My plan was to update everyone weekly so sorry for falling behind. Let me backtrack a bit.
This past weekend we had a ship's holiday on Friday so I spent the 3 days beach hopping around Freetown. Picture if you can the most beautiful beach you have ever been to...with warm white sand, clear blue water, big lush palm trees all over, and rolling green hills in the backgrouond. Now take away any people except you and a few fisherman and that is exactly what the beaches here are like. Like I said Sierra Leone is a very beautiful country.
The only drawback, particularly for someone like me who can't swim, are the riptides which can pull you out to sea. The waves could not be more different than the ones I am used to in NH. For one thing they are so warm that it reminded of being in a hot tub; unfortunately they are also so powerful that I don't even attempt to swim. Once I went in only to my waist and I got picked up by a rather small looking wave, swirled around in the water and slammed down onto the sand. New crew members coming to the ship get briefed on what to do if they get caught in a riptide. Sadly a few years ago 2 crewmembers were killed by riptides so it is definitely a safety concern. Hence my no swimming decision. Otherwise though, the beaches are awe-inspiring.
My favorite beach out of 3 I went to was called River Number 2. This beach was incredibly beautiful but it is the history of the place that inspires me. It is a completely community run beach. During the war the village banded together to survive. They buried their valuables in the sand and sent all the women and children out to Banana Island where the rebels could not swim out to them. After making it through the war together they noticed that their beach was a popular spot for foreigners and decided amongst themselves to make some beach chairs and tables and charge a small fee for using them. Next they got a generator. This started what has become an amazing story of what happens when people work together. Due to proceeds from the beach and wisely using them to benefit everyone the people there now have solar panels that provide electricity for the whole village, a well to give everyone access to water, an emergency health fund, a nursery school, a beach guesthouse (where we stayed), and a small craft market. We were blessed to meet the manager of the beach and hear more of the history from him. They even adopted a house of amputees* and integrated them into the community. Truly, it is an uplifting story to me. People can be very evil and destructive I know so it is good to be reminded of what people can also do to bring health and safety.
I will be sure to write sooner next time!
Isimbi Johanna
*There are many people with missing arms or legs in Sierra Leone. It was a common practice of the rebels , among many other senseless horrors, to cut of people's limbs simply because they could.
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