Goodbye to the North

I wrapped up the huge portion of my research and am extremely happy with how my experience has turned out. Still have a to-do list but it seems much more manageable. Going to try and complete six more interviews and then I will be done that aspect of my work. My colleagues have been more than keen to take part in this so I have been very fortunate.

Now for some updates….so much has happened but I haven’t had internet access!

Three teachers have been offered a scholarship to obtain their teaching certificate – Mahawa, Adama and Philip. They will all attend Northern Polytechnic in Makeni, with their first semester in October. They are all extremely grateful and have asked me to pass on a big thank you to my family and friends. Rosemarie is going to coordinate all administrative aspects in Sierra Leone as well as help the new students with orientation and paperwork. Rosemarie is really happy to take on this task and coordinate it for then next three years…if not more. At this point, she will be compensated for her hard work with another three year college program (Higher Teacher Certificate) that she will begin the following year. She is a keen student and inspiring teacher who wants to continue pursuing more certification. Thank you to Rosemarie. I hope that her help will allow us to expand the scholarship program over time. Thanks again to everyone for their generous contributions.

Finally I have been reunited with Baby Angie! No one could locate Angie and her mom until very recently which was very stressful. Due to many difficulties, they relocated to Freetown and I have had a few visits this week. Baby Angie is 2 now and is quite the little character. Let’s just say she has personality! She pranced around my room yesterday trying on all my shoes and spilled milk powder all over the place. She just gives you a cheeky grin and carries on with things. She carries the little bear I gave her on her back just the way mothers carry their babies – absolutely adorable.

Saying goodbyes has been a very emotional part of my trip and unfortunately I still have more farewells ahead of me this week. I was really touched by my African Ma’s family goodbye where I was treated to sauce and rice prepared at one of my sister’s restaurants. They also gave me a beautiful piece of garra, a cloth unique to Sierra Leone. It really was such a privilege to be welcomed into this family’s home. I will miss them so much. Spending time with the students at the school for the hearing impaired was also such an amazing experience and I will miss the staff and students very much, especially a few of the girls that I got to know during my stay. Of course saying goodbye to all of the schools and research participants was also very difficult. The images of speeches, songs and huge groups of children waving goodbye will certainly stay with me and keep me motivated as I go home to write my thesis. I loved my time up North and hope that I will be able to come back within a year or two.

This might be my last blog entry until I get home….only 10 more days. Hard to believe! I leave tomorrow to visit Isata and Francis in Bo and Moyamba. Can’t wait to see them!