Country Lodge Freetown

... June, not the ideal time to lay on the beach which was our entire plan. So we flew from Conakry to Lungi, the airport town then took a 30 minute taxi to a ferry that took an hour and half until we reached Freetown and got in another crowded cab for an hour and a half to reach our ***********le Bay. My first impressions of the city were that its a lot like Conakry: dirty, crowded, smelly, too much traffic, bad drivers yelling at each other. But they were yelling ...

... full well, that this was not only going to be a new experience for me, but for many Sierra Leoneans, this may be the first time that they've been exposed to so much white leg. to my surprise, there were a TON of runners out. if there would have been a Dunn Bros Coffee on the corner, i would have sworn i was running Lake Calhoun...well...kinda...ok, not really...but, there were a lot of runners. and, as i learned the hard way in India, but it still ...

... we had come to expect in SL. The hovercraft that had transferred us from the airport to Freetown upon arrival had caught fire mid-way between the airport and Freetown stranding a bunch of passengers at sea for a few hours until they were rescued by the army. As a result we had to transfer to the airport via helicopter. The helicopter was ex-Russian army, with no glass in some of the windows and we all sat on a bench down the sides of the chopper with the ...

... of what is euphemistically known   as a 7-seater in these parts, but which in fact, uncomfortably   accommodates 10 adults plus unlimited children.  What followed was an   exquisite 17-hour odyssey in the zen art of mind, body and bladder   control.  It was after 3am when we crawled into our guest house in   Labe.  And if we were feeling frazzled by the experience, we had   nothing but admiration for our driver who negotiated 17 hours ...

... offices are based there which means there is some added security. Payment in cash - US dollars only - and I believe I was given one of the 'good' rooms; basic but acceptable. Good wireless internet but not much else at the hotel - the outdoor restaurant somewhere where the mosquitoes get to eat before you do (never saw anyone else eat there!). Not much life in general and maybe the Family Kingdom Hotel/Guesthouse on Lumley Beach will be a better bet if there is ever a next time.

... iron. Most of the walls in the village house are built of mud and straw, only the wealthy can afford concrete. As we arrive in Moyamba to drop off Victoria, a HR Consultant (I told you it was difficult to escape work!) and Dale, who is working on an HIV/AIDS project it is our first sight of a Sierra Leonean town outside to the capital. Moyamba is very spread out and it takes us some time to find the house where Victoria and Dale will be staying ...

... the bone. When we discussed this with Janet, she was appreciative but fearful of any surgery done in SL for her daughter - fearful of this resulting in possible amputation of her arm due to a lack of expertise. She begged us to consider taking her to the US for more expert care. It would seem that the severity of her case may be beyond the capability of the medial system here. We will be bringing her x-rays back with us for consultation with orthopedic physicians in the ...

... and concluded with writing a formal letter of proposal to the department of Land Development to obtain 2-3 acres in west Freetown to build a new GGM mission building for future growth. We were encouraged to submit this proposal after our meeting with the Secretary of this department. Doors are opening everywhere!! We went to be around 1AM exhausted but relived at the tremendous progress. Stay tuned...JP

... disembarking the ferry and our drive through Freetown. They speak volumes to the abject poverty!! It's indescribable!! We stopped at our partner's headquarters, GGM-SL, to present the 10 amputee IT students with 3 laptops and various other electronics donated from generous people in the USA! They were overwhelmed and began singing to us. Please click on the attached video. Our day ended in the area once used as the Aberdeen Amputee ...

... mines. Ov** time the RUF gained control of most of the country, including Freetown. It wasn't till 1998 aft** a whole lot of coup attempts and one genuine election that a *****ian led West African peacekeeping force retook Freetown and gave it back to the previous elected gov**nment. The RUF regrouped and in 1999 retaliated by launching the infamous attack on Freetown called 'Op**ation No Living Thing'. This resulted in a massacre which killed 6000 people and mutilated ...