Day 3: 12/29/11

Freetown

Children from Monyama Crossing

Welcome Ceremony

Greetings from Fanta, Kemoh, and Alusine

We are in the home stretch! I felt really bad because last night around 2 am, two hotel workers had to lug up all 11 of our trunks up three flights of stairs so that they would be locked safe in our room for the night. Five hours later, the same two guys had to carry all of them back downstairs to load on the bus. I offered to help but they shook their heads no, clearly agitated. We got on the bus and started the 4-5 hour journey from Freetown to Bo. Freetown was unreal. There was trash- piles upon piles just sitting out on the streets getting burned. But that was nothing compared to the amount of poverty we saw. Everywhere, people lined the streets- either selling things or just sitting outside the shops and buildings. We picked up Abdulai from his college home on the way. While we waited, people pressed up against our bus, holding things to buy up against the windows. It was overwhelming. It happened every time the bus got stopped in traffic, and every time it broke my heart. The children especially loved to wave and smile as we passed, many of them clothed in nothing but a dirtied pair of underwear. Their attention made me ultra-sensitive to the color of my skin and the status associated with being a White American. Whenever we went over a bridge, you'd look down and see the big green trees and canopy, but then if you looked further down, you'd see the ground covered in trash, most of it burning. There were also hundreds of shanty shacks piled down in these valleys and Abdulai told me that during rainy season, they get completely washed out, resulting in hundreds of deaths. We made it out of the craziness of Freetown and into the bush. The landscape was beautiful and really felt like Africa. About two hours in, our bus rolled to a stop right in the middle of Monyana Crossing, a rural village. Tim and the luggage truck was a good bit ahead, so we called them and went to the bathroom while waiting for them to come help us. We asked a local man to take us to the bathroom and wound up on a 10 minute walking tour through this little village. Children started to follow us and I am not exaggerating when I say there was an entourage of about 30 kids tagging alongside us through the village and back to our bus. So many of them had bloated bellies, swollen from malnutrition. They were all smiles and showed off for us. Women would stop hanging their laundry to stare at this parade of white people marching to the bathroom. One small girl started crying when she saw us- I bet we looked like aliens to her. I would've been fine squatting behind a tree and the bathroom ended up being a triangular hole in some concrete. We tipped our guide and he was so kind and grateful to us. We got back on the bus and waved goodbye to the sweet kids. I woke up in Bo. The city was definitely busy, but did not have the same element of chaos that Freetown had. We turned right up a big hill to see the freshly painted bright yellow Methodist Church. Then we pulled into the compound- Mercy straight ahead and the CRC and MTC to our left. I freaked out. We unpacked quickly, eager to greet the children. Ibrahim came over to say hello- a nonchalant high five and a "Hey Kathryn", but I screamed and tackled him, saying he wasn't too cool for a hug. I hadn't seen him in ages. Then we walked to the CRC. The kids were all under the pavilion, or Peace Hut, as they had a welcome ceremony for us. Aunty Betty (who I LOVE), led the girls in a traditional dance. They were painted white, wearing bright fabric, grass skirts and jingling anklets. The kids all sang while some of the girls danced and some of the boys played drums. They were such talented musicians and dancers. I don't know why, but I started to tear up. I kept having to take deep breaths to keep from crying. Without saying anything, the girl next to me, Fanta, took my hand. She asked me my name and introduced me to the children around her. I am not a very affectionate person- I don't really like hugs and definitely don't hold hands. But at that moment, it was just what I needed. After the ceremony, we socialized with the kids before taking a tour of Mercy Hospital. It made me sad to realize that this was their hospital, as it is no where near the level of care we take for granted in the US. However, it made me happy that this was a place where people could come for free medical care- where women could have their babies in a safe, clean environment, where there were hospital beds to sleep on. Some of the girls actually got to see a baby who had been born the night before. The safe delivery of that baby made all the efforts that went into the construction of that hospital worth it. I was so impressed. After the tour, we went back to meet with Fudia, the caretaker of the MTC and our cook. I was so excited to meet her because my Dad loves her so much. I immediately knew why. She is so sassy and sweet. We headed back to socialize with the kids. The kids were all over us and one girl, Aminata, took good care of me by leading me around. Tamba also followed me and had me do a magic trick. They layed three sticks down on top of each other and I had to touch one. Tamba would walk away and without fail, he would guess the correct one. I was freaking out because I couldn't figure out how he was doing it. The kids were going crazy for it- whooping and cheering him on. Turns out, Aminata would scratch her head if it was the top stick, her hip if it was the middle, or her knee if it was the bottom. They were so tickled with themselves when they fooled Les and Shane, too. The kids also gave us a tour of the compound. They are now divided up into families of 5-8, each with their own Aunty. They were so thrilled to show us their houses- how they decorated the sitting room, the boys room, the girls room, where their aunty stayed. It was wonderful getting pulled in all directions around the complex, listening to them talk so fast- "Look, Look! This is MY bed." My favorite part of the tour was the main office building. We came to one room and our guide explained that this was once known as "Trauma Hall", which is where they held counseling sessions for traumatized victims of the Civil War. Over the top of the door, the the black writing of "Trauma Hall" had been painted over with white and was now labeled, "Peace Hall". It was a powerful symbol. We reluctantly headed back for a delicious dinner of chicken and rice and held our devotional. Tyler led it and did a great job by asking us all a question. It really helped me get to know the team better. Then we went to Vespers with the kids, where they sang a few hymns, prayed and read a bible verse before bed each night. The children's voices are gorgeous and we all got to march to the song "Marching in the Light of God" and hear them sing the Reconciliation Song, which is a song about forgiveness after the civil war. The lyrics: "They are moving, the angels of peace and reconciliation, moving like gospel soldiers. We want peace, we want love, and reconciliation. Let us love one another, for this is the commandment... Yes, we know and we know, that our leaders have really wronged us, for they have killed our mothers, killed our fathers, for they have destroyed all our resources... Let's forgive, we just have to do it. It's the commandment given by God." I was so moved by the beauty of their voices and the words of this song.
Before we left, literally every kid gave me a hug. And its only day 1.