Author: cjillmoses

I met a man today that spent 6 months in the Pademba Road Prison in the mid 70’s – the very prison I visited just over a week ago. After visiting the prison I discovered that it plays a dark role in the history of this country. Last night I stayed at Rogbonko Village (http://www.rogbonkovillage.com/). On the way there, I learned from my guide that the village was the family home of Aminatta Forna, the Sierra Leone journalist and author that I have been reading. She helped get the primary school built there. Her cousin, Morlai Forna, helped research material for her book The Devil That Danced on the Water. He is school principal, manages the retreat, and is the man that spent time in Pademba Road Prison. Morlai was arrested because he had been living with Aminatta’s family when her father was arrested and accused of plotting to overthrow the government in 1975. Her father was one of 16 people executed at Pademba Road Prison.

I spent the last week in the northern part of the country and had a chance to see up close what life is like outside of the Freetown peninsula. The civil war of the 90’s feels like much more recent history. Everyone I met had stories of loss and hardship that were close to the surface. The driver lost his older brother, one guide his father, and the other guide lost both parents. He took me to the place where his mother was shot in front of him when he was 9 years old. His cousin was raped and shot then as well. His father, a soldier, had already died elsewhere in the fighting, so he just followed people for months hoping they would share their food.

The stories are almost unbearably painful but followed by tales of endurance and expressions of hope for the future. The guide that lost both his parents was passionate about the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation process in the path forward.

While staying at Rogbonko, I finished The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna. It’s a powerful book set in the time after the end of the civil war – I can’t recommend it enough.

I promise to write more about this past week and post pictures – there is so much to share.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit two hospitals. The first was the hospital in the men’s correctional facility and the second the pediatric referral hospital. I did not take photos inside either hospital but I wish I could download the sights from my brain to better share the experiences.

Before we could go to the correctional facility, we went to the correctional system headquarters to get a pass to visit. We were with some Ministry of Health staff. Our names were handwritten on a piece of paper and stamped. Actually it was 2 pieces of paper with a carbon copy sheet between. It was also logged into a big book. No signature or ID required. This all took awhile.

When we arrived at the correctional facility, we had to leave any money or phones in the car. Our pass was shown and names copied into another big logbook. We women were led off into a side room to get patted down – nothing worse that what can happen at the airport.

The facility currently holds just over 2000 men. Women are held at a different location. Most of the inmates are 18-25 years but there are older prisoners – one is 72. Those with more serious crimes are in a separate block. Picture lots of worn grey cement and lots of young men in tan scrub style clothes cut off into shorts and some with sleeveless tops.

We were there to visit the hospital – a ward with colorfully painted walls and 30 iron beds covered with tie-dyed sheets on the second floor of a worn grey cement building housing the outpatient department and lab. The most common admissions are for respiratory issues, malaria and anxiety. They provide supportive care like IV fluids and antibiotics but don’t have oxygen or really anything else. More serious cases are referred to the main referral hospital. Active TB patients are in their own ward. The outpatient sees around 120 patients per day for injuries, minor illness or pain. Inmates receive a health screening after sentencing. When supplies are available, they are screened for HIV. Although medication can often be in short supply, they receive HIV and TB medication through a special program so are able to treat these patients. They take care to maintain patient privacy for those with an HIV diagnosis.

The facility does not have running water but has cisterns located at each cell block. Hand washing stations are set up in the hospital ward and clinic and kitchens. Soap tends to disappear so is not left out. Supplies are limited. The lab is tiny but they are now testing for HIV, malaria, TB, and hepatitis B.

The Matron, the man in charge of the ward, showed me the kitchens when inmates assist with preparing enormous bubbling vats of food cooked over gas, wood and charcoal fires. I saw where they were chopping a huge mountain of potato leaves onto a sheet on the ground to add what was being cooked. We toured the area where the inmates are learning skills and making things to sell like metal doors, sandals, clothes, and furniture. Through this program inmates are able to earn some money to use once released.

Behind the hospital I could see the yard where many men played soccer and many others watched. They let a couple of cell blocks out for recreation at a time. The cell blocks were also behind the hospital and we did not go in them. Aside from the colorful hospital ward, there whole place is completely no frills. There were men everywhere amongst the grey cement buildings – some engaged in activity, but most sitting in what shade could be found waiting.

The next hospital I visited was the main pediatric hospital for the country – Ola During Children’s Hospital. I met the Matron there and visited several units. She told me the hospital has 206 beds but they often have over 300 patients admitted.

When beds are short as they almost always are, patients are doubled up with an infant and mother on each end of the bed. During Ebola they set up what they call the Resource Unit outside the main hospital. Patients are first screened and triaged. Patients with non-emergent issues are diverted to see CHO’s (similar to physician assistants) who examine, diagnose and prescribe medication while sitting at tables in the open – no privacy, no exam table.

Patients with more serious medical issues go to the Resource Unit where they are stabilized. It seemed more like an Emergency Room. Patients are supposed to stay there only for 2 hours but sometimes have to stay up to 24 hours if there is no room in the hospital. From Resource the patient is admitted to the ER, ICU, or some other unit depending on the severity and type of illness. I saw the ER and ICU. Like Resource, a lot was happening in a very small area. The ER was completely full with 2 patients per bed. The ICU where they take care of premature babies was full as well. I also visited the feeding unit for malnourished children.

All the patients that I saw were infants and toddlers. They take children up to 14 years but the vast majority of the patients are under 5 years. Healthcare for children under 5 years is now free. About 25% of the patients admitted to Ola During are ones referred from the district hospitals, the rest are from the Freetown area. I wish I’d had more time there. I keep thinking of other questions. I forgot to ask how many doctors there are working in the different units. They have X-ray and ultrasound, but not CT or MRI. Surgical patients are sent to the main hospital. There is minimal specialty care. The maternity hospital is next door. In the whole place, only the matron’s office had air conditioning.

Over the past month here, I have seen the surveillance data on reported diseases and read about the high child and maternal mortality rates. I have learned about the programs funded by international donors to detect and control communicable diseases. All that I have learned so far has only given me a general picture. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, seeing the circumstances under which care is provided to patients must be worth a million more. I appreciate the glimpse as sobering as it is.

On Sunday, I went with new friends to a different beach a bit further away. I live in Aberdeen, a suburb of Freetown (marked with the arrow on the left) and work a 10 minute drive away (marked by the arrow on the right) if there’s no traffic and only the usual motorbikes and taxis.

We went to Bureh Beach near the southern tip of the peninsula and marked on the map below. It takes over an hour to drive the less than 40 miles because we had to drive around the east side through Waterloo. The road on the west side is under construction from just before No.2 Beach.

Although it looks like Freetown just covers the northern tip of the peninsula, the two cameras on the map below the star of Freetown are the area where I have been hiking. Development and deforestation extends nearly half way down the west side and two thirds of the east.

We drove on a toll road built by the Chinese. Tolls all go to the Chinese for the next 20 years. I was happy to be in a spacious air conditioned SUV and not the little bus next to us.

Bureh is a lovely beach and different from No.2.

We had a typical beach lunch (and this is true) of lobster.

You should know that while I write I am listening to a choir singing downstairs. Earlier I could hear the African drumming from the usual Monday night practice session of the national dance group half a block away

On the way home, we had a bit of a delay a couple of times when part of the road was closed down for parades. Evidently this is a common Sunday afternoon activity. It was a festive finish to a lovely day.

Today I got to visit the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary and went on a hike with some new friends and a guide. It was definitely my kind of hike and I’m looking forward to exploring other trails. The sanctuary is located within the Western Area Peninsula National Park and is really just outside Freetown. It is an oasis of wildland increasingly surrounded by deforestation and rampant development. The guide was a former soldier turned environmental advocate and ambassador. The sanctuary cares for orphaned chimpanzees that cannot be returned to the wild but also has a more diverse conservation mission. Hunting or capturing chimpanzees is now illegal in Sierra Leone but the park rangers have to patrol to prevent illegal logging and hunting. The sanctuary conducts community education to promote conservation and discourage illegal logging and hunting of bushmeat.

Here are some photos from the hike.

This is the gbongbo tree above and it’s very cool seeds (the phone is in the picture for scale). I am thinking they’d make nice earring and necklace! The guide said they have to protect these trees from illegal loggers because they are prized for making boats.

Here is a termite mound with a tree growing out of it and some burrows of some type of large rat like creature – not sure what. The second picture shows where chimpanzees dug into the mound to find termites to eat and the their picture shows the guide demonstrating where the end of the tail of the python was that he found with its head in the mound trying to catch a rat to eat.

Here is another termite mound. This one is under a tree that I think is a locust. The second picture is the guide climbing the tree to pick the seed pods and last is what the inside of the pod looks like. We ate the inside of the pod. Really you just eat the yellow part and spit out the seeds. It’s slightly sweet. Note Phillip’s African print pants – pretty cool. Can’t wait to get some clothes made out of the gara cloth I bought.

This mushroom looks like the cross section of a tree.

Some flowers – it’s the end of the dry season so many plants are dried out.

A man-made lake with little water given the time of year – it is full and overflowing during the rainy season. Check out my awesome picture of a vulture flying over.

These are hard to see but they’re beehives. They are supposed to contain medicinal honey and these bees don’t sting.

Old chimpanzee nests in a tree.

You can see in this view what is happening to land outside the park – completely deforested.

Here are some things I collected on the hike – so many fascinating fruits and seed pods.

Protecting the environment is luxury that many people here cannot afford. Unfortunately, those that can afford it are some of the most destructive. The small conservation efforts like the sanctuary and park are well worth supporting. They assure that at least a limited area on the rapidly developing peninsula is preserved.

Last night, I made ground nut soup – a favorite Salone recipe. My co-worker, Nathlyn, helped me buy some of the ingredients and gave me detailed instructions, but I made it all by myself in my little kitchenette.

An early decision point in discussions about this dish was on what type of meat I wanted to include. Many local dishes are rice and sauce. The “sauce” is often named for the vegetable but always includes meat of various types. There are potatoes leaves, cassava leaves, okra, and more. All these dishes are sort of a stew. When I asked Nathlyn what kind of meat she usually uses and she said it could be anything — fish, chicken, pig meat, cow meat, cow feet, cow innards…

I said – how about chicken!

In addition to the meat, you need onions, tomato paste, thyme or rosemary, black pepper, salt, groundnut paste (peanut butter), and maggie. Maggie is MSG – a vital ingredient in all dishes. I almost forgot the pepper. In this case, its a type of hot pepper. You can also add bell pepper.

This little pepper certainly has some heat. My fingertips still burn from chopping one up last night.

The next step is to season and parboil the chicken. I salted and peppered 2 chicken legs (chicken leg here means the whole leg) that I cut apart into leg and thigh and then partially cooked it in some water. I sautéed 2 medium onions and the hot pepper in some olive oil. Nathlyn uses peanut oil but I suspect many use palm oil.

Once the onions were translucent, I added a generous tablespoon of tomato paste, a big pinch of thyme, half a cube of maggie and lots of black pepper, as well as a couple of cups of water. I used the water I had cooked the chicken in. I also added the chicken and simmered for 15 minutes until the chicken was completely cooked.

The last step is to add the groundnut paste. The groundnut paste tastes like (and I suspect is) plain ground peanuts without added salt or sugar. Per Nathlyn’s instructions, I used 3 tablespoons of groundnut paste mixed with hot water to thin it out. She had instructed me to simmer with the ground nut paste until I smelled the aroma. I simmered it for another 5 minutes. She told me this morning that if you don’t cook the groundnuts enough you’ll get the runs. I didn’t so must have done it right.

I ate it for dinner over rice. I don’t know what it supposed to taste like but it was delicious!

Last night I woke up around midnight because of a noise that sounded like a distant explosion. I realized it was thunder and opened my window to check out the rain.

I realize this picture doesn’t actually show you anything. You will just have to imagine the waterfall flowing off the back of the roof of the grocery store next door.

At work they say this is nothing compared to what’s coming.

Post for Sunday, March 31, delayed because of hotel WiFi issues:

On the hike today we had a little discussion about the heat as rested at the apex of the hike. Others in the group were exclaiming about how hot it was today. My point was that it has been hot every day. The universal response to comments about the heat is that March is the hottest month. Accuweather.com says the average for February, March and April all average a high of 91 degrees. The “coolest” it ever gets is mid-80’s.

Nonetheless, it was somewhat gratifying to have others complain about the heat because I never sweat so much in my life and that includes after the fourth round in a sweat lodge.

We hiked about the same route as last week but in attempting to the reach the border of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary we managed to hike higher and further than the previous week. This group hikes for exercise so aims to maximize the hill climbing. At the end of the hike, one of the other hikers said “I was surprised to see you. Most people come once and we never see them again.”

After leaving the embassy parking lot to start the hike, we go over a hill with a view across the valley of the area impacted by landslides in 2017 that killed over a thousand people.

Freetown has grown tremendously in recent years. Land development is not well regulated and there is a rush to claim land further and further up the hillsides by burning and starting to build. We passed many partially built houses on the way (like the one in the goat picture). These are not houses for the poor although some rent space in unfinished houses giving the owners some rent money and someone to keep an eye on things until they get around to finishing the house.

I have been consulting with my co-workers all week on what to get Tad for his birthday. Clothes were definitely the consensus. Clothes in traditional West African style can be bought ready made or fabric purchased and made by a tailor. Different countries and regions in Africa are known for different kinds of cloth and styles.

We discussed whether to buy cloth and have something made, what type of cloth, and what style of clothing., where to buy fabric, what tailor to use. To have something made, I needed measurements so searched of someone in the office close to Tad’s size. Osman was the closest. The next step was to buy fabric.

In the end, it was decided that I needed to go to Big Market. Nathlyn and I had already planned to go shopping for ingredients for groundnut soup so fabric shopping was added to the agenda. She’s going to teach me to make this popular Salone (Sierra Leone) dish.

This afternoon (we follow embassy hours so are off after 1pm on Friday), we went to Big Market to look for cloth. Big Market is all the way to the center of town near the State House and other government buildings.

On the way, we passed the famous Cotton Tree – a landmark in the founding of Freetown.

Amazingly, it is full of huge bats. Best not to linger under this tree for risk of bat poo on your head.

Also it is the most enormous tree.

Here is the Big Market – an indoor traditional craft market.

Inside are many stalls with lots of traditional crafts for sale. Downstairs they have jewelry, pottery, baskets, carved masks, etc. The fabric and clothes are upstairs. I went to Big Market last weekend with a couple of other visiting staff.  It’s stifling hot and the sellers are quite aggressive with foreigners. After leaving, I realized I hadn’t taken any pictures – it was so stressful. I did buy a few items including a couple of batik wall hangings of typical scenes. I skipped the elephants and giraffes since they don’t actually live in this part of Africa.

Today the experience at Big Market was completely different. Since I was with Nathlyn, we went directly to someone she knows. She knew how much money I had and roughly what I was looking for. She easily held off shop owners and did all the bargaining. I bought two pieces of gara cloth (batik or tie-dyed in Sierra Leone) and a shirt.

But the whole point of going to Big Market all the way in the center of town was to get something special for Tad. After having the shop owner’s son try on several shirts, I settled on one made of “country cloth” – material hand woven in Sierra Leone.

Happy 21st Tad!

Today, I met up with others in front of the embassy for the weekly hike. There used to be a much larger group meeting once or twice a week to hike or run around the city for exercise. In the group today, there were people different countries and organizations as well as Freetown locals.

Over the next 3 hours, we covered 8.6km and 116 floors according to my phone. I discovered that (1) I’m out of shape and (2) 86 degrees and a low 72% humidity feels really hot. I was definitely the weak link.

The route was down streets, up pathways between buildings, behind houses. We went down into a valley across a main road, through gardens and across a stream and then up and up past all the houses into wilder land. And then down and up (and down and up) to get back.

And here are some pictures of the local wildlife:

Yesterday I went to the US Embassy to meet the ambassador. Evidently this is standard procedure.

The embassy is located inland and up almost as high as you can go in Freetown. I took this picture as we approached. Cameras and picture taking is absolutely not allowed inside. The security is pretty intense.

The meeting with the ambassador was brief – less than 30 minutes – but long enough to have a nice little chat. She told me something I had not yet learned about Sierra Leone after I told her about the challenges of economic development on reservations where it is all federal trust land. She told me that outside Freetown the land is controlled by chiefs who have the power to tax, set the local laws, and allocate land within the geographic boundaries of the chieftancy.

Later I learned there are 190 chiefdoms. Chiefs are elected for life from the hereditary ruling family of the chiefdom. My driver told me that you could live anywhere – it didn’t matter what tribe you are – but you had to follow the rules of that chiefdom. There are 16 ethnic groups, or tribes, with different languages and culture. My driver told me that he can tell right away what tribe someone is by their name or they the way they talk.

The neighborhood around the embassy was filled with large houses. There were amazing views and my driver kindly stopped so I could take pictures.

Freetown is huge and growing rapidly. There is clearly wealth but also profound poverty. My driver said that outside of the cities people have very little.

Then we headed back down the hill.