"Just for you" [Wednesday, June 20]
The sun was peaking through the morning smog as Osmem led me through the streets of Freetown. We were alone on the road, with only the occasional poda and taxi disrupting the prayers of the mosques and the bells of the churches. Osmem wore navy blue England soccer shorts and a white Predators jacket - apparently the early morning heat was too cold for him. I felt great and was keeping up with him despite not having actually trained seriously for several months. About 15 minutes into the run he dashed my hopes:
"How is the pace?"
"Fine, Fine."
"You are tired?"
"Not yet - the pace is fine."
"Good. We run this pace just for you."
I had managed to convince myself he wasn't all that fast, but he was running slow just for me. I'm amazed every day by people's willingness to go out of their way for almost total stranger like me. Although the original plan was to run to Aberdeen and then to Lumley Beach, Osmem declared that we would have to turn back at Congo Town, as I needed to be back in time for work. Not to worry - he has promised to run with me to the beach on Friday. Osmem runs just about every event from the 200m to the 10,000m in competitions at the National Stadium. On the way back we ran (quite literally) into Mariam, one of the girls on the team who runs the 400m.
After a wonderfully frigid shower and breakfast at the Y, I took a taxi over to Murraytown instead of the usual Syke Street /National Stadium area. As iEARN takes a bit of time each day to get up and running, I am going to be working at the international NGO Health Unlimited in the mornings and then go to iEARN for the afternoons. Thanks to a very helpful taxi driver, I was able to find the HU office without much trouble.
Based in London, Health Unlimited is currently implementing a three year "Safe Motherhood" project in Bombali, a district in the north on the border with Guinea. The relevant details and a few pictures can be found at the project website.
I'll be working at the Freetown office for Ingrid, the country director, and will be concentrating almost entirely on the administrative and logistical aspects of the project. After a tour of the office and some delightful South African tea, we had lunch over which Ingrid briefed me on the various initiatives I'll be working on. The current European Commission project funding will expire next spring, so I will be assisting her with several new funding proposals while also helping to "westernize" the office. Although it will be challenging work, I'm excited as HU will provide a very different perspective than my current work. At iEARN, I'm interacting with the target youth everyday in a small setting - I know every single person involved with iEARN, from students to staff to board members. At HU, I may never even see the people my work is impacting as I'll be in the "removed" headquarters office of an international NGO. This reminded me of an interesting poem about development which a friend emailed me a few months back:
The Development Set
by Ross Coggins
Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet-
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots,
I have travelers' checks, and pills for the trots
The Development Set is bright and noble,
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes,
Our thoughts are always with the masses.
In Sheraton hotels in scattered nations,
We damn multinational corporations;
Injustice seems so easy to protest,
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.
We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with an open mouth.
We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution-
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.
The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like 'epigenetic',
'Micro', 'Macro'. and 'logarithmetic'.
Development Set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the rich and the poor.
Enough of these verses -- on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray to God the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.
(from the book The Lords of Poverty)
After fighting the midday traffic, I arrived iEARN and helped a few students with their self-portraits before editing a video of the small arms event on last Saturday. Sara did a few identity sessions while Dabo took Jess over to tour the Special Court.
Amanda and I went down Fort Street to the usual, absolutely delicious place for a dinner of boil stew. Nick returned from the site and met us for dinner. In the evening I finished editing the small arms film and began to read Blood Diamonds by Greg Campbell. It is an easy-to-read account (no political science background required!) of the author's experiences in post-war Sierra Leone, although perhaps a bit sensationalist.
"How is the pace?"
"Fine, Fine."
"You are tired?"
"Not yet - the pace is fine."
"Good. We run this pace just for you."
I had managed to convince myself he wasn't all that fast, but he was running slow just for me. I'm amazed every day by people's willingness to go out of their way for almost total stranger like me. Although the original plan was to run to Aberdeen and then to Lumley Beach, Osmem declared that we would have to turn back at Congo Town, as I needed to be back in time for work. Not to worry - he has promised to run with me to the beach on Friday. Osmem runs just about every event from the 200m to the 10,000m in competitions at the National Stadium. On the way back we ran (quite literally) into Mariam, one of the girls on the team who runs the 400m.
After a wonderfully frigid shower and breakfast at the Y, I took a taxi over to Murraytown instead of the usual Syke Street /National Stadium area. As iEARN takes a bit of time each day to get up and running, I am going to be working at the international NGO Health Unlimited in the mornings and then go to iEARN for the afternoons. Thanks to a very helpful taxi driver, I was able to find the HU office without much trouble.
Based in London, Health Unlimited is currently implementing a three year "Safe Motherhood" project in Bombali, a district in the north on the border with Guinea. The relevant details and a few pictures can be found at the project website.
I'll be working at the Freetown office for Ingrid, the country director, and will be concentrating almost entirely on the administrative and logistical aspects of the project. After a tour of the office and some delightful South African tea, we had lunch over which Ingrid briefed me on the various initiatives I'll be working on. The current European Commission project funding will expire next spring, so I will be assisting her with several new funding proposals while also helping to "westernize" the office. Although it will be challenging work, I'm excited as HU will provide a very different perspective than my current work. At iEARN, I'm interacting with the target youth everyday in a small setting - I know every single person involved with iEARN, from students to staff to board members. At HU, I may never even see the people my work is impacting as I'll be in the "removed" headquarters office of an international NGO. This reminded me of an interesting poem about development which a friend emailed me a few months back:
The Development Set
by Ross Coggins
Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet-
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots,
I have travelers' checks, and pills for the trots
The Development Set is bright and noble,
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes,
Our thoughts are always with the masses.
In Sheraton hotels in scattered nations,
We damn multinational corporations;
Injustice seems so easy to protest,
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.
We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with an open mouth.
We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution-
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.
The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like 'epigenetic',
'Micro', 'Macro'. and 'logarithmetic'.
Development Set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the rich and the poor.
Enough of these verses -- on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray to God the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.
(from the book The Lords of Poverty)
After fighting the midday traffic, I arrived iEARN and helped a few students with their self-portraits before editing a video of the small arms event on last Saturday. Sara did a few identity sessions while Dabo took Jess over to tour the Special Court.
Amanda and I went down Fort Street to the usual, absolutely delicious place for a dinner of boil stew. Nick returned from the site and met us for dinner. In the evening I finished editing the small arms film and began to read Blood Diamonds by Greg Campbell. It is an easy-to-read account (no political science background required!) of the author's experiences in post-war Sierra Leone, although perhaps a bit sensationalist.
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2:04 PM
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