Yes We Can, Sunday 3rd May

Day 3 in Kerouane. After flying private charter from Conakry International to the airstrip in Bayla, “Guinee Forestiere”, we boarded 'The Squirrel,' a six passenger heli flown by a seventeen year British Army vet. The chunk of metal flew from Bayla to the Kerouane helipad where we disembarked greeted by local farmers transporting their local collect of mangoes to the village. We also made a stop over at one of the drilling rigs where I got my first glimpse of the Tasmanian and Australian “foreurs.” The HQ in Kerouane is safety first all the way. It sort of appears as a slacked out version of what you would imagine a military compound would look like in Iraq. Four meter tall walls elevated a second time by a wired fence and an empty guard tower by the main gate with a few sitting areas spread out between the mess hall and the one-story high barracks. With all of the comforts of home, and after the quick journey from the helipad through the mud huts and straw roofs of Kerouane, it’s four stars.

Within twenty four hours everything becomes pretty obvious. There’s room for improvement. To start off the high school has no functioning library and lacks in teachers. The ones who work there sometimes decide not to show up at all. Not suprising when they are paid less than a dollar per hour. Since the town has no electricity, the hospital has none either. In his first community project, my brother had solar panels installed on the roof of the one-story building. Prior to that, doctors were operating at night, mostly for births and emergencies, under candle light. Children couldn’t study at night since they can’t all afford to buy candles, so bro installed a generator and lights that illuminate the high school two hours every evening. The school and hospital became the only places in town with public electricity. Like in Conakry, the children often roam the streets with nothing to do, nowhere to go, so a soccer stadium is being built on the edge of town, the basketball and volleyball courts got new nets and a patch job and we now have competing teams, tournaments, and daily activities that gather the entire youth of Kerouane. The construction of the stadium also provided labor and jobs for the local work force. The roads were in such bad shape that a local team was equipped and organized to flatten and enlarge them, as well as dig canals and trenches to prevent flooding from the upcoming rainy season. And they will continue improving the roads to connect each of the neighboring towns and to encourage trade and communication.

From my first encounters, it's obvious the people have the ability and motivation to improve their way of life. It will take leadership and initiative for projects to evolve. And our motivation is an important factor in jump starting the youth and local work force. So to make a difference here, the co. must act as a guide and driving force for the younger generations to seek change.