TIA continued. The long journey.

June 4

We drove out to Kono today. We meant to leave around twelve, but instead we left around five. During the journey, we met a couple more important characters.

 

National Organization for WellBody: Okay, we didn't actually meet during the drive. But it's an important character nonetheless. NOW is the Sierra Leonean twin of GAF. It's administered by Dr. Barrie, and employs drivers, nurses, pharmacists, amputee liaisons,

 

Jalloh: Jalloh is a Peace and Conflict student from the first graduating class of the program at the University of Sierra Leone. He's not right out of high school, but since he is bashful about his age I'll be guarded here. In order to complete his degree he needs to do an internship, and since he is a neighbor of the Barries in Freetown, he is doing his internship with NOW this summer. He's very outgoing, tells lots of stories, and calls me "Christo!" with a great big smile on his face. I think we may be doing some education modules together next week. Otherwise he works at the clerk's desk. His true interests lie in anthropological-style investigation of the amputee population; in particular he is writing about the impact of school fees on the amputees and their dependents. School fees, you ask? Yep. This is a note from the future, but on June 8 we met a 45 year old man with 7 children. He pointed to 100 USD per year in school fees in five children, all while sitting on the porch of his two room concrete box with no electricity, no running water. And he pointed with his only hand. It's not hard to imagine what the effect of school fees might be on such a family. On the other hand, it's fair to point out that perhaps the fact that school is expensive filters out the families and children that would not take it seriously. It's hard to think of ways that we could measure which strategy will be better for Kono and Sierra Leone in the long run. It's very emotionally compelling to advocate for free education for all, and that's certainly my position; it comes from thinking about the problem from a perspective of margins of error. Given that we don't have data about the long term effects of the two systems, to which side would we rather err – giving education too easily, or too reticently?

 

Alimamy, aka Cuyba (Ky as in sky, ba as in bah humbug). The driver. He used to drive "poda poda", which are the crazy Volkswagon hippie vans that rocket around the country with passengers on both the in and outside. He drives NOW's 1994 Nissan SUV, and threads it through some impossible situations. Sometimes we'll be driving in the right hand lane, coming up on a slower moving van on the right. In the oncoming lane are two motorbikes and a car. It looks like a disaster, but Alimamy honks, zips out into the middle of the road, and the motorbikes get the heck out of the way. Everyone zooms by with centimeters to spare, and nobody bats an eye. The rules of the road in Sierra Leone are guidelines at very best. He loves to eat, and always lurks around Allan, the expat you will meet soon, during meals, because Allan can't always finish all his food.