Sunday 15 March 2015

9th March, 2015. Monday What a welcome!!




We were up with the sun and had packed all our things into the truck before the first of the pupils arrived with Deja.  Baatchi was already there, filling up the buckets for drinking water and getting the classrooms ready for the day.  Alieu, Lamin and Mr Sowe arrived to start the academic week.  We had a meeting with Mr Sowe whilst we could hear the sound of Jolly Phonics coming from Lamins’ class and singing from Dejas.  We then visited the classrooms and watched the teaching for a while before deciding to leave for Loumen.  Not so far between the two schools, 3 or 4 kilometres at most, we arrived mid morning and found everything in full swing.  Mr Bah knew we were in the country but not that we were visiting.  The classes broke for mid morning break and we were able to take photos of the pupils washing their hands before eating lunch.  This school is run by the Government and there are posters everywhere about Ebola, how to recognise the signs, what to do and what not to do if you suspect anyone of having the disease.  Posters about hand washing and the importance of keeping yourself clean not just with water but also with soap.  We were introduced to the new teacher, Mr Barry, and chatted with him before taking photos of his class.  The school is now hosting nursery and grades 1 and 2 in the building on a double shift system.  The ladies garden is looking superb and also the cashew nut tree in the school grounds has its’ first fruit.  We delivered some boxes of resources and then took our leave to continue our journey.  In the village we visited Maimoona and her family, a young promising student who is being sponsored by an English family.  When we arrived we were met by a small boy who should have been at the nursery school but had suffered a bad burn to his foot.  We were asked advice on the burn, which looked to be severe, but covered with sand and dirt as he had no shoes on.  Our advice was to take him to the clinic, so having loaded Maimoonas’ damaged bicycle on the back of the truck we squeezed Maimoona inside and the uncle and the boy on the back and set off to the clinic.  When we arrived they asked when this had happened, and were told 2 weeks ago!  We understood it was that morning.  An injection was given for tetanus and a dressing applied.  Omar then took the boy and the uncle back home, whilst Steve and I went to the bicycle repair shop with Maimoona.  We arranged the repair and then waited on the roadside for Omar with our truck, he was stopped at the police checkpoint and pulled to the side of the road.  We walked down to meet him and apparently they wanted the insurance for the car and Omar didn’t know where it was.  Steve produced it and we were allowed to travel on our way.
The new headmaster at Jamwelly had asked me what time we thought we would be arriving and I had said about 2pm.  We were still a bit early and had arranged to meet the cluster monitor at 2 at the junction of the road to Jamwelly, so we went to a café we know and had coffee.  (a tin shack at the side of the road, but he sells Nescafe!)
The cluster monitor (Mr H Sowe) rang and we met him as arranged, he was on a motorbike, and went in front of us on the road.  Halfway to Jamwelly we were met by a donkey cart full of pupils from the school and in the next minute there were dozens of children with banners all chanting Welcome, Welcome.  A tall man was waving a bundle of leafy twigs in the road and other teachers appeared all clapping and chanting, they slowed our progress to the school, but kept at the side of the truck all the way to the playground.  We were met with a beaming caretaker, and many of the mothers who performed an impromptu dance and drumming session using upturned cooking pots.  The noise was terrific, the welcome overwhelming.
Eventually the head teacher, Mr Sawaneh introduced himself and quietened the pupils and audience down.  We were asked to sit under a shady tree and a long introduction took place, the National Anthem was sung and then the song which Channeh had taught the pupils thanking the charity for all the building, food, resources etc.  The Iman said prayers and we were told that the whole village had been praying for Steve’s recovery!
At last we were able to enter the office where we had a meeting with the cluster monitor and the head teacher, who had a long list of requests for the charity, some practical and some in his dreams!
Time was getting on, it gets dark here very early, just after 7 and we were asked to accompany the head to visit the Alkelo of the village who is not well enough to walk to the school.  We walked through the village, greetings made to each and every compound as we passed and reached the Alkelo who was quite emotional at seeing us, again he has been praying for Steve………
From there we went to visit the head teachers’ wife and family.  They are being housed temporarily in a cement structure which is also part of an agricultural project which is happening in the village.  They have two rooms, Mr Sawaneh and his wife in one room with the baby, his two children and his deceased brothers’ children in the other.  The Government are building a new two classroom block within the school grounds and teachers’ quarters for all the staff, this being a rural school, none of the staff are from the immediate area.
Chargi, a teacher at the school was cooking our dinner, and so eventually we made it back to the classroom, just in time to get our bed ready for the night before it got dark.  A delicious meal was provided which again we shared with Omar, and then retired for the night, only waking when the school dog was scratching at our door in the morning.

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