Heading Home to Freetown

I came back to the UK to spend Christmas and New Year with my husband, then decided to also stay for our wedding anniversary which we celebrated this past weekend.....and now I'm preparing to go back to my home in Freetown. It has turned out to be the longest time I've been away from Sierra Leone in the last 8 years!!

 

Apart from my husband there are few things that I will miss about the UK. I enjoy the food when I'm in England, perhaps a bit too much as I've put on a lot of weight! I will miss tiger bread, grapes, roast dinners, ham and potatoes!!

 

I am very excited about going back to Sierra Leone and catching up with my families there. The Ebola situation seems to be very much improved since I was there at the end of last year although it will be a long time before the country recovers.

 

It's going to be a busy time for me from the moment I get back to Freetown. Some of the areas I'll be working on are:

 

Sponsorship

I have a lot of work to do  on the Education Sponsorship Programme, getting the students ready for when the schools reopen in March.

Way back in August we got uniforms made for most of the students before it was announced that the schools wouldn't be opening - I hope the kids haven't grown too much and that the uniforms still fit!!

We also purchased school bags and supplies for the students in August, so they are ready to be given out.

 

I need to get all the students enrolled in school, pay the fees and arrange extra lessons for our exam year students. I'm also hoping to meet with the Ministry of Education to find out their plans for helping the students to catch up on work they have missed.

 

Then there is the ongoing job of checking attendance and performance. Making sure our students are allowed time to study at home and identifying areas they need extra help with.

 

Rice

We are continuing to supply rice to families who are struggling to make ends meet and to the blind beggars. If anyone would like to help with this you can make a donation using the button at the top of this blog, or email me for further information. For £13 we can supply a family with a 25kg bag of rice.

 

Getting Ready for Volunteers

Over the next couple of months I will be getting the house ready to accommodate volunteers later in the year who will come to Sierra Leone to help with the work we are doing. I'm going to ask a local carpenter to make beds and furniture for the spare bedrooms.

 

Medical

Because a lot of people are unable to afford medical treatment they come to me when they are ill - I have a medical fund that supporters can donate to. The medical fund is used to provide emergency medical treatment to people who would otherwise be unable to avoid treatment.

As the Ebola situation improves basic medical care should become more accessible again and I look forward to working again with the Adventist Hospital at Waterloo.