Sierra Leone

You are in your cabin preparing to go out. You take off your jewellery, watches and anything else of worth, you’re wearing long pants, a loose fit t-shirt and closed shoes and in your pockets you have small amount of money and your I.D. so that you can get past the port security. You’re now ready to go.
As you step onto the gangway you’re instantly hit by the heat and humidity and in response your body produces litres of sweat that drips down your body. When you reach the security gate the guards let you out and you’re surrounded by street kids that beg you for food, money or anything free. You gently begin to push your way through the kids and start to become uncomfortably aware of your surroundings. The road you’re walking down is more potholes than road, the small ramshackle houses that line the street are made of bits of wood, plastic, material and cardboard and there’s a putrid smell rising from a drain that’s full of rubbish, sewage, dead animals and other filth. Continuing to walk, the streets around you begin to get busier and busier and eventually get so crammed that you only have the space that you take up, or less. The street side is now lined with small booths that are full of flour, vegetables, material, salted fish, cheap Chinese merchandise, brand fakes and all of that again. You’re in the markets and it seems that everyone has a small business that sells exactly the same thing as the last person. As you push your way through the crowds you’re nearly run over by a poda poda (small minivan/taxi) that is squeezing it’s way through the people and are constantly hassled by people saying ‘Hey I’m your friend…..now that we’re friends what are you going to give me?’

Welcome to my experience of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone where the Logos Hope was berthed for the previous 2 weeks. You can pretty much say that the whole ships community, myself included, is in major culture shock. The poverty and need here in West Africa is shocking and humbling. The physical hunger is big but the spiritual hunger is so much bigger. Even though I can think of many negatives about our time in Sierra Leone the thing that stands out most is the beautiful, open, sincere hearts of the people there. Oh and did I mention that the kids are adorable?! I had the opportunity to be involved in an event, for my e-day, where we invited 17 street kids on board the ship and encouraged them to be the leaders in their spheres of influence and eventually in their country. We broke the ice by singing songs with them and then played some games with them that showed the importance of working together and taking leadership. One of my friends, Andy, shared about how you don’t have to be older or powerful to be a leader but you do need to step forward and take responsibility. After the event we gave the kids lunch and then took them down to the book fair, where each kids was allowed to choose two books to take home. It was really cool to see that even though we can’t do much for the 100’s of kids on the streets, we can make a difference by helping to raise up leaders from the next generation.