This is my Life…

The week before I left for Sierra Leone I had Malaria in my blood and the whole week was a living hell.

12th of April – I flew from Accra, Ghana to Freetown, Sierra Leone with the Nigerian airline Bellview Airlines. At the airport in Accra the man at the check-in counter was surprised when he saw my visa for Sierra Leone as I had been given a stamp which only diplomats and VIPs receive (it’s through my friend’s contacts that I received it). The flight was a smooth 2 hour flight on which I met a woman from Guinea-Bissau who was coming from Yaoundé, Cameroon, of course I spoke to her. On my arrival at Freetown International Airport in Lungi I found out that the opposition leader for the APC (All People’s Congress) political party was on the same flight as me. He is a close friend to the Sierra Leonean guy I know, Paul. The elections for both president and parliament in Sierra Leone are going to be held on the 28th of July this year. I, Paul and two of his friends (one of them called M.A.T.) went by car and then ferry to Freetown, when I arrived in Freetown I immediately saw and realized what the civil war has done to the country. There are lots of things that need to be changed, but hopefully things can change with a new government if the APC party is to win the elections in three months. I was accommodated at Paul’s friend, and I was surprised how my room was decorated; it had TV with digital satellite decoder, HIFI stereo, fridge, AC etc. The house owner is a “Chief”, the house is big and there are 7 cars around the house. I discussed a lot with Paul about the importance of trying to get tourists to Sierra Leone to see that the civil war is over since 2002. It is something that will, together with good governance, bring in money which can help decrease the extremely high unemployment rate (more than 70%), build schools, hospitals, roads etc. As I see it, being the minister of tourism in a country is a very valuable position politically when it comes to developing a country.

13th of April – I have started to get to know more of the people in the house where I live and I feel very welcomed by all the boys (servants); Alpha, Mohammed and Ibrahim. Mohammed also has a friend called Ernest who is usually around working and helping. The “Chief” is living together with his wife and two daughters; 3 years and 1 years old. The boys are serving the “Chief” and watching the house, whenever he has been out with one of his cars then the boys will wash it for the “Chief”. Later in the afternoon I went out with Alpha and Ernest and they showed me around in Calaba Town, which is the part in Freetown where I’m accommodated. It was interesting to see how people live and also how happy the children were when the saw me; “Snap me! Snap me!”, they wanted to be photographed. When I got back to the house I had mango together with the wife of the “Chief” and her kids and the boys, the mango was very good! I also sat and started writing the alphabet for the 3 year old daughter of the “Chief”, later Ibrahim came to me and got very interested in what I was writing, he also told me; “I have never been to school” and he is 20 years old. I felt sad for him, so I started teaching him the alphabet together with simple sentences as well as the digits 0-9. In the evening I went inside the house when Alpha was ironing clothes, I sat down and talked to him while he was ironing, he is a very nice and kind boy, 22 years old.

14th of April – I got up this morning and had a very nice breakfast with hot chocolate, bread and Laughing Cow cheese together with M.A.T (Man Around Town). He came to pick me together with three other men, we were going to the rally for the APC party which was held in the city of Freetown. Even if they were all friends of M.A.T, I later found out that two of them; Ahmed and Lamid, were together with us to protect me (security guards). Wherever we went during the whole day both Ahmed and Lamid was very close to me. We drove to one point in Freetown to see the leader of APC together with the chairmen on a truck waving their hands to the people, at one time I also discussed a lot with Ahmed about Sierra Leone and how it is today. While I was standing and talking to Ahmed and M.A.T several people came up to me and shouted and cheered, I can see that APC has lots of supporters. People in Sierra Leone are tired of the ruling government and they want a change now, and I will definitely follow the elections in the media at the end of July. We jumped in the car and drove to another spot in town, to get a close look at the future voters and the leader with the chairmen; I took pictures and videos of the event as requested by Paul. Later we continued in to town and walked around in the streets, had some late lunch and then went to the Victoria Park to hear the leader and the chairmen of the APC party holding speeches. In the evening we went to the APC headquarters and Paul brought me inside the building and gave me a great opportunity to meet the chairmen and the leader of the APC party. After all, the leader of APC; Ernest Bai Koroma, might be the new president of Sierra Leone at the end of July. I also discussed shortly with some of the chairmen and gave them my views of how to develop Sierra Leone and the importance of trying to show the rest of the world that Sierra Leone is now no longer a war zone, but rather a country with very friendly people. After I have walked around inside of the headquarters I was taken back to the Chief’s house and it was great to see and hear that they had missed me during the day, I feel very welcomed and enjoy my stay here enormously.

15th of April – In the morning I went out to buy some units for my Sierra Leonean mobile phone chip (Celtel), and when I went out I was escorted by one of the “Chief’s” security guards. I don’t feel scared walking around here in Freetown, but having security around me makes me feel very safe. I also talked with the “Chief” and a friend of his from Mali, I truly love talking to people, I learn something new everyday. The rest of the day I was mostly hanging around the “Chief’s” house together with the servicing boys; Alpha, Mohammed, Ibrahim and Ernest, also the “Chief’s” wife and two children were around. I truly enjoy their company and it’s obvious that they like me too, they are already saying they will miss when I’m travelling outside of Freetown for a few days. In the evening I went out together with Alpha to buy some soap, cheese and bread, that’s the least I can pay for as I’m staying in the “Chief’s” house for free. When Alpha and I was out and I was about to pay for the cheese, then one boy greeted me “hey white man!”, Alpha walked a little away from me to watch me, then there was one guy who said to Alpha in their local language, Krio; “you and I should go together and get the white man”. Alpha didn’t answer the guy, but he later told me about this. In the evening I and the boys enjoyed the bread and cheese I bought together with hot chocolate and mineral water (Grafton), it’s pure bottled water from the hills of Freetown. I have only been here for three days, but the “Chief’s” house and the people around me feels like family, I keep telling them all how grateful I am for their friendliness, great hospitality and concern. I gave the four boys 10 000 Leone each, it’s little more than 3 USD each, and they were extremely happy. Mohammed is going to buy shoes, Ernest socks and so on. I know that I will return to Sierra Leone again!

16th of April – I packed my things in the morning, had my breakfast and was picked up at the “Chief’s” house by M.A.T., Ahmed and Alhaji. We drove in to the city of Freetown and ran several errands for hours; I also bought two CDs with Sierra Leonean music with two artists called Emmerson and K-Man. There is lots of great music here in West Africa. While waiting for M.A.T. and Ahmed at one point, there were two street boys who came up to my car and started interacting with me, they later said; “We like you a lot! You are not like other white people who are too proud to talk to black guys in the street! Especially people from UK, we don’t like them!”. It’s sad to hear this, some people just don’t know what they are missing by rejecting to talk to people in the street. Later in the afternoon when we were at the fitters fixing the car fan, I was reading a very interesting article about Sierra Leone in a local newsmagazine called “Peep!”. It was telling about the suffering in the country and I didn’t realize the situation has been and is this bad; for seven out of ten years, Sierra Leone has been ranked officially as the poorest country in the world according to the UN’s Human Development Index. Life expectancy at 37 and falling, is the worst in the world. Deaths in childbirth are the highest in the world. More than 300 children out of 1000 don’t make it beyond the age of five. Unemployment rate is put at more than 70%. More than two-thirds of the population of five million live below the poverty line of 52 US pence a day. Reading this article somewhat surprised me, I have to admit that. When we were finished at the fitters, then I, M.A.T., Alhaji and another relative of M.A.T. started our journey towards the towns of Makeni and finally Magburaka. I really wanted to go outside of Freetown and see the country and I am fortunate enough to get the opportunity by following along with M.A.T and his entourage. During our trip M.A.T. received a call that a relative had passed away during the day, and that the funeral was to take place the following day. In the evening we had dinner at a Lebanese restaurant in Makeni, before going to M.A.T.’s hometown Magburaka. We arrived in Magburaka and I stayed together with Alhaji in M.A.T.’s aunt’s house, we also went to the fuel station to buy some gas for the generator. People are friendly where ever I come in Sierra Leone and it’s amazing to hear from a guy working at the fuel station, after just 30 seconds; “I love you!”. I can see the enormous absence of white people willing to talk to the ordinary people in the street, well I’m different (my brother knows this very well). I love interacting with people and I can see that has given me a very nice reputation, my friends in Freetown keep saying; “we won’t let you go!”. I also keep telling my friends here that I can’t remember when I was welcomed in this way by people I have only known for a few days.

17th of April – I got a call before 07 this morning from M.A.T. saying that we have to leave around 07:30 for the funeral and burial of his relative in his home village called Rochain. We drove there by car and the ceremony had begun when we arrived, I sat down and started observing the formal procedure. I sat down for about 3 hours when discussions took place and money was donated, I was also introduced to the people in the village by M.A.T. It was a very special moment for me and I told everyone how grateful I am to be apart of this and getting the opportunity to see their culture this close. When the prayers later took place in front of the coffin, then I observed from the side. During the burial of the old man, then I was surrounded by 30-40 children, while eating a coconut. When the burial procedure was finished, then I had lunch together with M.A.T. and Alhaji; bread, water, chicken, soup, egg, mango and so on. The groceries are fresh from the village, which makes it even more enjoyable. After the lunch I took pictures of the children and inhabitants in the village of Rochain, as requested, especially the children were extremely happy to be snapped by my camera. They were cheering “yeaaaaaah!” I also got the opportunity to see the school in the village, before we returned back to Magburaka. After writing postcards and relaxing for a few hours we then had dinner at some relatives of M.A.T., it was a dish called “lama” (beef meat mixed with a spinach stew). From there we continued to meet the Field Officer of the Red Cross office in Magburaka, he was a nice and interesting man to talk to. We also went to Makeni to buy a few items, and on the way to Makeni we stopped along the road, because M.A.T. and Alhaji wanted to drink some “poyo” (palm wine), I also started talking to a guy who works for Swiss-Sierra Leone Development Foundation, a truly educated and enlightened guy who told me a lot about his country. Later in the evening when we finished our rounds in Makeni and came back and met some friends of M.A.T.; Alhaji and I ended up eating some bread and fruit before falling asleep.

18th of April – I had my breakfast this morning and packed my stuff, we then started our journey towards Bumbuna. First we drove around Magburaka and met different friends of M.A.T and got an ever better feeling of the town. The journey continued through various villages, where we stopped for poyo and also to meet relatives and friends of M.A.T. I also found out that my friend Paul is born in the village called Mabonto, in that village I also met the Chief. When we reached a village called Makama, then we sat down and talked to the Chief and he was showing us the dirty water they are drinking. In Makama there was a boy (David) who gave me a letter he had written, while I was listening to the Chief, it was a letter in English saying that he goes to school, but has no books or school uniform and was pleading for me to support and assist. I told him that I have to read the letter again and think, before I can give him an answer, we will pass Makama on our way back to Magburaka. In the afternoon we reached Bumbuna and first arrived at where we were going to spend the night, it was a good place. A little while later we drove to the Mador waterfalls, which was a quite nice area and peaceful, after spending some time at the waterfalls, we then drove back to our accommodation, I had a nice dinner and at the same time I started talking to David, a man who is working with the World Bank and is an Area Manager for about 30 villages around Bumbuna, and his work is to see what the inhabitants in the villages can benefit from the dam which is being built in this area.

19th of April – After breakfast, a shower and packing my things, we then left to meet with David (the Area Manager), because I wanted to see some of the villages outside of Bumbuna. We jumped in his 4×4 and went to a few villages together with some other people, it was very interesting to see and hear how they are living in the villages and also how difficult it is to get there. After the visit, we went in to Bumbuna and I bought pencils, pens, books and a maths set for David, and then we started our journey back towards Magburaka. Our first stop was at some relatives of M.A.T., where we had lunch and interacted with the people. We had several stops along the way to Magburaka, where we talked and met with people, as M.A.T. is a candidate to become a member of the parliament in the elections at the end of July, it is important to meet with the people. My favourite stop along the way was in Makama, where we met with David and his family and friends, I gave him the stationeries I had bought for him and we told him that this is for YOU and it is not supposed to be given out to everyone, because David was the one who took the initiative and wrote me the letter asking for support for his education and that should be encouraged. He was very grateful and I told him that I will write him a letter which M.A.T. will give him, so that he can continue practising his English. From there we passed by Mabonto, before arriving in Magburaka, but we continued straight towards Makeni and along the way we drove on an airstrip which was used by the rebels during the civil war, it was interesting to see. In Makeni we bought some food, and then we returned towards Magburaka and stopped along the way at a poyo drinking place, where I had discussions about Sierra Leone with people from the ministry of labour and others. We got back to M.A.T.’s aunt’s house and I received a letter from a boy (Gibrilla) in the house, it was similar to the one David gave me in Makama. Gibrilla wrote that he needs help with school fees, shoes, books and uniform, I told him I will read it and consider his request. As I see it, this kind of initiative needs to be encouraged, I hear so many children and elders beg for money here in Sierra Leone, every day, and I can understand it, but I never give these people money, but when someone like David and Gibrilla is politely and kindly requesting for help to get educated, then I’m more than happy to help.

20th of April – After the usual procedures this morning, I then decided that I want to pay for some of the requests that Gibrilla asked for the previous day, and there was also a 17 year old girl in the family called Suad who is serious about school and also asked for some assistance. So, the four of us (I, Alhaji, Gibrilla and Suad) walked in to the town centre where I bought 50 pens, 10 big note books, 2 pair of shoes and I also paid their school fees for one term (3 months). Both of them were very grateful and I’m more than willing to help someone who is seriously interested in school, but can’t afford it themselves. After our rounds in the town centre of Magburaka, we got back to where we were staying and relaxed for a couple of hours, before starting our journey back to Freetown. When we got to Makeni and I went out to buy some bread, cheese and drinks I was surrounded by beggars (handicapped children and grownups), I do realise their tough situations, but it is impossible for me to help everyone and that is what I told them, fair and square. The drive back to Freetown was smooth and it felt like home when I finally arrived in the “Chief’s” house in Cabala Town (eastern parts of Freetown). I was happy to see them all; Ernest, Alpha, Ibrahim, Mohammed, “Chief’s” wife and children, and later Mr Basonkoh. I went out with Alpha and bought some groceries which we later enjoyed while interacting and watching TV.

21st of April – I changed to another room in the “Chief’s” house, one of Alpha’s rooms. I got picked up by M.A.T., Alhaji and Ahmed and went in to the city centre to run some errands, before heading down towards the beaches on the Freetown peninsula. Our first visit was at Lumley (Aberdeen) Beach, a quite long and very popular beach which is easy to access. Our drive continued going south and the next stop was at Lakka Beach, a very nice beach which I liked a lot; the trees were close to the sand and it felt cosy. We also enjoyed a nice lunch with snapper (fish) and French fries. Lakka Beach is a little more difficult to access, because of the road, and it is probably one of the reasons why it felt so peaceful. From Lakka Beach we headed towards an even more remote beach called River No 2 Beach, this beach is without any doubt the most beautiful beach I have seen in Sierra Leone, with white sand and gorgeous surroundings; green hills, river etc. I kept saying to Ahmed; “the ocean is calling me, the ocean is calling me”. I jumped in the water together with Alhaji and it was just too good to be true, clear water with a perfect temperature. I haven’t been in the ocean since October last year, so it felt like a relief (hehe). It was after five pm and we left River No 2 Beach and drove back to Freetown, where we met with some friends of M.A.T., one of them an honourable member of the APC party who was very interesting to talk to, he even wanted to meet me again the following day. While M.A.T. stayed and had a meeting, then Alhaji and Ahmed took me back to the “Chief’s” house, and when I arrived in the house the people where happy to see me. I went out in Calaba Town with Alpha and his friend and bought some food which we all enjoyed in the evening while interacting.

22nd of April – I got picked in the morning by Alhaji and M.A.T., as well as the honourable member of the parliament who we met the day before. He wanted to know how some institutions work in Sweden, because if APC do come to power the bad reputation of corruption has to be evicted in Sierra Leone. After the meeting, I, Alhaji and M.A.T. went to a couple of beaches; Kent Beach, Bureh Beach and Mama Beach. They were all very nice beaches and I like the surroundings with lots of vegetation. I came back to the “Chief’s” house, interacted with the people and had some hot chocolate, bread and cheese in the evening.

23rd of April – I said goodbye to everyone in the “Chief’s” house this morning and I will definitely miss the young boys working around the house. M.A.T. and Alhaji took me to Freetown International Airport (in Lungi), where I had some very interesting discussions with some people. My 11 days’ stay in Sierra Leone has been a fantastic experience, I have met so many nice people and I have been fortunate in many ways, few people will realise what I really have experienced. I left the airport in Lungi around 15:30, 40 minutes later we had a stop over in Monrovia (Liberia), before flying to Accra, Ghana. I’m staying one night here in Accra, before returning home to Kumasi, because it sure feels like home in Kumasi.

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Trip to the north (16^th-22^nd March)

16^th of March – This day we stayed in Tamale, we visited an aunt of Mr Abu and Issah and were roaming around the city. There aren’t any really big tourist attractions in the city, but we liked it very much anyway and also our accommodation was very nice; Gariba Lodge.

17^th of March – I started this morning by browsing the Internet at our hotel; Gariba Lodge. The internet connection at their place is the fastest one I have experienced during my time in Ghana, the speed while browsing was sometimes above 100 kb/sec. After breakfast we were picked up by our rental car driver; Stephen and we passed by a few relatives and friends in Tamale before heading for Yendi. When we arrived in Yendi, we first visited a cousin of Mr Abu and Issah, a very nice guy who took us to our accommodation for the two nights in the Yendi. It was a guesthouse for military men and district assembly men. In the afternoon we visited several relatives of Mr Abu and Issah, we drove around in town. It’s just like my mother told me; “you will never get this opportunity getting invited to so many different Ghanaian homes if you are a normal tourist” and it’s definitely true. In the evening we had dinner at the same place where we had lunch, it was a place called “Your Restaurant”. The place didn’t look anything special, but they served very good food and the staffs were service minded and friendly. That night I experienced the warmest night since coming to Ghana, it was awfully warm. Our driver Stephen, Mr Abu and Issah slept outside under the bare sky.

18^th of March – The morning started by having breakfast at Your Restaurant which served really nice breakfast. From there we got the opportunity to visit the regent of the Dagomba kingdom; Kampakoya Naa Abdulai Yakubu Andandi. Both I and mamma truly enjoyed meeting the regent, he is a very simple and kind man. After leaving the chief’s palace, we then continued our visits to different relatives in Yendi and outside of town to a village. In the village, one of the boys took us to the only dam where they fetch water which they drink, shower in and wash their clothes with. It’s sad to see, but the water was extremely dirty and unhygienic. After all the visits, we then drove back to our guesthouse to rest for awhile before going for dinner at Your Restaurant.

19^th of March – Started the morning with breakfast at Your Restaurant, and then we continued our journey going south through Bimbilla, Nkwanta, Jasikan and we finally arrived in Hohoe. The road from Yendi and almost all the way to Hohoe was bumpy and dusty, but most of the time ok. I’m glad we had a car with air condition, so we didn’t have to have the windows down like when we had the Opel Astra rental car (without any air condition). The place we stayed in Hohoe was called Matvin Hotel, and we had lunch there before going to Fesi to see some pottery and a shrine in Abgenoxde. On our way home in the evening, we passed by a village called Alavanyo, there we met Dicky Poison, a man who was drunk and told me; “do something before you die yo, do something before you die yo”. We ended the evening by having lunch at a lodge near our hotel.

20^th of March – We continued our trip and passed by Amedzofe, a nice village close to the second highest peak in Ghana; Mt Gemi. From there we drove to Tafo Abuipe, a small village known for their Kente weavers. We just stopped quickly, before continuing down to Ho where we checked in at our hotel in the afternoon. After a nice lunch, all of us relaxed in the swimming pool. Our hotel, Chances Hotel, was located in a very nice area with the Kalabaka hills in the back. We all truly enjoyed our stay; the food, swimming pool and the peacefulness.

21^st of March – After a short drive in the town of Ho in the morning, we then went to the Volta Dam and had a guided tour. The guide was around my age and most definitely the rudest Ghanaian I have met. He started the tour by telling me and Mr Abu; “Let’s go! Let’s go!”. I asked; “are you the tour guide?” and he just replied; “Let’s go! Let’s go!”. We then found out that he was the tour guide and Mr Abu told him, you are the guide, you should take the lead and I got very annoyed with him too and more or less shouted at him; “now you listen to me, you don’t start off the tour by being in the way you are, you are supposed to be polite and guide us!”. I don’t know if it was too much sugar in the blood, but I can’t stand people like him. Everything he said was right, everything we said was wrong. Enough about this idiot. Lake Volta is the biggest artificial (man made) lake in the world, and the hotel where we stayed was next to the Volta river. Akosombo Continental Hotel was a very nice and peaceful place, being in the Volta region gave me feelings like being outside of Ghana, it felt like we were abroad. We had a great late lunch on the river and then we spent hours in the swimming pool. The hotel also had several different animals in its garden; crocodile, monkeys, birds etc.

22^nd of March – Left Atimpoku early this morning to get to Koforidua, to meet Mr Abu’s and Issah’s sister Hamida. In Koforidua, I and mamma bought some necklaces in the beads market. From Koforidua we continued our journey back to Kumasi, and when we were getting close to Kumasi, then our rental care started getting problems. I was very glad that we got home to our apartment, because we had suffered enough during our trip. Our driver, Stephen, stayed the night as the mechanics needed more time to repair the problems. In the evening we went out and had dinner at Roses Guesthouse.

5 days back in Kumasi, at work: we visited Latex Foam to discuss about sleeping mattresses for the orphans and submitted a proposal letter, we have also received 200 mosquito nets through UNICEF, we have together with my mother donated clothes to female and male orphans at Nuriya Islamic School in Adukrom that used to belong to her and me.

Mail: I have received postcards from mamma, my grandparents and a friend in Stuttgart (Maria, I finally received one!).

Trip to the coast (28^th of March-

28^th of March - On Wednesday, around noon, I and my mother rented a car and driver who took us to our hotel in Elmina; Elmina Beach Resort. We arrived in the afternoon and had a late lunch. I was here last year in November together with a couple of friends and I have great memories from this place since last time. I also love coming out to the ocean, and the hotel itself is a real nice place.

29^th of March – This day we toured both the Elmina Castle and the Cape Coast Castle. Especially the tour guide at the Elmina Castle was very good and the castle looked very nice as they had been renovating it. After hours of visits to the castles, we then returned to our beach resort and relaxed.

30^th of March – Went to the Kakum National Park this morning, did the canopy walk, but I’m very glad of the tour I had when I was here in November, because we were given a lot more information and also back then we were not around 30 people like this time.

31^st of March – I was sick and weak this morning, so we left Elmina around 11:30 and were driven to Accra in about 2-2½ hours. We arrived in our hotel; Labadi Beach Hotel, had a lunch in an outdoor restaurant and I then just relaxed for awhile. Later in the afternoon I was in the swimming pool for a short while. In the evening we had a nice and quiet dinner in hotel. The hotel is very nice. I was still feeling weak in the evening.

1^st of April – This morning I was feeling a little better, but still I’m not 100%. I have been out by the swimming pool and am going to have lunch soon. I still feel weak. Tomorrow evening mamma leaves Accra, Ghana and returns to Europe on Tuesday.

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