Scenes from Sierra Leone. Photo: Courtesy of Dorothy Crowther.
Visiting Rokel
Dorothy Crowther reports on a post-Ebola visit to Sierra Leone
Iwas hit by the humidity and heat. It was mid-June. Sweat was trickling down my face and my hair was wet. I noticed that the bag which contained my money, passport and visa had gone sticky and seemed to be melting. Once again, I was visiting Sierra Leone to view the progress of projects linked to the Quaker Peace Network West Africa (QPNWA), the Dorothy Peace Centre and Sidcot School Sierra Leone. The work is taking place in the deprived area of Rokel, which was notorious in the civil war for the number of atrocities committed there.
Abdul Kamara, a project leader, became a pacifist during the civil war. He was appalled by the loss of life and after finding some Quaker writing was attracted to the Peace Testimony.
‘I am a Quaker now. I am a pacifist. I will not fight,’ he told his friends and, because of this stance, his life was in constant danger. Eventually he escaped and was helped by Friends in Ghana to come to the UK. The first time I met him, in 2006, he said: ‘I have to help my people. I must repay what I have been given.’
A deep sadness
On this visit I was overwhelmed by a deep sadness. The Ebola epidemic was finished but there are reminders everywhere of the disease, which has left behind destruction as if it had been a plague. In Rokel there are around forty Ebola orphans. In another area called Devil Hole, not far from Rokel, there are around 300 Ebola orphans. The people of Devil Hole begged me to help them as well. I felt helpless in the face of such obvious need.
In 2014 Ebola swept through the John Thorpe community on the outskirts of Rokel. Two nurses had been trying to educate the population about how to avoid the disease. Their efforts appear to have been largely successful but in the John Thorpe community most of the adults died. They left behind them a group of forty children who were found wandering, hungry, lost and disorientated.
The small Quaker community realised that something had to be done to help. An orphanage and eventually a school were started. Initially, the school was held outside but later it was moved to the then-unused clinic building. Since the reopening of the clinic the school and clinic have shared a building. It is clear that both need a building to themselves, but for the moment this is all that is available.
The school and orphanage
It was a delight to visit the school and orphanage. Although the school buildings were nowhere near the standards of schools in the UK it did seem to be in better condition than some other schools in the area. There is a shortage of basic educational materials, like books and paper.
The children loved the presents I took for them (I brought crayons, pencils, notebooks, balloons, blow-up globes and solar-powered calculators). The children in the school seemed happy, although one little girl was crying because she had no uniform for my visit. Sidcot School, the Quaker school in Somerset, has sent the uniforms and many other items. Although Sidcot has collected enough items, including uniforms, to fill another container there is, currently, insufficient money for transportation.
The children appeared contented in the orphanage. Some have been reconnected with distant relatives and rehoused with them. However, there is a steady trickle of children who are asking to return to the orphanage because they felt happier and safer there. The nurse at our clinic, Farmarta, told me that many of the best doctors and nurses in the country had died of Ebola. The toll on the nursing profession in particular has been catastrophic.
Medical inadequacies and a lack of infrastructure are apparent everywhere and predate the epidemic. The locals may walk many miles to collect water. Even at the orphanage the staff collect water from a tap about 100 yards away. Electricity supplies are either non-existent or infrequent and erratic.
The Rokel clinic
It has long been the desire of the locals in Rokel to have their own clinic. People have no transport and the walk to the main road can be an arduous trek.
The path, even for a fit person, may not be passable in the rainy season. There are no ambulances and health care must be paid for. In 2012 the building of a clinic in Rokel was started by QPNWA. The building was just finished when the Ebola epidemic took hold. All small clinics were then closed by order of the Sierra Leone government. During my visit the clinic was reopened. There was one nurse, supported by two trainee nurses, one doctor and a lab technician. Since my visit the clinic has become busy and more staff will be needed.
The main diseases with which they have to contend are malaria, cholera, typhoid, TB, HIV infections and complications arising from pregnancy and childbirth. I hope they will also do preventive medicine and family planning.
There is a lack of basic facilities in the neighbourhood. The water supplies are non-existent. There are also no arrangements for sewerage collection and treatment, and no rubbish collections.
The main road has just been resurfaced and was in reasonable condition. The side roads, however, are of sand and mud and loose stones. The rainy season was starting and during a storm the road into Rokel was flooded and impassable. I had great admiration for the driver who managed to get through.
On both the Sundays I was there a group of people, including teachers and the headmaster from the school, met for silent worship at the Meeting house. The numbers were reduced because of the difficulties of getting through after a storm. I was lucky to get there. I was struck by the dedication of those worshipping and the depth of the silence. Apparently, they alternate between African-style programmed worship and silent worship. A pastor who attends Meeting told me how he found the silence deeply moving. He thanked me for bringing silent worship to the area. There were several children present and they all sat silently for the full hour. I congratulated them and promised to try to send material for a children’s class. Internet connections are difficult, but I will try to get something to them.
An educational institute has been started in the Meeting house building. Cookery is taught. They gave me the best meal I had during my visit. An IT group has also been started. They had a couple of laptops between them. It is planned to expand the subjects being taught to other areas, such as public health and arts and crafts.
I found that people were friendly and helpful at all times. The women dress beautifully. Their appearance gives them a sense of pride and in spite of poverty and the lack of basic facilities they always looked well groomed and clean. I would like to revisit next year. Whether I will manage to do so will depend on my own health and fitness.
