This is an interesting video I found on YouTube recently. It focuses on just some of the environmental problems in Freetown (capital of Sierra Leone) and how they affect the people living in Freetown right now and how they will continue to affect the lives of millions even more in future years. Forestry, climate change, water quality, health, sanitation, poverty....all related. I really appreciate that they interview Sierra Leoneans versus ONLY westerners.
I highly recommend watching it--it is about half hour long. Video: Lost Freetown
The tagline from the JourneyMan Youtube site for the video includes: "Sierra Leone is booming. In capital Freetown the population is rising and new homes spring up daily. But, like the 1950s sewage pipes, the city is creaking under the weight. How long before Freetown cracks?"
Showing posts with label Freetown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Freetown. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
JH Update, April 2nd (2009)
Please continue to pray for Roger and his team as they spend the next two weeks in Sierra Leone. They arrived safely with all but 2 of the suitcases! (This seems to be a growing trend....)
Praise the Lord for successful and positive meetings that Roger was able to have in Freetown. Pray for wisdom for Roger as he makes decisions and deals with the staff and children.
Pray for Shannon and Kelly as they minister to the kids. They are doing health assessments on all of the children. Pray that God would help them to recognize any problems that the children are having.
Pray for all of our school children! We have many students in class 6 and class 8. All of these children will be taking exams at the end of the school year which determine their future educational plans!
Please pray for Christie! She is preparing for a 15 month tour of duty at the orphanage starting in the middle of May! Praise the Lord for her courage! Please pray that all the details will fall as God would have them fall as she prepares for this mission!
THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR THIS MINISTRY! WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED BY EACH PERSON WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE CHILDREN OF SIERRA LEONE!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
What is Sierra Leone Like?
So, you're a loyal supporter of Jonathan House (thankyou!) and perhaps you've heard stories about Sierra Leone. Maybe you've seen a few pictures taken in Sierra Leone. Or if you're a friend of mine (or of a few others--no names), you've seen several hundred. But....what is Sierra Leone really like?
The beaches (the best in Africa!) sure sound delightful, don't they? The climate sounds great (especially in our winter months). The kids couldn't be cuter (though I'm sure they could try...). The clothes couldn't be more colorful. All the fruit you could possibly want. No speed limits (if you dare drive). Paradise?
Well....not exactly. It is one of the poorest nations on Earth. It has one of the worst life expectancies (about 45 years?). It has one of the worst five infant and child mortality rates. While peaceful for the last several years, the country is still recovering from a (brutal) decade-long civil war (have you seen "Blood Diamond"?). At least three million people are crowded into Freetown--a city built for I think about 200,000 people! I could go on....but you get the picture. There's no need to go on in that direction. The country may be beautiful, but life is pretty grim for most Sierra Leoneans.
How do we as "prosperous" Americans understand this? When people ask me to explain my experiences in developing countries (mainly Sierra Leone), I struggle. People rarely have anything to compare it to. Personally, I'd like everyone to be able to visit and experience this themselves. However, that doesn't seem quite feasible at this point in time, so we're left with multimedia to better paint a picture for us. If pictures are worth a thousand words, how much moreso are moving pictures?! Here are a few video clips from YouTube that show various aspects of Sierra Leone. I'm going to start finding and posting more of these periodically. I want you to understand what Sierra Leone is as much as you can without actually stepping foot in Sierra Leone. If you have questions or are curious about different aspects of life in Sierra Leone, let me know and I will search out an answer for you! If you find anything that fits in with this theme, send it to me (JHM.Salone@gmail.com). If you've been and would like to share your experiences or observations, please send them to the address below.
How can we best help if we don't understand who we're helping? Watch these videos prayerfully. Unless indicated, none are related to Jonathan House. And don't let the ones of bad aspects scare you off from ever taking a trip. As you watch these clips, take notice of the details of what is going on.
You Tube: Driving through the streets/markets of Freetown : This basically someone just pointing the camera through the window of the "Poda Poda" (a crude van, common taxi) and showing what it looks like to drive through the streets of Freetown. If you're a people watcher, have a ball--it's constant activity--selling, buying, commuting, etc. Watch it a few times if you have to. The music playing in the background...very Sierra Leonean.
You Tube: Driving in Sierra Leone -- They were driving to Sulima Beach, but the drive is pretty typical of a majority of roads in Sierra Leone--especially the farther you get away from Freetown--some much worse than others. The country is not known for the good quality of the roads. But don't let this scare you, because in all the trips I've taken over such roads, I've only been car sick once--and I get motion sickness on paved roads in the U.S.! God can provide. But hey, the beach is beautiful, isn't it?
You Tube: A picture tour of Sierra Leone -- This actually has no videos, just several photos. But it is one of my favorites as it shows so many places in Sierra Leone that I and many of you have been to. They show Freetown, Bo (where the orphanage is), Mattru (Mattru-Jong Hospital--most teams have visited here if not based out of here), Bonthe, and Kenema (which really only one person that I know of has been there). You can see Bo (after Freetown & Kenema respectively) starting at about 3:25 (maybe a little before that) until about 4:48, then transitions to Mattru until 5:36, then on to Bonthe which is down the river from Mattru on the coast.
You Tube: Save the Children, Sierra Leone Flooding -- Save the Children, a global charity, has been working in Kroo Bay for a time--one of the poorest sections of Freetown. They do a great job with their videos explaining about life in the community. See their website, too, for more great resources.
You Tube: Children's Living Conditions in Freetown (Hull Freedom Project) -- This is a pretty interesting clip showing how children live on the rubbage (trash) dumps. Yes, they actually live and survive in the dumps. Listen carefully to Reginald (the man showing "us" around) as he has a thick accent.
The beaches (the best in Africa!) sure sound delightful, don't they? The climate sounds great (especially in our winter months). The kids couldn't be cuter (though I'm sure they could try...). The clothes couldn't be more colorful. All the fruit you could possibly want. No speed limits (if you dare drive). Paradise?
Well....not exactly. It is one of the poorest nations on Earth. It has one of the worst life expectancies (about 45 years?). It has one of the worst five infant and child mortality rates. While peaceful for the last several years, the country is still recovering from a (brutal) decade-long civil war (have you seen "Blood Diamond"?). At least three million people are crowded into Freetown--a city built for I think about 200,000 people! I could go on....but you get the picture. There's no need to go on in that direction. The country may be beautiful, but life is pretty grim for most Sierra Leoneans.
How do we as "prosperous" Americans understand this? When people ask me to explain my experiences in developing countries (mainly Sierra Leone), I struggle. People rarely have anything to compare it to. Personally, I'd like everyone to be able to visit and experience this themselves. However, that doesn't seem quite feasible at this point in time, so we're left with multimedia to better paint a picture for us. If pictures are worth a thousand words, how much moreso are moving pictures?! Here are a few video clips from YouTube that show various aspects of Sierra Leone. I'm going to start finding and posting more of these periodically. I want you to understand what Sierra Leone is as much as you can without actually stepping foot in Sierra Leone. If you have questions or are curious about different aspects of life in Sierra Leone, let me know and I will search out an answer for you! If you find anything that fits in with this theme, send it to me (JHM.Salone@gmail.com). If you've been and would like to share your experiences or observations, please send them to the address below.
How can we best help if we don't understand who we're helping? Watch these videos prayerfully. Unless indicated, none are related to Jonathan House. And don't let the ones of bad aspects scare you off from ever taking a trip. As you watch these clips, take notice of the details of what is going on.
You Tube: Driving through the streets/markets of Freetown : This basically someone just pointing the camera through the window of the "Poda Poda" (a crude van, common taxi) and showing what it looks like to drive through the streets of Freetown. If you're a people watcher, have a ball--it's constant activity--selling, buying, commuting, etc. Watch it a few times if you have to. The music playing in the background...very Sierra Leonean.
You Tube: Driving in Sierra Leone -- They were driving to Sulima Beach, but the drive is pretty typical of a majority of roads in Sierra Leone--especially the farther you get away from Freetown--some much worse than others. The country is not known for the good quality of the roads. But don't let this scare you, because in all the trips I've taken over such roads, I've only been car sick once--and I get motion sickness on paved roads in the U.S.! God can provide. But hey, the beach is beautiful, isn't it?
You Tube: A picture tour of Sierra Leone -- This actually has no videos, just several photos. But it is one of my favorites as it shows so many places in Sierra Leone that I and many of you have been to. They show Freetown, Bo (where the orphanage is), Mattru (Mattru-Jong Hospital--most teams have visited here if not based out of here), Bonthe, and Kenema (which really only one person that I know of has been there). You can see Bo (after Freetown & Kenema respectively) starting at about 3:25 (maybe a little before that) until about 4:48, then transitions to Mattru until 5:36, then on to Bonthe which is down the river from Mattru on the coast.
You Tube: Save the Children, Sierra Leone Flooding -- Save the Children, a global charity, has been working in Kroo Bay for a time--one of the poorest sections of Freetown. They do a great job with their videos explaining about life in the community. See their website, too, for more great resources.
You Tube: Children's Living Conditions in Freetown (Hull Freedom Project) -- This is a pretty interesting clip showing how children live on the rubbage (trash) dumps. Yes, they actually live and survive in the dumps. Listen carefully to Reginald (the man showing "us" around) as he has a thick accent.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Lausanne WP: The Echo of a Saint
By Christopher L. Heuertz
We walked through an open-air market, down a side street in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, West Africa. The vibrant colors and smells of the fruit and vegetables filled our senses. The road was narrow yet full of life. We were surrounded by children laughing and playing all up and down the street. Nearly every vendor greeted us with warm and sincere hospitality.
Before we knew it, the market opened into what appeared to be a valley—more like a crater—on the edge of downtown. Slowly, we walked down a long concrete staircase, into the worst slum I have ever seen. Having traveled in nearly seventy countries throughout Asia, Africa, and South America, I was blown away by the density of poverty and texture of suffering that marked every detail of Kroo Bay.
Kroo Bay is the poorest slum community in the capital city of the world’s poorest country. It’s a former fishing village turned into an informal coastal slum with around six thousand residents—more than four thousand of them children.
Located below sea level, where two of Freetown’s major rivers meet and drain into the Atlantic Ocean, it floods with sewage every time there is major rainfall in the city. This forces residents to spend countless days and nights fighting to save their homes bucket by bucket.
It’s overcrowded, congested, and clogged with trash.
If it weren’t for the laughter of the children and the smiles of the vendors, it would have seemed one of the most hopeless places in the world.
Click on the title to read the entire article
We walked through an open-air market, down a side street in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, West Africa. The vibrant colors and smells of the fruit and vegetables filled our senses. The road was narrow yet full of life. We were surrounded by children laughing and playing all up and down the street. Nearly every vendor greeted us with warm and sincere hospitality.
Before we knew it, the market opened into what appeared to be a valley—more like a crater—on the edge of downtown. Slowly, we walked down a long concrete staircase, into the worst slum I have ever seen. Having traveled in nearly seventy countries throughout Asia, Africa, and South America, I was blown away by the density of poverty and texture of suffering that marked every detail of Kroo Bay.
Kroo Bay is the poorest slum community in the capital city of the world’s poorest country. It’s a former fishing village turned into an informal coastal slum with around six thousand residents—more than four thousand of them children.
Located below sea level, where two of Freetown’s major rivers meet and drain into the Atlantic Ocean, it floods with sewage every time there is major rainfall in the city. This forces residents to spend countless days and nights fighting to save their homes bucket by bucket.
It’s overcrowded, congested, and clogged with trash.
If it weren’t for the laughter of the children and the smiles of the vendors, it would have seemed one of the most hopeless places in the world.
Click on the title to read the entire article
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Some wonderful old books....
So I was checking out Google Reader which has more than a few digital books (hundreds--if not thousands perhaps). I searched for Sierra Leone for the subjects and it came up with several books written back in the 1800s. The one I'm looking through currently is..."A Residence at Sierra Leone...Letters from Sierra Leone" written by a lady living in Sierra Leone. It is a compilation of letters she wrote to friends and family at home in England. It's pretty interesting...many things have changed a lot while other things haven't changed much at all.
Here's an excerpt:
"Next day it was beautifully clear, and on going upon deck I had my first look of the land I was so truly thankful to see. On one side of our ship, Sierra Leone, like an island, forming one chain of mountains gradually sloping upwards from the Cape to the right, but in front seeming as if they sprang perpendicularly from the sea--was pointed out to me; while, in the opposite direction, the only visible tokens of land were tall trees, appearing as if planted in the water. ...
There was no sea-breeze to carry us in: we were not near enough to discern, without the aid of a spy-glass, the houses on the shore; but I could see Freetown like a white spot at the very foot of the hills, and before it the masts of vessels rose like clustered spires. We had also a view of the Bananas--a few small green islands lying to the southward of the long low cape which stretched far out, on our right....
I looked eagerly out and saw fantastically painted buildings glittering in the glorious light of a tropical sun; and beyond, the lofty mountains of Sierra Leone. Through the faint shadowy haze, their verdure appeared more soft and beautiful than that of the foliage near us, which flashed on the eye with a supernatural tint, and formed a striking contrast to the deep cornelian colour of the earth in the paths and banks of the river--the whole landscape conveying the idea of a perpetual summer. ..."
Here's an excerpt:
"Next day it was beautifully clear, and on going upon deck I had my first look of the land I was so truly thankful to see. On one side of our ship, Sierra Leone, like an island, forming one chain of mountains gradually sloping upwards from the Cape to the right, but in front seeming as if they sprang perpendicularly from the sea--was pointed out to me; while, in the opposite direction, the only visible tokens of land were tall trees, appearing as if planted in the water. ...
There was no sea-breeze to carry us in: we were not near enough to discern, without the aid of a spy-glass, the houses on the shore; but I could see Freetown like a white spot at the very foot of the hills, and before it the masts of vessels rose like clustered spires. We had also a view of the Bananas--a few small green islands lying to the southward of the long low cape which stretched far out, on our right....
I looked eagerly out and saw fantastically painted buildings glittering in the glorious light of a tropical sun; and beyond, the lofty mountains of Sierra Leone. Through the faint shadowy haze, their verdure appeared more soft and beautiful than that of the foliage near us, which flashed on the eye with a supernatural tint, and formed a striking contrast to the deep cornelian colour of the earth in the paths and banks of the river--the whole landscape conveying the idea of a perpetual summer. ..."
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Change One
Keith & Laura Padgett started an organization called "Change One" just a few years ago. They lived in Freetown for a year and a half not too long ago. They work on community development projects in different parts of Freetown, as well as working in refugee camps. In short, they have done and continue to serve the people of Sierra Leone in many ways. Laura and I met about 2 years ago and what a priviledge it has been to get to know her and Keith and their work in Freetown. While Jonathan House operates "upline" (basically referred to anything outside of Freetown), they work almost entirely within the Freetown area--which is HUGE! So if you want a good look at life in the more crowded Freetown, check their website out.
Their blog inspired this blog that you are currently reading--they've done a wonderful job with it. That link can be found in the links section in the right column.
BBC: The Dangers of Herbal Remedies (Kroo Bay)
The BBC has a series on their website with a diary written by a medic in Sierra Leone, specifically Kroo Bay. One of the first websites posted on this blog was one for Save the Children's work in Kroo Bay. If you haven't checked it out--you totally should. So there might be more of her articles on here at some point--it's a great section.
This specific article is this medic, Adama Gondor, talking about how herbal remedies are affecting health. It's one thing if they're topical medicines (applied to the skin), but a little more serious when they are internal medicines. Babies are especially vulnerable. Here in America, hospitals do treat most illnesses. There are a few non-mainstream providers out there, but even those seem to be regulated. In places like Sierra Leone (mainly rural areas in developing countries), there is not as much access to clinics and doctors or nurses as urban areas and especially here in America. If there are clinics or hospitals, the likelihood that a family could afford treatment at a center is slim. Though what there seem to be plenty of are traditional healers. While I'm hoping not in every instance, treatments tend to focus around superstitions and religious ceremonies (typically not Christian). In all of my anthropology classes (and especially two focused squarely on African religions and religion and witchcraft), I've heard of some really bizarre things that take place in our world. That's another blog altogether. :-) While it would be great to keep some aspects of each culture in tact, some are simply dangerous. Miss Gondor speaks well on this topic, but now that you have a broader background, hopefully it will help you understand her more.
"A severely malnourished child was brought to the clinic on Monday.
Eight-month-old babies should weigh about 9kg. The baby was eight months old, but she only weighed 4.5kg. If we assume she had the average weight of 3.3kg when she was born she should have been getting close to 9kg by now. The baby was very thin, with bad skin and looked more like an old man - it's awful to see a baby in such a condition. She also looked very hungry. We immediately referred the baby to the hospital quite far away in the east of Freetown where there is a therapeutic feeding centre. The mother took her straight there and she was admitted - the programme is free. ..."
To read the entire article, click the title.
To read and learn more about Kroo Bay and Save the Children's there, check out the special links section in the right column.
This specific article is this medic, Adama Gondor, talking about how herbal remedies are affecting health. It's one thing if they're topical medicines (applied to the skin), but a little more serious when they are internal medicines. Babies are especially vulnerable. Here in America, hospitals do treat most illnesses. There are a few non-mainstream providers out there, but even those seem to be regulated. In places like Sierra Leone (mainly rural areas in developing countries), there is not as much access to clinics and doctors or nurses as urban areas and especially here in America. If there are clinics or hospitals, the likelihood that a family could afford treatment at a center is slim. Though what there seem to be plenty of are traditional healers. While I'm hoping not in every instance, treatments tend to focus around superstitions and religious ceremonies (typically not Christian). In all of my anthropology classes (and especially two focused squarely on African religions and religion and witchcraft), I've heard of some really bizarre things that take place in our world. That's another blog altogether. :-) While it would be great to keep some aspects of each culture in tact, some are simply dangerous. Miss Gondor speaks well on this topic, but now that you have a broader background, hopefully it will help you understand her more.
"A severely malnourished child was brought to the clinic on Monday.
Eight-month-old babies should weigh about 9kg. The baby was eight months old, but she only weighed 4.5kg. If we assume she had the average weight of 3.3kg when she was born she should have been getting close to 9kg by now. The baby was very thin, with bad skin and looked more like an old man - it's awful to see a baby in such a condition. She also looked very hungry. We immediately referred the baby to the hospital quite far away in the east of Freetown where there is a therapeutic feeding centre. The mother took her straight there and she was admitted - the programme is free. ..."
To read the entire article, click the title.
To read and learn more about Kroo Bay and Save the Children's there, check out the special links section in the right column.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Save the Children: Kroo Bay
Save the Children, an organization based in the UK that aims to (as the name says) save children worldwide. They are working in one of the poorest slums in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. The website is excellent--there are webisodes and panoramic pictures of people in the community and community life. I highly recommend this website to learn about the challenges of living in a slum in Freetown (and most cities in developing countries) and of children in general.
https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/kroobay/index.php
https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/kroobay/index.php
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