Why Sierra Leone?

A year ago I never would have imagined I'd be going to West Africa. But, in this case it was all about being in the right place at the right time. As a student with the School of International Studies, I have been afforded the opportunity to meet fascinating people who are doing amazing things to make our world a better place. Little did I know that the first classmate I met last August, Tina, would be the daughter of the Professor who invited me to teach at the youth camp in Sierra Leone.

In fact, by the time we met she had just returned from teaching at an orphanage in Sierra Leone. Skip ahead seven months. Tina's dad, Dr. Dicks, is a professor with the OSU College of Agriculture, and also the newly seated OSU Endowed Chair of International Trade and Development-with an office conveniently located at the School of International Studies-where I work. Dr. Dicks was a returned Peace Corps Volunteer with decades of extensive experience in Africa. He knows very well the challenges faced in that part of the world. He's seen well-intentioned organizations come and go to the continent, leaving less of a positive impact than expected. Anyhow, his vision of development in Africa involves long-term commitment based on human capacity-building. For this reason he has been working for the past three years with the Faculty of Njala University in Sierra Leone to build this five-year youth leadership program.

But why Sierra Leone? I'm still learning about this country, but from what I have learned this land was subject to a violent decade-long civil war lasting until 2002. Communities were torn apart, children were orphaned, many people were maimed and the country's spirit was generally broken. The war is over; now the country is rebuilding. Njala University was practically burned to the ground. Social safety nets we take for granted are nonexistent there. I am speaking particularly about programs and organizations to foster the country's future leaders, like Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H, National Honor Society, Key Club, etc.

Dr. Dicks enlightened me to the key to successful,lasting development in Sierra Leone-the people need to take ownership of the whole development process. That means they must develop a functional idea of what their country needs to create a productive foundation for agricultural, economic, educational, and public health development. Ok, so this sounds like a big task, but every journey starts with the first step, right?

Sierra Leone Information

Njala University (where we're teaching):
http://www.njalauniversity.net/

4-Him Ministries (sponsors the orphanage/children we're teaching at Njala)
www.4-him.net/html/sierra_leone.php

CIA World Factbook: Sierra Leone
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html

Sierra Leone general information on Wikipedia:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sl.html

Sierra Leone Civil War Information on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone_Civil_War

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What does it take to get to Sierra Leone?

First, you need a ticket. The trip to Sierra Leone takes about two days with stops in Houston, Heathrow (London),and Freetown. When we get there we'll likely take a long bus ride followed by a ferry ride. The combined flights total over 3,000 miles each way!

The Wes Watkins Matthew 25:40 Foundation generously awarded me a $1,000 scholarship. The other $1,578 was paid by what I'm affectionately calling my "OSU fairy godmother." I'm actually still trying to figure out who picked up the rest of the tab. Many thanks will be delivered once our secret donor is revealed.

So, once we had our airplane tickets secured, the next goal was to acquire a multiple-entry visa for Sierra Leone. This also requires a passport photo, a yellow card (international document showing you've received the yellow fever vaccine), proof of proper bank funds while in the country, miscellaneous paperwork, your original passport (kind of nerve-racking to let it go, even temporarily), and a nice big check to process everything.

In my quest to get the yellow fever vaccine I found that it is also recommended to get several other vaccines "just in case." So, on June 1st I took the plunge and got five immunizations in one day--yellow fever, typhoid, polio booster, measles booster, and the flu shot. The one cool thing about getting five shots in one day is that the lovely nurse labeled each band-aid with its respective vaccine.

Fortunately my Visiting Nurse's Association international travel nurse was fantastic and made the whole experience relatively painless. Now, maybe it was in my head, but I swear I felt strange for the next couple of days. In fact, I could have sworn I felt the yellow fever and polio medicine coursing through my viens to fingertips and toes after being injected. Then again, I do have a wild imagination.

Anyhow, our Sierra Leone contact recommended we also get malaria medication and a week's supply of antibiotics in case of any unexpected illness overseas. Thus started another quest. This posed to be a slight challenge because I've been uninsured since becoming a full-time grad student while working only part-time. But I was up for it.

My solution was to use the new OSU-Tulsa health clinic. The nurse who saw me has traveled to almost every country on the planet-she was quite impressive and had some useful recommendations for my trip. She also referred me to a discount pharmacy in Tulsa. So, after a few phone calls and a trip across town, I officially have all the shots and medications needed for this grand trip.

The trip seems even more real to me now, because I just sent off my visa paperwork today. How exciting!