| 15 May 2007 | ||
Mark Rafalat surrounded by members of his local “fan club”. |
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Sierra Leone, twelve years of vicious civil war, extreme poverty, corruption, very hot, humid climate, insects, malaria, etc., etc., may not sound like everyone’s ideal destination for a spring holiday. However, our International managers are made of tougher stuff (sometimes mixed a bit with unusual tastes) and so that was exactly the destination that Mark Rafalat, our man in the UK chose for his vacation. But there is a bit more background to it than just picking a random holiday in a war torn West African country. Mark was working as a volunteer on an agricultural project in Sierra Leone just before the war back in 1990. “It was a tough environment even then, compared to all the “basics” like running water and electricity that we take for granted in the West” explains Mark. “The country itself was beautiful, very green with some fantastic scenery, but what impressed me most were the people I met. They were extremely hospitable, quick to break into a warm smile and with a great resilience to hardship. Always optimistic. And most of the young people were really well educated, with a great hunger to learn more. It really seemed then that the country was making progress.” Then civil war spread from neighbouring Liberia with disastrous consequences. It was brutal and more than half the population were up rooted. Thousands died. For the last few years peace has been maintained, but the country is still suffering from the ravages of war, much of it had been looted and burned. “Earlier this year one of the friends I knew from my first trip and who now lives in the UK, said he was planning a trip home”, says Mark. “As I had been helping him on some of his charitable projects, I decided to go with him, to see how the country was coping and to see how the things we had been sending out were being utilised. Being there with my local friend, Daniel, made it much easier, he was able to arrange accommodation and transport and generally keep an eye out for me. We travelled from the rather chaotic capital inland to the town where he is from. There we organised an event for the local school, setting up an after school club for the younger children, where we were able to leave items which had been very kindly donated by family, friends, KMC and other companies. These included books, paper, pencils, crayons, calculators, computers. All very useful. When KMC found out about my trip they donated amongst other things, some old laptops, which had been decommissioned. These will be very useful, they are flexible, because they can run on batteries when the power is down and were already being put to a variety of uses whilst I was there, such as interactive games for the children, aministration for the school and teaching for the older students.” “We had invited about 20 kids from the town to this event, but were surprised to see about a hundred turn up, everyone form the local area wanted to see what was happening. We were welcomed by traditional drummers and served traditional food. It seemed that everyone had a great time. For me it is very fulfilling to be involved in a project run by Sierra Leonean’s, as they are working to help themselves. They were not looking for charity, but rather at ways they can help themselves. We know that whatever we obtain goes directly to the people who need it and the local population has a stake in what is being created. Quite often, what we throw away here, such as 3 year old computers considered out of date, can be put to good use.” Mark travelled further around the country, covering a lot of area in a short time. Everywhere there were signs of the aftermath of the civil war, ruined buildings, schools looted, lack of infrastructure, etc. “But what hadn’t changed was that everywhere the resilience of the people shone through, understandably they were still cautious, but ready with a smile and still so hospitable” states Mark. “However, we shouldn’t take away a negative impression of the country, indeed, I think we have a lot to learn from Sierra Leone. Firstly, their sense of family is very strong, members taking a great deal of care to look after each other. The local fruit is busting with taste, with food generally being local and fresh. Hospitality is wonderful, as a stranger I was quite often invited into people’s home. All in all many positive’s.” But, they do have a tough challenge ahead of them and that should not be underestimated, but there are signs of progress to be seen. Much emphasis is put on the youth and on developing the education system as that is seen as the most important starting point for a better future. A new dam has been built to provide electricity and the roads infrastructure is being improved. “It is hard for us in the West to understand how tough life can be here”, finishes Mark, “The country is so nice and the people so wonderful that they really deserve a better future.” Let's hope they achieve it. |
Everybody had a great time. |
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