So what is life like in Mokanji? Slower pace. Community living. Laid back. Rustic. Peaceful. These are all words to describe village life.
The only running water is from the hand pumped well.
The only electricity is from the rare generator.
Food is cooked in a coal pot or over a 3 stone fire, either way the fuel is coal.
Laundry is done by hand and hung in the hot African sun to dry.
Chickens are truly free range and goats are tethered so that they don't eat up every piece of vegetation or relieve themselves too close to the well.
There are no latrines.
At night there are more stars than the human eye can comprehend and the only lights you see are the little flashlights as people walk by and lightening flashing in the distance.
The spiders are big, but my shoe is bigger.
You are grateful for the bats that glide under the porch rafters because you know that means a few less mosquitos.
There are a plethora of misconceptions about health and wellness and disease.
Death is common place.
There are some really cool lizards.
Even in the middle of Africa you can dance your troubles away a couple of nights a week at Mokanji's Old Skol Nite Klub (thanks to a generator).
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Josiah in Sierra Leone
Josiah had a blast in Mokanji. He made so many new friends that are looking forward to him coming back. He would literally play all day with occasional breaks, coming back up on the porch saying that he just wanted to rest and he was 'tired of playing'. 'Tired of playing!!!' I don' think I have ever heard such words come out of my child's mouth before! I love how play transcends language and that to truly play you don't need all these expensive gadgets and gizmos. The majority of the time Josiah and his friends just ran around and played with sticks and the occasional ball.
It was so funny, when we would look through these pictures or show other people, Josiah would point and say 'That's me in the blue shirt' or 'That's me in the red shirt'. REALLY?!?!
Just like here in the States, Josiah loves to hang out with the 'big kids'. One of his new friends was Junior, a general laborer helping with the construction of the houses. At one point, they decided to change names so now Josiah is referred to as the 'white Junior' and Junior is known as the 'black Josiah'. I loved watching Josiah (or the 'white Junior') just completely integrate himself into the village. He played and danced with the kids, hung out with the big guys, and even helped Mommy do some dressing changes on some wounds.
It almost seems like he grew in stature and maturity overnight while we were there. Josiah makes friends so easily and is completely uninhibited when it comes to going up to people, especially kids, and introducing himself and starting a conversation. Here he is with Alfred, his self-pronounced best friend in Freetown who he knew all of 10 minutes before we left for the airport. 
And he played with the African car that 14 year old Francis made him for his birthday. It is assembled from two sardine cans, two sets of wheels and a strip of fabric to pull it around with. Josiah would find roly polys and pull them around in his car. Not exactly the safest toy, so because of the tetanus hazard and not wanting his sisters to get cut on it or break it, we opted to leave it in Mokanji.
Josiah was so exhausted from all his fun at Mokanji that he could barely stay awake in the airport and he basically slept while I walked him out to the plane, up the steps, to the bathroom to change and into his seat. This is how he spent the entire plane trip to London. He woke up about an hour before landing, just enough time to go to the bathroom and have breakfast before our next layover and last flight.Josiah would say often during our trip that he missed Daddy and Sofia (Lydia only a little bit) and was glad to see them. He is looking forward to going back to Mokanji to play with all his new friends.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Medical situation in Sierra Leone
Currently there are two nurses who work at the government run Community Health Clinic in Mokanji. They use one of the old hospital buildings for their clinic. I was able to talk with them for a few minutes to see what they are able to do for the people of the Mokanji region. One morning a week they have a prenatal clinic where they use a Pinard horn, not a doppler like we are used to using to hear the baby's heartbeat. 
The nurses also take the woman's blood pressure, weight and give tetanus shots (when they have them). They don't have any urine test strips to check for protein or glucose or any medications to give for any problems or issues and have run out of the government supplied prenatal records to record the mother's information.
They have a few antibiotics that they have available to them when the goverment supplies actually get to them (not as often as they are supposed to).
The nurses also take the woman's blood pressure, weight and give tetanus shots (when they have them). They don't have any urine test strips to check for protein or glucose or any medications to give for any problems or issues and have run out of the government supplied prenatal records to record the mother's information.On Friday mornings the nurses hold an 'under 5 clinic' for children under 5 years old. They weigh children and measure mid-upper arm circumference to help determine nutritional status. It takes a month for a child to be able to receive Plumpy Nut (a nutritionally dense ready-to-use-food). However some of these children cannot wait a month. I saw one girl who was 13 months old and only weighed 13 pounds! I think that she has developmental issues because she would push out the mashed up banana with her tongue that we tried to feed her and would choke on the Plumpy Nut.
They have a few antibiotics that they have available to them when the goverment supplies actually get to them (not as often as they are supposed to).I saw so many things that can be done to improve the quality of life and decrease the incidence and severity of illness with simple teaching and basic medications and supplies.
Sierra Leone Diary 2nd installment
Thursday & Friday September 22 & 23
After finally falling asleep, Josiah and I slept through our alarm and had to rush to get dressed and grab a few bananas and biscuits from the hotel breakfast area so that we could leave and get to the ferry on time.
Side note about Freetown geography - If you look at a map of Freetown you will see that it is situated on the coast of the Atlantic ocean as an offshoot of land, the middle of which is a hill. The airport is on another offshoot of land and therefore the quickest and best way to get from the airport to Freetown proper is either by water or air. Now a helicopter ride would be pretty cool, but expensive, so instead we spent about $2 US to ride in the first class section on the ferry for the 45 minute ride to the main section of Freetown.
We met up with Charles and Petra (They are the Canadian couple who have been there since the beginning of the year. Charles is managing all the construction of the houses and hospital) who were gathering construction supplies in Freetown and loaded our suitcases into the back of the pickup truck. It is a 6-7 hour drive to Mokanji; the first 2/3 of the driving is adequately maintained paved roads, but then we turned and the road turned into a packed dirt road riddled with road engulfing, waterfilled pot holes!
We arrived in Mokanji in time to unload the truck and get back in for an hour drive to a local mining camp for dinner. Mokanji is situated about one hour away from Sierra Rutile Mine. An interesting fact about the mine is that the only reason that they were able to survive the war without major damage is because they hired mercinary soldiers to protect the mine property. In fact, some of those soldiers are still on staff with the mine as security! The mine is a nice escape to get a good meal and some uninterrupted time. Since our houses in Mokanji are literally steps from the community well, there are often visitors and requests for help that come throughout the day. After such a long day Josiah and I slept well.
After a good night sleep, Josiah barely wanted to stay on the porch long enough to eat breakfast before going out to play. The kids (and everybody else) thought him quite the novelty. Because of the mine (they employ quite a few Caucasian Europeans and Africans) and short-term mission teams they have seen Caucasian adults before, but most have never seen a little Caucasian boy. Josiah had such a great time playing with all the kids. I love how play is universal and language barriers do not inhibit friendships with children.
After finally falling asleep, Josiah and I slept through our alarm and had to rush to get dressed and grab a few bananas and biscuits from the hotel breakfast area so that we could leave and get to the ferry on time.
Side note about Freetown geography - If you look at a map of Freetown you will see that it is situated on the coast of the Atlantic ocean as an offshoot of land, the middle of which is a hill. The airport is on another offshoot of land and therefore the quickest and best way to get from the airport to Freetown proper is either by water or air. Now a helicopter ride would be pretty cool, but expensive, so instead we spent about $2 US to ride in the first class section on the ferry for the 45 minute ride to the main section of Freetown.
We met up with Charles and Petra (They are the Canadian couple who have been there since the beginning of the year. Charles is managing all the construction of the houses and hospital) who were gathering construction supplies in Freetown and loaded our suitcases into the back of the pickup truck. It is a 6-7 hour drive to Mokanji; the first 2/3 of the driving is adequately maintained paved roads, but then we turned and the road turned into a packed dirt road riddled with road engulfing, waterfilled pot holes!
We arrived in Mokanji in time to unload the truck and get back in for an hour drive to a local mining camp for dinner. Mokanji is situated about one hour away from Sierra Rutile Mine. An interesting fact about the mine is that the only reason that they were able to survive the war without major damage is because they hired mercinary soldiers to protect the mine property. In fact, some of those soldiers are still on staff with the mine as security! The mine is a nice escape to get a good meal and some uninterrupted time. Since our houses in Mokanji are literally steps from the community well, there are often visitors and requests for help that come throughout the day. After such a long day Josiah and I slept well.
After a good night sleep, Josiah barely wanted to stay on the porch long enough to eat breakfast before going out to play. The kids (and everybody else) thought him quite the novelty. Because of the mine (they employ quite a few Caucasian Europeans and Africans) and short-term mission teams they have seen Caucasian adults before, but most have never seen a little Caucasian boy. Josiah had such a great time playing with all the kids. I love how play is universal and language barriers do not inhibit friendships with children.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Sierra Leone Diary 1st installment
Tuesday and Wednesday, September 20th and 21st
Josiah and I arrived at the airport with a mix of emotions. While we were excited to be leaving for Sierra Leone, I wish that it were all of us going and not just Josiah and I. Josiah was happy that he was able to get a window seat on the plane (it was what he talked about for the two weeks prior to the trip) and we gave lots of hugs and kisses to Jeneson, Lydia, and Sofia before heading toward security.
Let me just say now that travelling with a 5 year old by yourself is a breeze compared to travelling as a family of 5 with 3 small children! We sauntered through security and wandered around our terminal while waiting for boarding. The Virgin Atlantic flight to London was a breeze. Josiah and I watched a movie, ate our dinner then Josiah changed into his pjs so that he could sleep the rest of the flight.
We arrived at Heathrow International Airport in London for our loooong 6 hour layover (about twice as long as I like my layovers to be). Josiah had the most unusual birthday experience of celebrating his 5th birthday in the London airport, flying in airplanes and landing in Freetown. Josiah donned his birthday hat, I pinned his birthday ribbon to his shirt and we stretched our legs walking around terminal one. After a waffle and fruit smoothie breakfast, we colored a bit, played with the toys in one of the stores, played the card game War and went in search for lunch. Josiah chose a birthday lunch of a chocolate chip muffin with milk, topped off by 3 scoops of chocolate ice cream. (I DO let my kids indulge every once in a while!).
I was surprised on the flight down to Freetown how many Caucasian faces I saw on the plane. I suspect that many of them were miners returning to work in one of the numerous mines in Sierra Leone. I was a bit worried toward the end of the flight. Since we were travelling internationally we were required to fill out an immigration card for the government of Sierra Lone, stuff that I have done many times before. However, this time I had an anxiety provoking revelation that I did not have all the information required by the form. I knew that Rev. Joseph would be picking me up at the airport; I knew that I would be staying out in Mokanji with Charles and Petra, but I did not have any way to contact them! There there we stood in the line for the immigration booth, a very pale woman with her 5 year old son. Suddenly a face peaks out from around the other side of the booth asking me if I am Sandra and handing me a cell phone! It was Joseph!! He was calling me from the waiting area to let me know that he was there to pick me up and that the man who handed me the phone was a 'brother' there to help us with our bags.
We collected our baggage with no difficulty and prepared to leave the airport in the middle of our first African thunderstorm. We drove 10 minutes to a small hotel near the airport to spend the night. While it was not a Holiday Inn, it was clean, had electricity, and running water. After a much needed shower Josiah and I went to bed.
More to come in the days to come chronicling our trip to Sierra Leone.
Josiah and I arrived at the airport with a mix of emotions. While we were excited to be leaving for Sierra Leone, I wish that it were all of us going and not just Josiah and I. Josiah was happy that he was able to get a window seat on the plane (it was what he talked about for the two weeks prior to the trip) and we gave lots of hugs and kisses to Jeneson, Lydia, and Sofia before heading toward security.
Let me just say now that travelling with a 5 year old by yourself is a breeze compared to travelling as a family of 5 with 3 small children! We sauntered through security and wandered around our terminal while waiting for boarding. The Virgin Atlantic flight to London was a breeze. Josiah and I watched a movie, ate our dinner then Josiah changed into his pjs so that he could sleep the rest of the flight.
We arrived at Heathrow International Airport in London for our loooong 6 hour layover (about twice as long as I like my layovers to be). Josiah had the most unusual birthday experience of celebrating his 5th birthday in the London airport, flying in airplanes and landing in Freetown. Josiah donned his birthday hat, I pinned his birthday ribbon to his shirt and we stretched our legs walking around terminal one. After a waffle and fruit smoothie breakfast, we colored a bit, played with the toys in one of the stores, played the card game War and went in search for lunch. Josiah chose a birthday lunch of a chocolate chip muffin with milk, topped off by 3 scoops of chocolate ice cream. (I DO let my kids indulge every once in a while!).
I was surprised on the flight down to Freetown how many Caucasian faces I saw on the plane. I suspect that many of them were miners returning to work in one of the numerous mines in Sierra Leone. I was a bit worried toward the end of the flight. Since we were travelling internationally we were required to fill out an immigration card for the government of Sierra Lone, stuff that I have done many times before. However, this time I had an anxiety provoking revelation that I did not have all the information required by the form. I knew that Rev. Joseph would be picking me up at the airport; I knew that I would be staying out in Mokanji with Charles and Petra, but I did not have any way to contact them! There there we stood in the line for the immigration booth, a very pale woman with her 5 year old son. Suddenly a face peaks out from around the other side of the booth asking me if I am Sandra and handing me a cell phone! It was Joseph!! He was calling me from the waiting area to let me know that he was there to pick me up and that the man who handed me the phone was a 'brother' there to help us with our bags.
We collected our baggage with no difficulty and prepared to leave the airport in the middle of our first African thunderstorm. We drove 10 minutes to a small hotel near the airport to spend the night. While it was not a Holiday Inn, it was clean, had electricity, and running water. After a much needed shower Josiah and I went to bed.
More to come in the days to come chronicling our trip to Sierra Leone.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Is God frustrated with me?
I was feeding Sofia the other day and had an epiphany. Sofia is almost 7 months old now and is really not all that interested in starting solid foods. My other kids didn't have this issue. Right now when I try to feed her she blows bubbles and the spoonful of cereal just oozes right back out of her mouth. It really is quite cute to watch her, but as the one feeding her can become frustrating.
Is that how God sometimes feels about me? Is he trying to grow me spiritually and closer to Him by giving me more 'solids'? Am I just blowing bubbles and not accepting what God is giving me? How frustrated He must feel when He is trying to work with me and teach me more about Him and bring me into a closer relationship with Him!
Is that how God sometimes feels about me? Is he trying to grow me spiritually and closer to Him by giving me more 'solids'? Am I just blowing bubbles and not accepting what God is giving me? How frustrated He must feel when He is trying to work with me and teach me more about Him and bring me into a closer relationship with Him!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Does God give us more than we can handle?
The simple answer to this is no. No, God does not give us more than we can handle. However, many times through our own free will, we make decisions that impact our lives negatively and we have to take responsibility for our decision. Other times, other people make decisions that impact us and we end up reaping the consequences of those decision. So what happens when our lives are not going as smoothly as we want it to? Simple, look to God.
God doesn't make bad circumstances come into our lives, but He does use them. He allows these things into our lives for one reason - to bring us back to or closer to Him. So what do we do? We pray to God that He reveal Himself to us, lead us and guide us in our decisions and help us to endure...
God doesn't make bad circumstances come into our lives, but He does use them. He allows these things into our lives for one reason - to bring us back to or closer to Him. So what do we do? We pray to God that He reveal Himself to us, lead us and guide us in our decisions and help us to endure...
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