Liberia Inside Out...: February 2009

And again…..long, long time since I have posted the last update. Thought I could trick by just putting up some pics, but I guess I eventually owe you an explanation to the pictures…. Well, as it is easy to tell, the pictures were taken in a school – in the small community school in my direct neighbourhood. 15 square meter and 60 children – can you believe how crowded it is over there? I became interested how this school is going and who is running it a quite a while ago and became friends with the teacher and his family. The teacher is working on a voluntary base, meaning that he is not getting paid at all. He is offering lessons in the afternoon, so that children have the possibility also to visit the official public school if the parents can afford to pay the tuition fees. The teaching material is donated by different people and organisations, e.g. Medicos del Mundos, a Spanish NGO located in the compound next to ours, is providing books and stationeries on a regular base. I also decided to invest some money and got exercise books, pencils, chalk, maps and alphabet boards for the children. And, maybe it somehow inherent in my genes, I got the great idea to be the teacher for one day. After a discussion with the teacher we agreed that I would teach on a Saturday (when always voluntary lessons are offered) and I would talk a bit about Africa, the children should make some drawings to make the school look nicer and I would teach them how to brush their teeth properly and bring tooth brushes and paste for all of them. Why to teach about brushing teeth properly? Well, I was kind of missing to see children brushing their teeth in the evening. Since the daily life happens mainly outside the shelters and on the streets, you would expect to see them doing that outside as well, and if you do not see it, it most likely means, that they do not do it. After talks with some parents, I learned that the people and also the children brush their teeth, but they do not know exactly for what reason and hence, it is not seen as very important. When I asked the parents, they told me that teeth brushing is necessary to have a nice smell. Since it is not so necessary how you smell during the night, teeth brushing in the morning is sufficient……the increased risk of caries during night time not considered due to a lack of knowledge. And the Saturday came and I was kind of prepared. Usually not all children show up on Saturdays, but I had asked the teacher to tell them to come on this particular day since I wanted to make sure that they all benefit…… in the end, 45 of them showed up and I was grateful… I guess I could not have stand more. They were so adorable and cute, but sooooo noisy and vibrant in such a small, small place….I can only show my respect to all people dedicating their life to be a teacher for handling this crazy situation every day (although here they tend to use a stick, what I obviously do not support and appreciate). But everything went well, we talked about Africa, we got some cute drawnings and we had the funniest tooth brushing session ever….45 children standing outside their school and trying to follow my instructions….it was hilarious. Thanks Renée, Salifu, André and Jane for your moral support and for taking pictures and being my helping hand. But this is not all. If you are bored by now, you do not have to go on reading, but I just in that mood to write it all down. So, here we go. This school is obviously too small. The children have hardly any space to write or even sit. Further, there are several children in the community not being enrolled yet at all and who has no chance to access education. Further, the existing governmental schools are overcrowded and teachers are unmotivated because their anyway ridiculously low payment is delayed or does not come at all. According to the Sierra Leone Education Act of 2004, primary education is supposed to be offered for free. This is also implied in the right to education, fixed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the government fails in fulfilling its obligation and still asks for tuition fees etc. An annual payment of in total 200,000 Leones (50 Euros) does not seem to be much: Considering an average income of 30 – 50 Euros a month (for the entire family) and in having in many cases more than one child in the respective school age, the amount of money is hardly affordable by most parents. This is why some community members got the idea to build a bigger school for the community, where education is for free and all children in the community will have space. The teacher : students ratio of 1:40 will be kept and teachers shall be paid on time. They pulled me in and now I had meetings with the local councillor, the community chairman and chairlady, the teachers, and a constructor. A proposal has been written and will be sent to big donor organisations. For upcoming Sunday, we also organised a community meeting where the community will be informed about the project, a Project Planning Committee will be established and the support form the community members will be received. Besides the provision of education facilities, it is hoped that the project will empower the community and in particular its female members. Through the employment of unemployed young community members and the provision of furniture through local manufacturers, the local economy shall be strengthened in order to have a sustainable impact on the livelihood of people living there. It is a big thing and I am scared to death, that I make false promises. I am leaving in two weeks and I do not know how far we will have come by then. In the meetings I try to shift the responsibility to the community, they have the potential and the skills to run it….but then again, white colour implies apparently a certain superiority and I am just seen as the leader. Hard to fight against it. In order to get the land the school shall we build on, we have to lobby at the governmental level. If everything is working out, I will see the mayor of Freetown before I leave and try to convince him how important and necessary the school os. Well, I don’t know……. I really hope that it will work out and with a lot of effort and even more patience, a school will be built and will improve the chances of the children in the community. The proposal will be done by next week and I will put it up here somehow and if you are interested in reading it, feel more than welcome. Further, if you anyone – individual or organisation who might be interested in investing in the project, please contact me. I am will continue working on the project, when I am back home in Germany and later Sweden. But enough now from that. Otherwise I am very fine, actually very sad that I have to leave so soon, but at the same time excited about coming home and to see family and friends. And guess what happened? I also got my second package from Germany. The post officer showed up in our compound and told me that he had received it. After handing over some small money, “for custom reasons, you know….”, I happily carried my survival items from Germany back to the apartment. The post officer accompanied me to make sure that I will not get caught away by bad people and told me, that people had seen me in other parts of town on my way back home, so he knew when he could expect to finally arrive……excellent! Apparently I am quite well-known in a bigger area than I thought…which is nice, since it makes me feeling very safe. On Saturday last week I got invited by Isata to watch her dancing. She is member of a traditional dance troop and it was a great spectacle. André, Jane, Florian and Angelina joined me and we had a great show in the event hall of the cultural village. Ooh yes, and last weekend I also attended my first wedding in Sierra Leone. One of the CGG drivers got married and invited the entire organisation. We went there and started with, surprise, two hours delay but it was a very great experience. The priest was just making jokes, people were nicely dressed up (so were we) and we were for some reason appointed to be the witnesses of the marriage. So, I went and signed the register. Interestingly enough, there were at least 20 people signing as witnesses, but since not everyone was able to write, some just used some ink and put a finger print on paper. Oooh yes, and I finished my first interviews for my Master thesis. Facing several laughters, when I told about the number of interviews I was planning to conduct within two weeks time, I decided just to do as much as I can. It is very interesting and a lot of fun, when I try to find my way through the Sierra Leonean bureaucracy. And bribing does help, but I still only do it, when there is no other way. Wow…..these were a lot of words and now I am hungry. World Food Programme is serving spaghetti on Fridays, so I will go there soon and have lunch before the weekend is almost there. Hope you are all doing great and I cannot wait to see you again. Kisses to Chels, her birthday is next Thursday and I wish I could fly over to Toronto to have a proper drink with her. Enjoy life and take care!