Something to Reflect On

COP15 Is Just Ahead

What the Flushing Toilet Can Tell About Corruption

I am currently attending an Online course named "Essentials of Anti-corruption", where we shall learn about how to define, identify, understand and hopefully combat corruption. The course is quite interesting and it is fun to discuss with people online you have never seen before. However, next week it is my turn for the weekly assignment and I am requested to write about the 'drivers' of corruption in a country which is up to my choice. Surprisingly, I chose Sierra Leone and started to collect information from the internet, when I found the following article, which was published on BBC Africa Newspage in January this year. It is a ver fun, but sadly also very true. And it makes you aware about the absolute paradox situation Sierra Leone is currently facing.

Enjoy, laugh, wonder, reflect and act!!

Can S Leone flush away corruption?

By Mark Doyle
BBC News, Freetown

It is not very often that a toilet sparks political debate.

And it is even rarer for a VIP ministerial toilet to be opened up for journalistic inspection.

“ We've got to stop the leakages ”

But a little over a year ago I began a journey in a ministerial bathroom that would take me down an unusual path of inquiry - and end up as a report on corruption for BBC News.

It all began in late 2007 when I travelled to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, for the inauguration of the then-recently elected president, Ernest Bai Koroma.

I had obtained a confidential report, commissioned by the incoming government, into official corruption.

President Koroma had come to power on a strong anti-corruption ticket and the report was one of his first initiatives.

I reported on the revelations in the (until-then) confidential study and quizzed President Koroma about his promises.

During that same trip in late 2007, I went to the top floor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building to interview the newly-appointed Foreign Minister, Zainab Bangura.

To kick off the interview, I asked Mrs Bangura how she had found things when she took office. I was immediately treated to a tirade of complaints.

In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, the minister said, there was no cash, no pens and paper, no bulbs in the light sockets (which didn't matter much, because there was no fuel for the generator) and (here's where my journey begins) "No water - you can't flush the toilet because the water doesn't come up to my floor!"

I was incredulous - no water in the ministerial bathroom!

My journalistic antennae had sniffed something - and I decided to overcome my natural embarrassment.

"Could we," I tentatively asked, "have a look?"

So in we went to the ministerial toilet.

It was true. It didn't flush because there was no water in the pipes.

Delighted response

The minister's theme was serious. "We've got to stop the leakages," Mrs Bangura said, without a hint of irony.

"Stop the leakages?" I asked (we had by now left the bathroom).

Mrs Bangura said: "Stop the stealing! We've got to stop the stealing! We want to prove that there is at least one country in Africa that can work well."

When I sent the story to London, my BBC editors couldn't get enough of it.

On the radio, they played the clip about the toilet again and again - along with some of the more boring stuff about the report into corruption, of course.

I don't think I've ever had such a delighted response to a story from my bosses.

Mrs Bangura's theme had been that corruption and a lack of maintenance culture - "stealing", as she put it, more bluntly - had ruined Sierra Leone in general. And not just her toilet.

She and her colleagues were going to put things right, she said, from President Koroma down.

So when the cold began to bite in London, in the depths of winter 2008, my mind drifted to warmer and friendlier climes.

A thought occurred to me - I may even have been perched on a chilly British toilet seat at the time - that my editors might entertain a return trip to Sierra Leone.

Pushing at an open door

The idea would be to see how, a year on, President Koroma's anti-corruption campaign was going - and (here's the killer part in the sales pitch I gave the editors) to see if that ministerial toilet was now flushing.

I was pushing at an open door. The order went out: "Doyle! Get back to that toilet!"

The plane tickets were thrust upon me and I was heading for Sierra Leone before I knew it.

Once in Freetown, I visited the newly-strengthened Anti-Corruption Commission and its boss, Abdul Tejan Cole, who has mounted some serious investigations into graft.

Officials at the commission admit privately that they haven't yet caught a "big fish".

But they say they fully intend to do so - in order to convince Sierra Leoneans that they are serious in their work.

I again interviewed President Koroma, who said that any of his officials - "anyone", he emphasised strongly - suspected of corruption could be investigated by Mr Tejan Cole and his independent commission.

If they were found guilty they would be sacked, the president said, and he would protect no-one from prosecution.

Having done the weighty stuff, I then went back to call again on Mrs Bangura at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Minister," I began (with all the respect due to a senior government official), "the last time we met, you were kind enough to show me your ministerial toilet."

Embarrassment

I think the wily Mrs Bangura had seen this coming.

"The listeners would like to know," I continued a little pompously, "if your toilet is now flushing?"

She chuckled and stood up. We were on our way again into the small room.

She turned the tap.

And water came out.

Now, I'd be the last to conclude that the Sierra Leonean Foreign Minister's toilet is some sort of symbol of a revitalised nation.

The struggle against corruption in Sierra Leone will surely be long and hard.

If rich countries with almost limitless resources, like the United States or Britain, can't stamp out crimes like financial fraud - which, time and again, they have shown they cannot - what chance for little Sierra Leone?

My conclusion, rather, is that it's clear some people in the year-old Sierra Leonean government are trying to make the country turn a new leaf.

I didn't meet anyone during my trip, for example, who thought President Koroma was on the make.

But at the same time it is equally clear that suspicions remain about the probity of a number of other ministers and institutions.

The encouraging thing, I suppose, is that I can confidently report this fact because the Anti-Corruption Commission has published a series of detailed probes.

There's another reason why I can't conclude that Mrs Bangura's toilet is a conclusive symbol.

That's because my enquiries didn't stop at the ministerial convenience alone.

No, in the interests of investigative journalism, I visited another small room in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building that is used by people of lesser standing.

My findings indicate that there is still much work to be done.

So if you are reading this, Madame Minister, it is my duty to report to you that there is at least one other toilet, not far from your office, that does not flush at all.

(Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7834228.stm)

Guidos Großmaul

Für alle Liebhaber der bissigen Kolumne und Zweifler der Personalentschiedungen bzgl. des neuen Kabinetts lässt sich der Spiegel über Dirk Niebel als Guidos Großmaul (Erscheinungsdatum: 2.11. / Seite 28) aus, die Süddeutsche stellt spöttisch lachend die Tanzbären und Koryphäen der neuen Koalition vor, und auch Spiegel Online macht sich kräftig über die Alleskönner lustig.
Nun heisst es abzuwarten, zu hoffen, dass die Schwarzseher nicht zu schwarz sehen und erstens alles anders kommt und zweitens als man denkt.

Welcome to the land of the free....now even if you are HIV-infected

Sorry guys, this time I post mainly in German, since I refer back to German articles. However, it is about the Obama's decisision to finally practically eradicate the law which forbids HIV-infected people to enter US-American territory.
Although I obviously welcome this decision so much, this is not a reason to celebrate. It is much more a reason to feel ashamed that such a law could exist for more than two decades. In a country, which claims to be the land of the free. Innovation is something else. Civil right, political rights....human rights are something else. Leadership is something else. Hegemony should be something else. Being a rolemodel is something else.
This is at least my opinion. What do you think? Please, share your opinion, I am curious to learn and reflect.

1987 wurde in den USA ein Gesetz verabschiedet, das HIV-Infizierten die Einreise verbietet. Das allein ist schon fast unglaublich. Noch unglaublicher ist es jedoch, dass dieses Gesetz 22 Jahre faktisch in Kraft war und immer noch ist. Ab 01.01.2010 wird es dieses Gesetz aber nicht mehr geben und nach über 2 Jahrzehnten wird es zumindest dem Gesetz diese staatliche Diskriminierung mehr geben.
Hintergrundinfos dazu zum Beispiel in diesem Spiegel-Online-Artikel und bei der Frankfurter Aidshilfe, die die Situation zum Zeitpunkt Mai 2009 beschreibt.

Ist die Abschaffung nun ein Grund zu Jubeln, zum Gratulieren, und zum Preisen der innovativen, toleranten Politik eines Präsidenten, der bereits den Friedensnobelpreis als Vorschusslorbeeren eingeheimst hat? Wohl kaum.
Versteht mich nicht falsch, ich bin unsagbar glücklich, dass Obama nun Präsident ist und ich halte ihn für einen fähigen Politiker und würde mir auch nicht anmaßen wollen, ihn an dieser Stelle zu kritisieren. Nichtsdestotrotz denke ich, das es Menschen und/ oder Organisationen gibt, die den Friedensnobelpreis eher verdient hätten. Egal, ich schweife ab. Zurück zum Dasein der HIV-Infizierten, die das Pech hatten, das Land of the free besuchen zu wollen, aber leider nicht reinzukommen. Denn ein Grund zu Feiern ist Obama's Entscheidung nicht, sondern eine längst überfällige Notwendigkeit.
In einem Land, das sich durch seine Politik und Außenwirkung gerne als Model für einen freien, demokratischen Staat darstellt, in dem Menschenrechte geachtet und gefördert werden, ist ein solches Gesetz ein trauriges Symbol von ambivalentem Verhalten. So ein Gesetz steht im Widerspruch zu jeglichen Hegemonie- und Supermachtansprüchen. Stigmatisierug, Marginalisierung, und soziale Ausschließung...genau solche Strukturen und Dynamiken werden mit einem solchen Gesetz unterstützt und verstärkt. Genau solche Strukturen und Dynamiken versucht die USA aber außerhalb ihres Territoriums z.B. durch die Kanäle der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit aufzuweichen und zu verändern. Paradox? Man mag es denken. Sicherheitsfanatismus? Bestimmt auch mit dabei. Unwissenheit? Ja. Desinteresse? Es könnte wohl unterstellt werden.
Wie auch immer man es nennen möchte, ich persönlich bin der Meinung, dass Obama hier keine Heldentat begangen hat (so wird es auch tatsächlich nicht gesehen), aber die Möglichkeit eröffnet hat, endlich für eine Realität zu sorgen, wie sie menschlich und in einem großen Teil der Welt auch schon vorherrschend ist.

Back to the Beginnings: Trip with the GTZ Interns to Brussels

And yes, we did it. Organised by some heroes of organisation, about 45 GTZ interns left Frankfurt early on Wednesday morning and headed towards Brussels to explore the European institutional environment. Political foundations, the European Commission and leading NGOs were just waiting for us to inform about their work and the (admittedly currently very limited) job opportunities.
Travelling by coach and having a common schedule sometimes felt like a journey back to the days of class trips in middle school, but was a great experience once again. And the Belgian beer at night time (certainly in combination with discussions on the highest academic level possible) proved the point that we left the times of infancy behind.

To get some visual impressions, click on the "Read More"-Link below:

Push the reset button: This is what it is all about

True. This blog did not present itself as a very active platform in the recent past. But this can change and believe me, they will change.
For the past three years this blog gave me the possibility to share my life with you from and to all the places all over the world where you and I spent our times. I appreciated your comments, your interest and your curiousity, used your remarks as point of departure for reflections and was always sure that someone was with me - maybe not physically, but in mind. Thank you for your support, my friends and family.

Inspired by others, friends and people I admire for what they do, I decided now to slighty change the meaning of this blog and the intenions behind my posts. While I continue with writing about my life, I want to add (or rather stress) a second aspect this blog shall (thanks to web 2.0) be used to.
I want to use it as a tool to discuss what is going on, in your city, in my city, in your world, in my world, in your mind, in my mind.....in our minds and our world. I will post stuff I read, I hear about, I think about, hoping that you will share yours with me as well.... I am longing to hear and read what you think, what you like and dislike...let us all discuss to understand better and hence to get the possibility to make the better decision.
It is something like producing new knowlegde, widening our horizon and not just relaxing in our tiny little bubble...
It is something about our responsibility for this world where we coincidentally all were born on and where no one, indeed NO ONE, is better or worse than anyone else.

Let's go for the change. And let's have fun, 'cause thinking and discussing, being aware, does not mean not to have fun. Hanging out with friends and family, partying and enjoying life is a MUST and I never ever want to miss it, but being aware at the same time opens space for others who might not have the possibility yet to live a life they deserve. And never forget to laugh!

So go for it, share the word and discuss the sense and non-sense of the world we live in! And have fun by doing it!

Does that sound a bit weird? Hahaha, oh yes, it does and it is hard to express myself only in words. But you all know me and you know what I want to say :)

And yes, I do keep this blog mainly in English, BUT please feel always free to comment in German or ask for clarification. And in case that I might post in German since it makes more sense once in a while, please, English speaking friends, ask for translation. Language should not limit, but increase our possibilities. I don't wanna miss your input due to such barriers.

Snapshot(s)

No Integration, but Expansion?
The Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will remain as a single institution. While the FDP would have preferred to integrate the BMZ into the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs (AA), argued the CDU/CSU that the significance and importance of the BMZ is too high to just let it go. Instead they even started discussing to extend the BMZ mandate by for example putting a stronger focus on the climate change-development nexus.
Click here to read more.
Apart from this, I am sorry to see the red Heidi going. She did coin the past 11 years of bilateral development cooperation between Germany and partners and the next minister has to struggle hard to catch up with her.

Life at GTZ

Life goes so quickly, I cannot even believe that....it seems that it just had been yesterday that I moved to Sweden, jumped on the plane to Africa, and entered the ferry to come back home...and where am I know? In Frankfurt, working (as an intern) for the GTZ in the poverty reduction programme....hell yeah, life goes quickly.
And today I feel inspired by Chels, the loveliest Canadian I have ever met, who put such wise words on her blog I won't even try to compete with....but it made me think about things and I figured that I feel extremely blessed....no, not blessed in a religious way, blessed in a more general way.
I was thinking about the past 6 years, the things I have learned, the places I have seen, the people I have met, my family who has been with me all the time, my friends who were saying good bye and received me with open arms later on...these are the things making me feel blessed.
Sometimes I feel tired, would like to know where it's gonna end...but in the next moment I feel how right it is to go again and how much I love the life I have and how much I wait to finally start working in what I am interested in... but then again, things worry me, not so much my own life, since I got the control over that. Or at least I try and pretend to. No, it is more the life of others, of friends, strangers, and maybe the life of humans I worry about, and sometimes people eventually might even scare me...not my friends and family of course....no, I just want that my friends and family are just as ok as I am.....scarying are people in general.... reading the newspaper or listening to the news on tv is not nice at all, it makes you sad, desperate, incredibly angry and sometimes it is making me freeze and I am turning into a pillar of salt not knowing if there will be ever anything we can against the sick behaviour of human beings. But then again, I go and read ideas from smart people who never lost their trust in mankind and I have dinner with my family or wine with my friends or both with both of them and it makes me feeling good again and I know that it is worth to try....and so it goes, up and down and up and down and up and down and always up again...
Ok, sorry guys for this weird piece of work, but I am more than overtired, but indeed very happy with my life (at least until tomorrow when something will hit me again...)...

Miss you all (saying good bye IS the worst part of leaving) and wouldn't know what to do without you....

Sleep well and always take care!

And When Night Falls Down, Poems Awake..

Stages
(Hermann Hesse)

As every flower fades and as all youth
Departs, so life at every stage,
So every virtue, so our grasp of truth,
Blooms in its day and may not last forever.
Since life may summon us at every age
Be ready, heart, for parting, new endeavor,
Be ready bravely and without remorse
To find new light that old ties cannot give.
In all beginnings dwells a magic force
For guarding us and helping us to live.
Serenely let us move to distant places
And let no sentiments of home detain us.
The Cosmic Spirit seeks not to restrain us
But lifts us stage by stage to wider spaces.
If we accept a home of our own making,
Familiar habit makes for indolence.
We must prepare for parting and leave-taking
Or else remain the slaves of permanence.
Even the hour of our death may send
Us speeding on to fresh and newer spaces,
And life may summon us to newer races.
So be it, heart: bid farewell without end.

Reflections

It has been 2 1/2 weeks since I returned from Sierra Leone. I had great times with my family and friends and appreciated the feeling to be home. I enjoyed all the comfort which was missing in Freetown and learned how nice a hot and properly working shower can be.
I also learned how differently I handle the experiences I made in Sierra Leone. While I was i Freetown, I often accepted the circumstances just because there was hardly any other option. But when I now think about what I have seen, heard and learned, when I now listen to the (often sad) news from down there.....hell, it is hitting me big time. I know, there is something you call cultural shock.....am not sure if this is the best way to name it.....I would rather say it is more the increased awareness which does not let you sleep at night and which puts you in a strange and weird mood....I am not getting confused, I am just getting so incredible angry and I feel so helpless at the same time....anyway, I am sureI will find a way how to deal with this kind of questions and this immanent dilemma....
Besides that, I am quite fine. Suffering from a slight cold, I received the good news that my blood is very fine (I got it checked just to be sure that everything is alright) and even my iron deficiency disappeared. My body is a self-regenerating miracle. Excellent!
I went to Hamburg last week and will head to Berlin on Thursday. And finally.....on Sunday I will find my way to Göteborg and I hope there will be better weather than here.
I had a really good time here with my parents and my brothers, some close friends and others and I am going back to Sweden in a quite relaxed mood and ready to meet the final study challenge - the Master thesis.
Just in case that you are looking for me during the upcoming two months....check the library first :-) deadline is May 24th and it will be a hard piece of work....
And after the graduation in Götebborg on June 5th I will join the funniest game ever - let's do some job hunting.....any news will be published right here.

And here some impressions I got when I visited the nordic beauty Hamburg....

Just To Compensate My Yearning

Renée and I - she stayed with me until the last minute...thanks for everything!

Children are fetching water from the tab on the street....

Our lovely kitchen.....

Loads of nice veggies and fruits - unfortunately mostly too expensive to buy for most people

My absolute favourite.....a 3dimensional poster - painted by hand as most of the advertisements...

Just in case that you are getting hungry at night: boiled eggs, akara (fried rice-banana balls), fried fish, fried sweet potatoe and more. Quite delicious though!

My friend Isata - we went out dancing for one of my last nights and ended up in this super small "bar", which consists of two chairs and two tables and belongs to Momoh's shop.
But it was such a great fun!

Two African beauties - Jojo and Mami

My lovely neighbours - how much I miss your friendly"How di morning?" and the neverending smile

Country Roads, Take Me Home

And the roads took me home....sound and safe. And I am happy to be back, to see my family and the friends I missed while I made one of the experiences of my life..
But it was a sad good bye. These four months were an outstanding experience and I will never miss them. Filled with loads of great things I learned and figured out, sometimes also filled with things which made me sick, tired and sad.
The last day was maybe the worst one. It was not only the good bye making me sad, but something really bad which happened to one of my special friends there - to the lady who taught me how to cook the African way, the lady who let me into her life as I would be one of her sisters, the lady who shared her perspective with me....
It happened about 10 days ago when a little 5years old boy fell into her pot with hot pepper soup. People are cooking on the ground on small charcoals and the boy played with a puppy, did not pay attention and slipped backwards straight into the poz. Burned all over the bottom part of the body they brought him directly into a quite ok emergency and started treating him. He started recovering and my friend started to lose some of the guilt and shame she felt although it was an accident which could had happened anywhere and anytime. She was happy and promised him a football when he would be allowed to leave the hospital. But then, three or four days ago, she told me that the mum took the boy out of the hospital - against the recommendations made by the doctors, other community members and even the boy's father. She took him out and brought him up country and I can only guess about the reason....maybe she was believing a traditional healer could do better than the doctors. The reason does not matter anymore, since it was Friday (the day I left) when my friend learned that the small boy just passed the way...somewhereup country far away from where he could get proper treatment. One might imagine the guilt my friend felt and still feels and it almost broke my heart to leave her alone in this situation. I have hardly seen her crying before, but on Friday it seems that she would never stop.....
You can now guess of the reasons of his death....maybe the injuries were too heavy anyway, maybe the wounds got infected up country, maybe the immune system was weak....who knows. But what I know quite for sure is, that leaving him in hospital would have increased the chances to survive. Now, there is nothing left than to wonder why.... There is nothing else to do than to to grieve and I do it with all my heart.

And I am sad to leave all the great people I met. I can only say thank you to all these amazing men and women I met in the past four months. And thank you to all of you anywhere on this world, following the blog and commenting of my life. I would not know what to do without all your support, critical remarks and positve thoughts you send me over.

This blog will continue - maybe not from Freetown yet, but from whereever I will be. Right now I spend some time with my family in my hometown, but will be back in Sweden beginning of April. And later on....well, we will see....

Thanks for everything and take care or yourself and your beloved ones!

Tokeh Beach and How To Get There

Still Not Enough?

Our team -unfortunately they lost and I better closed my eyes

Sand, dust and some hyper-motivated players
- the essential ingredients for a proper soccer match in Aberdeen, Freetown

National Dance Troop is performing at the community hall....
the lady on the very right is my friend and cooking teacher Isata

My future husband...Zaidu, the teacher's son....

Time for Afrikana....

Abu and Kadie got married and we dressed up...

Two of the cuties living in the area.
Nadia just turned 3 years old and is very proud to be a big girl.

The chief, the local councillor, myself and the head teacher.
The chairman and the representative of the youth are sitting in the background.

Community Meeting Man of War Bay Community - Introduction of the School Project
A female parent is just giving a statement supporting the project.

Eleven Days To Go

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!

Ein kleiner nostalgischer Beitrag, ......

..... der mir eben in die Hände fiel, als ich auf dem Blog derer rumschaute, die sich laut Nein zu sagen traut. Danke dafür!

Es kann die Ehre...
(Theodor Fontane)

Es kann die Ehre dieser Welt dir keine Ehre geben,
Was dich in Wahrheit hält und hebt, muss in dir
selber leben.

Wenn's Deinem Innersten gebricht an echten
Stolzes Stütze,
Ob dann die Welt dir Beifall spricht, ist all dir wenig
nütze.

Das flücht'ge Lob, des Tages Ruhm magst du dem
Eitlen gönnen;
Das aber sei dein Heiligtum: vor DIR bestehen können.

A Day in School