  I will also be assisting in administering blood glucose testing and cholesterol testing. The region I am going to is experiencing a growing epidemic of type II diabetes in the population and I hope with assistance of my professors and host country supervisors we can reverse this trend.