West Africa Journal

MISSING SUITCASE ADVENTURE
~Kelsey Konrad~

Traveling to Sierra Leone, under the best of circumstances, never fails to be an adventure. But when something goes wrong (such as finding out that your luggage didn’t arrive), the adventure quickly turns into a headache!

Such was the case when I arrived in Sierra Leone earlier this month. After already experiencing several delays with my flights, I was not at all pleased to find that my suitcase was missing.

I was kindly informed by the airline officials that the suitcase would undoubtedly (meaning “maybe”) arrive on a later flight. They weren’t sure which flight, or even which day, but if I would fill out the missing baggage form, and deliver it to the airline office downtown, they would be sure to inform me when the suitcase arrived.

ALMOST A WEEK LATER. . .I received a call from the airline saying that my suitcase had finally arrived and that I should come for it. So I went to the airline office to pick it up. When I arrived, they “regretted to inform me” that they didn’t actually HAVE the suitcase.

I was confused.

They went on to explain that my suitcase was being held by the customs agents AT THE AIRPORT. . .and that I would have to go there personally and fetch it.

In order to understand the absurdness of this request, you have to know that a trip to the airport is quite the undertaking, which usually takes an ENTIRE day to achieve. Freetown is located on a peninsula, so there is a huge body of water to cross in order to get to the airport. Getting across the water always requires a great deal of consideration, since there are four options, with pros and cons to each.

1) The cheapest option is to take the people/car ferry. But there is really no way of knowing what time the ferry will leave, so it usually requires several hours of waiting. Plus, for a young “white girl” it’s not exactly safe, so this was out of the question for me.

2) Option number two would be to take the hovercraft. Very safe, a little pricy, departs on time and arrives at its destination with the fewest complications. Unfortunately it is most often under repairs and out of commission. . .which was the case last Friday.

3) The next option is to take the helicopter. This is actually the fastest way to get to the airport, it is very expensive, but it leaves on schedule and the trip is only 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the helicopters are not well maintained, and you never know when they might fall from the sky. With the risks involved and the fact that I couldn’t afford the huge expense, I didn’t even consider this option.

4) The last remaining option was to take a speedboat. The price is fairly reasonable, and so far I’ve only had the boat catch on fire once when using this service (which is actually very good odds).

I called a contact I have and asked if he would meet me at the airport to help me in dealing with the customs agents. He agreed. So I took a speedboat across the water, then took a shuttle bus from the docks to the airport. When I arrived at the airport I waited for my contact to arrive, but he never showed up. I tried calling him and texting him, but got no response.
By this time I had LOTS of people coming around and offering to help me (for a price), and I found myself in a rather uncomfortable situation. I prayed for wisdom, and tried calling my contact one last time. Still no answer, only a recorded messages suggesting that his phone must be switched off. A security guard came over then, and God showed me that I could trust this man, so I told him my dilemma.

He then took care of EVERYTHING! He tracked down my suitcase and managed to convince the customs officers that I didn’t have to pay the bribe price (which was the ONLY reason they were holding my bags). He then found me a safe place to wait out the next couple hours until the shuttle was ready to leave again.

I took the shuttle back to the boat dock, and arrived just in time to watch the speedboat pulling out — I had JUST missed it! The next boat would be coming in about 3-5 hours.
I was not at all pleased about the thought of being at the docks after dark, and found myself praying most earnestly that God would get me across SOON.

Well, there were two businessmen there who were also very anxious to get across, and really upset about missing the boat. The one man got so impatient that he finally went and hired a speedboat from a private owner. There was room for 3 passengers in the boat, and there were about 20+ people waiting for a ride across. To my relief, they offered me the remaining seat, at no extra expense.

Perfect! I made it across in good time, with plenty of daylight to spare. Of course, after all the trouble trying to get my suitcase, I did not let it out of my sight again.

Unfortunately there were a few items missing from the suitcase, but I was grateful for what did arrive, and have to admit that it was really nice to finally have some clothes to wear again. Kelsey

Filed under: Uncategorized on November 25th, 2009 | No Comments »

I filled the clothes dryer with towels and pushed the on button. The drum began to turn then, with a thump, it stopped moving. I shut it off and unplugged it. For half the year, in dry season, the clothes dry faster hanging outside on the clothesline. It was now the midst of the rains during which time it rains day and night and clothes and especially towels will mould before they dry. This is the only time we use the clothes dryer so I thought the belt that turns the drum was probably dried out and broke when I turned it on. I took the towels back out and decided I would take the dryer apart when I had time.

A couple of days later I scolded Brima, my housekeeper, for not taking out the garbage. I told him I could smell it all over the house. He was greatly offended and assured me that he had not slacked off in his duties. Then we both looked at each other and said the dryer! (me)’’’ that machine! (Brima)’

He helped me carry the clothes dryer outside so I could take it apart. Right away I noticed the air vent was plugged with plastic bags. I pulled them out, to discover the entire vent was blocked and as I pulled out papers and bags and even rags, the stench became so bad that I gagged.

Salma, our oldest girl, came by just then to see if she could help. She pulled on rubber gloves and we took turns reaching down into the air vent which was blocked solid. We also took turns gagging from the horrible smell. Finally she pulled out a handful of bits of paper and plastic that included 5 slimy, bloated, baby rats. We were relieved to find the source of the bad smell. Thinking we were done, I tried to spin the drum of the dryer but found it still wouldn’t move. I reached as far as I could into the vent and felt another shape. I tugged on it and saw the belt of the dryer try to move. I tugged harder and part of a very large rat came away in my hand. The partial body, along with the smell, succeeded in making me vomit. Brima took pity on me and said he would help while Salma moved a good distance away, trying to get a breath. I turned the drum back and forth while Brima tugged on the rat until we finally got the entire body out. It appeared that when I turned on the dryer, the mommy rat got caught in the mechanism that turns the drum. Unable to free herself, she died there, the babies probably dying shortly after from starvation.

The smell of dead animal was so overpowering that even bleach would not take the scent away so I decided to leave the dryer outside for a few days to air out. I then tried again to dry some clothes but as soon as the machine heated up, the stench became overpowering again with the clean clothes absorbing it.

I put an old sheet inside it and let it heat for awhile until the smell was gone (a couple hours). Kids that came up to the house said Mummy Judy, what is that awful smell? It is like dead rat! ‘ Ït is’, I told them,’ 6 of them!’ The kids looked at each other in bewilderment and then back at me and said, ‘But Mummy Judy, why are you drying rats??!”

Filed under: Uncategorized on November 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »

*SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR CHRISTMAS *

We have a container of donated goods sitting in England. There are new beds, mattresses, rat-proof storage containers, desks, stationery, clothing, shoes – and many more badly needed items. It needs to be shipped in December and will arrive in Sierra Leone early January.

Dove’s Village of  Hope for Children sits on the outskirts of a very poor village called Lokko Town.  There are more than 100 children in this village that Dove regularly helps with clothing, food, toys and other basic items.  This container will not only benefit the kids of Dove but also these poor community children.

Would you like to give all these kids a Christmas present by donating towards the shipping costs of this container? We have made it easy! No matter what currency you use, you can donate right here on our website – go to the donations page and follow the instructions. Please mark your donation for CONTAINER.

Filed under: Uncategorized on October 24th, 2009 | No Comments »

When people ask me what is so different about Sierra Leone from Canada, I find it a struggle to answer because there is nothing the same. From seasons, to people, to food to climate – where does one begin? However, this past month I was in a situation that I thought illustrated these differences perfectly. Come to the bank with me!

In Sierra Leone, when one is expecting a wire or money transfer from overseas, your receiving bank must be notified in advance. This is really important so you don’t mess up procedures within the bank. And before you ask, yes, we do have numbered accounts.

Last month, for instance, I forgot to phone the bank. I got a call quite early one morning from my banker person who fearfully asked me if I was expecting a wire transfer. I replied that I was and the banker person said ‘oh’’ and remained very quiet. I asked if the money had come and he said yes, some money came but they weren’t EXPECTING it. I received a mild scolding with the admonishment to PLEASE inform them ahead of time next time! Ok.

I told my banker person that I would like to come collect the funds because you don’t just walk in to the bank and expect to  deposit or withdraw money without prior arrangement. Yes, I mean that. I set up an appointment for that day, repeating everything 3 times so the banker would know I was serious about coming and hung up the phone. In a country where absolutely nothing is ever planned in advance – well, your banking MUST be. Ok.

I arrived at the bank at my appointed time and went to the desk of my banker friend. Of course his chair was empty and when I asked for him, his co workers couldn’t decide whether he had stayed home that day or had gone for an extended lunch. I was invited to ‘take a chair’. Oh dear, I knew what this meant. I had brought a water bottle with me but no book to read and no lunch. After a little more than an hour, my banker friend appeared, hand outstretched and welcomed me like a long lost auntie(with family money). He asked if I still wanted to withdraw my money and I assured him I did because by now I was in serious need of some lunch.

I was taken to a counter where he informed a woman that I wanted to withdraw funds. She was a large woman but certainly not jovial as is often the case. She threw her hands up in the air and spat out under her breath, but I don’t want to get her money. Because my stomach was rumbling, and because I had already waited a long time, I did not feel like affirming her as a wonderful person. I turned to my banker friend who was playing a game on his mobile phone. He asked me to wait a minute while he finished and I am NOT exaggerating. I told him that the woman did not want to wait on me and that I really wanted to get to my other errands if he could please get my money. While she sat in a huff (and I heard her say, how could I know the woman understood Krio), my banker friend called another man over and told him I wanted some money. The question then was – how much? I asked how much had come in for me and received disapproving glares from almost everyone within hearing distance. If the money was actually intended for me, how was it that I not know the amount because- no one told THEM the money was coming, after all. I asked for my balance which took another 10 minutes because the huffy lady’s computer was down(turned to solitaire) and the man at the next booth wasn’t around. They finally found him and my banker friend wrote it on a little piece of scrap paper and secretively showed it to me although by now everyone in the bank was waiting for service so they became involved in mine. At this time I remembered that in Canada, banks send out statements so I asked if I could possibly get one for the past couple months. They informed me that no, I could only have one from the beginning of the year to date. Ok. I didn’t even try to figure that one out because by now I had been in the bank for nearly two hours and I was so hungry I asked the Lord quietly if I could count this as a fasting day.

It took 3 more people to figure out how much I could take – because you MUST retain a minimum balance because why else would you have a bank account?? While all this was going on – and I am telling the absolute truth – I watched my banker friend roll up the little piece of paper with my balance on it and STICK IT IN HIS EAR while he talked with the others gathered around the computer screen. He then turned to me and said – now, what was your balance again? And he searched around for the paper. I very politely, with a straight face, pointed to the paper sticking in his ear. I was not going to touch it. He said, yes, yes, here we are, without blinking an eye. I signed 4 pieces of paper including a hand written letter to say I was taking my money and then began the long process of counting it since we deal with millions of leones and the highest denomination is 10,000 with 5,000 notes being the most common.

I filled my backpack and turned to go when I remembered I had not been given the up-to-date statement. My banker friend asked the printer lady for it (there is only ONE printer in the bank to ensure no fraudulent printing goes on) and she yelled, yes yelled, that she had already printed it and would NOT do it again. It was pretty quiet there in the bank for a few minutes and one of the tellers whispered to me that maybe I didn’t need the statement. I nearly slipped out right then but changed my mind and said, no, sorry, I really do need it. It took 3 of them to coax, cajole and finally bribe her to reprint the statement which I was pretty sure she hadn’t done originally. I got my statement, picked up my backpack full of loot and headed for the door, intent on breaking my fast after nearly 3 hours in the bank. As I went round the corner I heard my banker friend call after me – don’t forget to phone us next time you are expecting money please, so we can have it ready for you.

So, if you’re going to bank in Sierra Leone, forget your friendly teller, forget your banking machine and forget your online banking. You won’t find any of them here but do pack a lunch, take some drinking water, a book and plenty of patience.

Filed under: Sierra Leone on September 2nd, 2009 | No Comments »