SierraLeoneResources.org
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SierraLeoneResources.org
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Trips, Travel Journals, and Photos ---
2006 Trip #1--Travel Journals with Photos ---
"Meeting the President of Liberia"
Though it's taken us a long time, finally we want to thank all of our traveling companions for the treasured experience of joining you in the villages. Thanks also for including the American Refugee Committee (ARC) on your agenda and welcoming Barbara into your fold. Really seeing Africans who've been to hell and back by living with them and listening to them is one of those rare privileges few Americans receive. John and I hope and believe your and our time with the wonderful people of the villages will reap many benefits for them.
Our week that followed in Liberia with ARC and CVT was astounding. Excellent briefings with top people from the UN, USAID, Ministries of Labor and Finance confirmed the worst. After thirteen years of war in Liberia and an unemployment rate of 80-85%, the education level of children is lower than that of their parents (a situation unique in the entire world), corruption in government is widespread, and there is little infrastructure. And yes, the roads can be and are worse that the one to Jokibu in Sierra Leone.
Our time up country in Liberia nearly took our breath away and inspired us at the same time. Here is where we visited the ARC and CVT programs run with our national staffs. One example is an ARC video project to combat Gender Based Violence (forced early marriage of girls as young and 10 and 11), rape (often of children), and domestic violence. Women and men were given video cameras, technical expertise, and/or drama coaching and asked to interview villagers who've experienced these problems. The trainees turned turned the film into videos to be shown in communities, and we were at one of the first showings. We and 150+ people were crowded into the hall and saw the first heart wrenching video on rape. The villagers were thrilled, and we could barely breathe. When I was asked to talk on behalf of ARC, I asked if they would first tell us what messages THEY heard in the video.
In Liberian English, mostly through a translator, we heard, "Men have to be involved," "You have to report rape," "Children who are raped may not be able to bear children," and more.
An elder said, "This horrible problem has always existed and now we must stop it."
A beautiful young mother who was on a national women's issue committee said, "Now we must stop them from hurting our children. We will. I'll volunteer to travel all over the country with the videos."
Another person who helped lead the project said that at first, many villagers thought the filmmakers were stupid for working with the Americans, saying, "They (ARC) are just doing the videos to make money off you." "Now," though, he said, "they will believe what we can accomplish."
Day after day we saw programs with community planning groups, micro enterprise initiatives--savings and loan clubs--and graduates from reproductive health programs where men and women learned to read and write as well. When we, ourselves, talked--as we were asked to at each event--we kept telling villagers how we Americans know how much they suffered during the war, and that now we see they are rebuilding their communities and their countries. We told them how courageous we think they are.
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© 2006 by Sonia Cairns |
They kept asking us, "Don't forget us, please." Fortunately, most of these programs are pretty stable financially and will continue for some time, though CVT did have to pull out of Bong County in order to send all staff to Lofa County, where the refugees are returning in large numbers. Some heartbreak was involved in that decision.
One of the great thrills amidst the poignancy was to meet President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. When we were leaving Kofi Woods Sunday night on our return from Jokibu, I asked him if it was out of the realm of possibility to meet the President, and he said he'd try to arrange it. She was on Oprah the following Tuesday, then in Libya on Thursday, but we got a call that night to meet Kofi on Friday for a briefing, and then we would go to the Presidential Mansion.
Though our meeting with her started very late and we expected only photos, she invited us to sit for a substantive 45- minute meeting. She wanted to hear about ARC and CVT's best practices so that her people can help increase the impact of the two groups and eventually take over. She was thrilled to hear our sense of villagers rebuilding their country. She asked great questions and will make connections with two of her Ministries, but above all she inspired us with her vision of how "we've come home to build our country" and how they will make it work. She looked utterly exhausted but solid in her intentions. (Amazingly, her Chief of Staff told us as we were leaving that he's a former volunteer with CVT whose wife and children live in Minneapolis.)
As last time, both of us left Africa with lumps in our throats. I hate to leave Africa! John and I feel so grateful that we had this experience, much of it with you, dear Plymouth friends. We are so grateful that our lives' experiences sent us to you, that we get to understand better our place in the world, see first hand what our fellows have experienced, and participate in finding solutions. Again, thank you for sharing your experience with us. We'll be eager to see all of you again and hear your stories and plans. |
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Most recent revision of this page: 6 Sept. 2010 |
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First publication of Web site as SLPP.org, 15 Aug. 2005; as SierraLeoneResources.org, 15 June 2010. Written content & page design unless otherwise noted: Richard Jewell. Photos unless otherwise noted are © 2004-10 by R. Jewell and other members of OneVillage Partners. Public Web address: www.SierraLeoneResources.org. Host address: www.richard.jewell.net/SierraLeone.
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