During my first few days in Kerouane, I've quickly realized my brother built a great amount of confidence and energy amongst the people. Most of them know him by his first name. Hopefully with my help both in the community and at school, I can keep the motivation high even after he flies back to Conakry on Monday. So far the hospital has been operational around the clock, the soccer stadium is slowly but surely rising out of the red earth one brick at a time, the kids gather at the new basketball and volleyball courts every single day, music is playing through an old sound system set up by the local radio kids, and the town is still above water. We met with some of the community leaders and elders around town, and I realized that without continuous intervention and dialogue, some of the projects would simply be abandoned or ware off. Without any initiative or outside motivation, it seems like people will just go on with the way things are for the next hundred years unless we do something. If someone is here, constantly pushing them forward and teaching them to take responsibility and use their initiative to bring change to their community, great things can be done. Lots of the people here look up to my bro and are very proud of his motivation which has greatly influenced the youth and determination of the people. This is Africa, and people tend to talk allot yet it takes time for things to actually happen. I'm curious to see how the village and surrounding region will develop by the impact of our presence.
Driving around the village for the first time, you feel like an astronaut approaching an undiscovered planet. A place where people had just never seen anything like you before. The earth is the color of ‘ocre’ and reminds me of the cliffs that stretch across Provence in southern France. We fly by in white Toyota land cruisers that stand out like the white guys driving them. As I leaped out of the vehicle, I thought to myself “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Halfway across the world, from the beaches of California to the red sands of Kerouane, I realised that everything I did from then on could impact the community in a way that had never been done before.
When you look around, like in Conakry, it’s hard to believe people have been left in these conditions. How the world essentially forgot about them. Every government should be responsible in providing their people with at least the most basic human necessities: water, food, infrastructure and security. My brothers presence in itself has boosted the moral of the town and his concern for the people has helped motivate many others. But there is no electricity, no sanitation, no running water for every household and little security apart from the prefecture and its few officers who rarely leave their tea. Everything otherwise is similar to what you see on the BBC all across Africa, and the Middle East. I just recently finished a book by Donovan Campbell called Joker One that describes the people, colors, sounds and smells of Baghdad from a soldiers perspective. And apart from the fact that no one is trying to shoot us here; the loudspeaker at the Mosque every day, the sand, the base, that feeling between the ‘inside’ and ‘outside' of the compound, the people, the children, it's all very real.
Driving around the village for the first time, you feel like an astronaut approaching an undiscovered planet. A place where people had just never seen anything like you before. The earth is the color of ‘ocre’ and reminds me of the cliffs that stretch across Provence in southern France. We fly by in white Toyota land cruisers that stand out like the white guys driving them. As I leaped out of the vehicle, I thought to myself “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Halfway across the world, from the beaches of California to the red sands of Kerouane, I realised that everything I did from then on could impact the community in a way that had never been done before.
When you look around, like in Conakry, it’s hard to believe people have been left in these conditions. How the world essentially forgot about them. Every government should be responsible in providing their people with at least the most basic human necessities: water, food, infrastructure and security. My brothers presence in itself has boosted the moral of the town and his concern for the people has helped motivate many others. But there is no electricity, no sanitation, no running water for every household and little security apart from the prefecture and its few officers who rarely leave their tea. Everything otherwise is similar to what you see on the BBC all across Africa, and the Middle East. I just recently finished a book by Donovan Campbell called Joker One that describes the people, colors, sounds and smells of Baghdad from a soldiers perspective. And apart from the fact that no one is trying to shoot us here; the loudspeaker at the Mosque every day, the sand, the base, that feeling between the ‘inside’ and ‘outside' of the compound, the people, the children, it's all very real.
0 comments:
Post a Comment