Project SIerra- Day 3 of the study tour

Here is the Day 3 blog from Andrea:


We started our morning with a special briefing on the day's activities in Makeni. We played a special trick on Joe, our fearless leader, but I am not allowed to blog about it on the Internet. I would be willing to disclose the secret though if an offer came with a bottle of a local Star Beer. After our briefing, we headed to Makeni in the northern province of Sierra Leone. It is one of the most scenic areas of the country, but also one of the places hardest hit by the recent civil war.


People say that Makeni is now its way up with support from the international community and the new national government. It is also centrally located in the country making it a hub for commerce.


Our journey today was not without breakdowns. Apparently, there appears to be one person in our party who the breakdowns seem to following (Maureen!).


Our welcome today at the project in Makeni was truly fabulous. The children were so cute and it was so, so hot. They were waiting for us in the hot sun but could not wait to greet us, touch our hands and sing to us when we arrived. These welcomes are quite overpowering and a feeling comes over you of being thanked more than you deserve. There is so much more to be done.


Today's group gave us a performance and it was quite good. One thing that is very evident is the leadership skills we seen developing with the children.


After our performance, we took a tour of the site and visited the clinic. This site has a health clinic. Most people in Sierra Leone do not have access to a health clinic.


Today, we were taken to meet Section Chief Kamara the representative of the Paramount Chief Bai Kasana. A little history is that the Permanent Chief is the custodian of the land. We reported to the Chief about our meeting with Hanci. We had to meet him to ask for his blessing and to ask permission to visit some families. There are 144 chiefdoms with a Paramount Chief in each chiefdom followed by Section Chiefs and then each section has a Village Chief.


After meeting with the Chief, he told us: 'You can bend the rules but do not break them.' We told him we are very good bending the rules. After our blessing from the Chief Kamara, we were off with Abu and John, our guides from Hanci. I cannot say enough about the Hanci team and their care for the community. They are wonderful. They are doing so much with so little. Abu and John left a big spot in our hearts.


We visited one home that had been rebuilt by Hanci and another family where the grandmother was taking taking care of four grandchildren. Hanci was helping her to start a small business so that she could support herself and her grandchildren. She was an inspiration to us all.


And the adventure continues.....