PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY FIVE VILLAGE ONE

December 21, 2012

We will visit one village today on our way back to Freetown. The schedule calls for two but the other village is preparing a funeral for an elder who has just died.

Walking To The Casava Farm

The village is geographically divided by the main road. We cross the road and begin the long walk through the fields to the Peace Mothers Casava Farm. They are waiting for us with the usual dancing and singing of which I never tire.  There is a very lively clown amongst the dancers.

Peace Mother Chair

The Peace Mother Chair explains how they chose the land for the farm and then rented a tractor for ploughing. They faced and overcame the obstacle of the machine breaking down in the middle of the job and the owner of the machine pressing them to return it. As a result the field is not quite as large as planned, but they still have plenty of trees.

Peace Mothers With Casava Root. Note Casava Trees Behind

The casava is the root of the tree. When it is time for harvest the entire tree is broken off and the root dug out. This, too, is back breaking, labor intensive work. The clown helps to keep the people laughing and singing while they work. The whole tree is used. The leaves are consumed as a green in a sauce with rice or Fou Fou (fermented casava). Casava is also made into Goree, a tapioca like pudding with sugar added. Casava can be peeled, boiled and formed into balls. The balls are then eaten with spicy beans. I have had Fou Fou and the balls, but not Goree yet. It is a major staple and inexpensive.

"Sticks" To Use For Planting

The trunks (very thin with sections like a succulent) of the tree are called sticks. They take the sticks and break them into shorter pieces, bundle them up, place them in a cool place like by a river and cover them with straw. They stay this way until time for planting. The sticks are shoved into the ground, watered and tended until they make new trees.

This village also smokes fish, but the casava farm is a new venture and the result of the Fambul Tok process. This is their first harvest and they are very excited about  how well the trees are doing. Not to belabor the point, but Fambul Tok is loved and revered here as well.

The need in this village is to have a casava grater so they can preserve the root and not have to sell it all right away.

When I am walking to and from the farm I look out onto a vast African veld. I expect to see elephant, giraffe and antelope in the distance, but Salone does not have many animals. There are some elephants in a protected area that is very far away and difficult to get to. They also have a Chimp preserve which I visited when in Freetown last year during the trip up the African west coast.

We are fed yet again and then make our way back to Freetown. I am feeling so blessed to have had all the variety of experiences these past few days. I can’t think of any way the journey could have been better or more complete. The culture is varied yet the same in the different districts and I have come to know and love it all.

Fambul Tok is an amazing miraculous program that is truly healing the country one community at a time through the power of forgiveness.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara

PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY FOUR VILLAGE TWO

December 20, 2012

We are having different look at the Fambul Tok process as we visit this village. They just completed the bonfire and ancestor ceremony this past June. There are representatives from each section and both men and women are eager to speak about their experience so far.

Unhappy With The Men

First let me explain Fambul Tok’s policy. After the bonfire the people are encouraged to get together to come up with ideas on how they can work together to create new ways of earning money for the good of their communities. The willingness for self help is key to the Fambul Tok philosophy of sustainability and must be proven before providing tools to help. They are not willing to give hand outs.

The women begin to complain that the men aren’t doing anything leaving it all up to the women. Then one of the women says that they don’t have tools and you can’t cut a tree down with only a spoon. She was speaking metaphorically. Micheala listens to this for a while and then she intervenes. She asks what ideas they have for going forward? It appears they haven’t come up with any.

Micheala Giving Ideas

She then tells them about the section in Koinadugu where the women buy the men’s rice and store it to sell at a later date for more money. She also explains about the section in Bombali who started the revolving loan system. Two of the sections in Koinadugu have also started the revolving loan system as well as other businesses. She impresses upon them they must help themselves before Fambul Tok can offer any more help. Fambul Tok is happy to give support, but the section must show they can take the initiative to get started.

Both the men and the women are very excited about the revolving loan idea. One woman says she is ashamed they hadn’t thought of things like this themselves, but Micheala tells her not to feel ashamed just begin with small steps.

The Town Chief says it is most important for the Peace Mothers to start the revolving loan fund at once! He will be most upset if they do not, starting with his wife. He states he is anxious for the men to partner with the women and work together. Now they have a goal and when they have built up some money and started cooperative efforts they will invite Micheala back to see how well they are doing. She likes that and looks forward to visiting again.

It is very interesting for me to observe the difference between sections firmly established in the process and one that is starting to figure out how to apply the Fambul Tok principles after the bonfire. They are having growing pains, but are still excited about the result of the reconciliation bonfire and the unity and peace it brings. The testimony and love for Fambul Tok is the same here as everywhere.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara

PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY FOUR VILLAGE ONE

December 20, 2012

Today we begin with a village in a section where one Peace Mother has created the best idea of all. It is working so well that Micheala has given this idea to other districts and sections. Two of them we visited in Koinadugu have started their own funds.

Revolving Loan Creator

It works like this: The first time the Peace Mothers from all the villages in this section got together the Peace Mother Chair presented the idea that each village contributes 50,000 SLL($11.63) making a fund totaling 700,000 SLL($162.79) This will become the seed money for a revolving loan system. They chose a couple of the villages to start and loaned them money to begin a business. At the next monthly meeting they bring back the original loan plus interest from their profits. 

In addition various fines were established. There is a fine of 5,000 SLL for being late to the monthly meeting and for missing the meeting. Plus, if someone is going to miss the meeting they will send a motorbike to get her and then she is liable for the 5,000 SLL fine AND the 20,000 SLL cost of sending the bike! Between the loan interest and the fines the 700,000 SLL original amount has grown, in a little over a year, to 5,230,000 SLL!!!

Now each village has a thriving cooperative business. Some sell palm oil, some rice, some groundnuts, and one village has a variety of businesses. They sell at markets or as human mini-markets along the road.

This large fund is available to anyone in the section who has a medical emergency and can’t pay or is short on money for school fees, etc. When it is determined they can pay it back, the money is given to them for their emergency along with a payment schedule.

Treasurer & I Dancing Vigorously :-)

The treasurer of this fund is an older woman who is quite a character. She tells her story. During the war her husband is killed and she is raped. Even though the village does not shun her because of the rape, she is too ashamed to come out of her house or join in any of the village activities.

Telling Her Story

The Peace Mothers of her village decide to make her their project. They council her, encourage her and little by little she becomes part of the community once more. Now she dances and clowns around making us laugh. She is a very valuable contributor to her village and the section.

This section decided to have a competition between the nursing mothers, the middle aged women and the elder women. They were each given a parcel of land to work growing either rice or groundnuts. The elders won! But the harvest was so successful on all three parcels the town chief gave them two huge parcels of land to farm. He told us he will give them more land if they want it.

Guess what they need to be able to accept the land and grow more product. Yes, Storage!!!!

The testimony to Fambul Tok from the Town Chief is a familiar theme: thanks to Fambul Tok they are productive, peaceful and unified. They are working together, are proud of the women and love partnering with them. They are also saving money by paying no fees to the courts for disputes.

Before the war women everywhere were very marginalized. Beatings of women and children was a common occurrence. Since Fambul Tok the beatings have stopped and the women are empowered. The men and women are working together as partners in the home and on the farms.

We are fed a delicious lunch, given bananas and a joyful send off to singing and dancing.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara

PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY THREE VILLAGE TWO

December 19, 2012

This afternoon we begin visiting villages in the Bombali District. I have not visited in Bombali, but I do know the Fambul Tok District staff from their involvement in helping the staffs from Kono and Kailahun Districts with the peaceful election sensitization of all the Chiefdoms in those areas.

They meet us and lead us into the first village. As we enter the village it appears there may be a Secret Society ceremony going on - again! We are assured there is not and the people we see dressed up are going to perform a drama for us. This village knows we are going to visit.

Recording Radio Program

When we arrive the Peace Mother Chair is conducting the once a month Peace Mothers radio broadcast.  Fambul Tok funds two monthly broadcasts, one by the Peace Mothers and one by the communities. There is no electricity and no TV in any of the villages, but they do have battery operated radios and listen to the radio everyday for news. This is a great way to get the Fambul Tok message to areas where intervention has not yet taken place as well as to reinforce the process where it has.

This radio broadcast has been instrumental in bringing Ex-Combatants (Rebels) back to their villages to participate in the reconciliation and peace process. These reformed men who call themselves Peace Parents are some of the biggest Fambul Tok supporters in their respective villages.

The drama begins. It depicts the rebels entering the village with child soldiers and capturing men and women who are trying to run into the bush. One woman has a baby tied to her back and when the “rebel” tries to capture her the baby starts to cry and reach out for another man who is trying to help the mother. They have to stop the scene because the baby is too distraught. She thinks it is real!

Ancestor Ceremony

The next scene shows the rebels coming back to the village and performing the ancestor ceremony that follows the Fambul Tok reconciliation and power of forgiveness bonfire.  The play is well thought out and performed.

The Devil

Then I feel Micheala grab my leg in fear. I look over and here comes a fetish dressed as a devil. More secret society stuff. Soon it is plain it is not the REAL devil but a representation of the real thing. She tells me that the real devil can cast spells, cause pregnant women to miscarry and other sordid “stuff”.

I quite enjoy the dance of the devil who, at one point, dances over to me laying his long knife on the ground and bowing down for me to touch him on his shoulder. It was also a wish of mine to witness secret society dances and or ceremonies and I certainly have had that wish granted in spades!

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara

PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY THREE

VILLAGE ONE

December 19, 2012

After sharing and consuming the delicious papaya given to me yesterday for breakfast we set out for another day of visits.

On the Left Is My Dancing Padi

This is the last village in Koinadugu and one I have visited before so when I arrive one of the women rushes over hugs me and says my padi, my dancing padi and the dancing begins.

It is short lived, however, because the women are in their planning meeting for harvesting the Peace Mothers  Rice Farm and cross district fish trading. This section is the first one to do cross district trading. 

Planning Meeting

Fambul Tok gives them the seed money to get going. Once they have made back the amount of the loan, they are to pass that money on to another section to begin their own cross district activities. Fambul Tok gives the tools, ideas and encouragement to get the job started creating sustainability with nothing required in return for this help.

If trading can be done on this level it will bring vegetables, ground nuts and local rice to those who have mostly fish and fish to those who have mostly rice, ground nuts, vegetables and fruit. Fruit is a challenge to transport because of the extremely rough roads. When it arrives it is mush. Cartons would be the answer but add greatly to the cost which is not practical at such a low volume.

As we watch the meeting the woman is chosen who will go to the fishing district to buy the fish. The actual trading is not in place yet but is the next step once transportation can be paid for. At this time the Peace Mothers in the fishing section buy the fish from the fishermen, smoke the fish and sell it to their fellow Peace Mothers. The fish is then brought back and distributed to the villages in her section for them to sell.

They do not use any of the fish, but if they wish they can buy it from themselves. A wonderful example of another way to encourage unity across Sierra Leone and provide more options for making money.

Soon the meeting is over and all gather under the Peace tree to greet us and give an activity update and testimony to Fambul Tok. First the Kola Nut ceremony takes place; I am an old hat at it by now! A tray of bananas appears as their gift to us.

The testimony here is the same as the other villages. They love Fambul Tok and bless the day they came to their section to intervene and bring them together in peace and reconciliation. They no longer spend money to go to the Chiefs or courts to settle their disputes and this allows them to put that money towards education.

Working together has opened the door to many money making opportunities and they look forward to even more success in the future. The biggest need at the moment is - can you guess?- STORAGE! They are farmers of rice and groundnuts and need storage for the same reasons it is needed everywhere else in this district.

At one point I asked Micheala if a large storage unit could be built in a central point in the sections so all the villages could use it and reduce the cost to each. The answer is no because of transportation difficulties.

If storage units are built in each village, the village could then produce more, sell more and be able build clinics, schools, stores, provide transportation etc. Storage units would be built in a self help program where the zinc, cement and nails are provided while the village provides the wood, mud bricks and labor. The key for growth is storage. The cost for the basic supplies in a self help program ranges from $3,000 to $5,000 depending on the size of the unit needed.

Clowns

After the testimony dancing begins in earnest and out come the clowns. There is a man dressed in a Peace Mothers T-Shirt and a grass skirt. Two women are dressed as men. One has on a straw Panama-type hat with a shirt, vest and baggy pants. The other woman has on a Jalaba with a hat she has fashioned out of many things.

My padi comes to claim me in a dance with her and the clowns. Is it any wonder I love this country and the people in it?

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara  

PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY TWO VILLAGE TWO

December 18, 2012

A Bridge !!!!!!!

The second village of the day is located on the very top of the mountain so we slowly wend our way up the narrowing, very uneven dirt road full of holes and ruts. It is so remote I begin to wonder how the villagers found this site in the first place. Especially since they had to walk to reach it. The motorbike is a new addition to the transportation network here coming in after the war ten years ago.

As we climb the mountain the trees change and become more sparse. Vegetation is still in evidence as the elevation isn’t high enough for a desolate environment. I ask how high we will be on the top, but no one knows.

This village is called the Rice Basket of Koinadugu because it can produce three harvests a year instead of the usual two. The Peace Mothers of this village realized that they were selling the rice to the traders at the lowest price when rice was plentiful thus making very little profit.

Counting The Proceeds

They decided to buy the all rice at the low trader price from the men’s harvest (men and women each farm their own fields), sell only what they need to from their harvest and store it and all the purchased rice from the men. When the traders’ supply of rice is running low the traders buy the rice at a higher price thus greatly increasing the income of the women of this village. 

They have built a small storage bin, but are fast outgrowing it. They need a larger bin to handle the increasing amount of the harvests.

Secret Society Dancers

Three secret society women dance for us reenacting a dramatic ceremony that is part of their lives. These women are painted 1/2 in blue and 1/2 in white on their faces and torsos. Dots decorate the white portion.

The Town Chief spoke to us about his support of the women and what they do to improve the quality of life in the village. Behind every successful man is a strong woman. He said he is happy to have the women produce the money and take over the finances because if were up to the men, they would only buy another wife! Now the money is used for education for the girl children as well as the boys.

As the villagers speak to us about the wonders of Fambul Tok and what the peace process has produced they also keep saying they didn’t expect us and haven’t had time to prepare a meal. In the end they give us gifts of a live rooster and hen and a large bowl of raw rice. We all place our hands on the fowl and acknowledge the rice. Micheala tells the Peace Mother Chair how grateful we are to receive these gifts and to save the chickens and rice to cook for the next visit from Fambul Tok.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara 

PEACE MOTHERS JOURNEY DAY TWO VILLAGE ONE

December 18, 2012

Before I go on to tell about the next village I need to finish our visit in the village from yesterday.

After a comfortable night’s sleep I dress and walk out into the cool morning air. The villagers are already out and about even though it is just past dawn. They will be having the conclusion of the reconciliation process by conducting the ceremony to honor their ancestors. We are invited but our schedule does not allow the time.

Storage of Ground Nuts

Before we leave the women of the village wish to show us their store rooms of rice and ground nuts (like our peanuts). They are using rooms of houses for this purpose. They are fortunate here because the houses are large and made of stone giving them more room than most for the storage. Even so, if they had a proper storage building they could produce more and sell it at a higher price out of season. Rats, mice and bugs are a problem now.

Making Ground Nut Butter

A woman approaches us with a tray upon which rests two mugs. The mugs contain raw cows milk that is half way soured to yoghurt. We are to drink it. I figure nothing ventured nothing gained and take a sip. It is delicious and very rich. I drink it all knowing it will keep me full until lunch. This concoction is known as sour cream and is consumed each morning to give energy and to assuage hunger so they can work until lunch.

Village One:

As we approach the first village of today the team on the motorbikes leading the way come to a screeching halt. Drumming can be heard in the distance. After consulting with one of the villagers they wave us on to follow them into the village.

Pounding Rice

As we leave the car we see a crowd of women with long thick heavy rods pounding rice in wooden vessels shaped like tall jars called mortars and the rods are called pestles. We are told they are from different villages all over the section. Every Tuesday they get together to pound and chafe 5 very large bags of rice that they take to the market on Wednesdays to sell. The proceeds from this sale are used for education of all the children in the section.

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Here is yet another example of the empowerment of the women and the creativity caused by Fambul Tok’s healing process. The drums are beaten to make the work go faster and to establish the rhythm for the pounding. 

This district is known for its Secret Societies some of which still practice VooDoo or Black Magic. The reason our lead motorbike team stopped so suddenly was because when they heard the drums and saw the crowd of people, they thought a secret society ceremony was taking place. It is not allowed to witness these ceremonies unless you belong. I guess the consequences can be dire. Thus the reluctance to enter the village.

I try my hand at pounding the rice. On my first strike I almost turn the wooden “jar” over which causes many giggles to erupt. Soon I am in sync with the other woman at my jar and we are pounding the rice together in harmony. My stick is going up while hers is going down and vise verse. It is hard work but mesmerizing at the same time. There are two women at each jar and some jars have three.

Nursing Mother With Baby

A few of the women are putting some kind of lubricant on their hands to keep them from blistering. Here, too, the nursing mothers are working with the babies tied to their backs. Some of the infants are fast asleep in spite of the rather violent shaking the activity causes.

We saw Community Peace Farm just before entering the village. There is a sign stating it is a Community Peace Farm by Fambul Tok. Fambul Tok doesn’t work the farm, the men and women from all the villages of the section do that, but they want to give Fambul Tok the credit for healing the communities and giving them the idea to establish this farm. 

Even before the war the communities in a section never worked together. They never even visited each other’s villages and knew nothing about each other. Fambul Tok has healed the communities and taken them several steps farther by encouraging collective farming and empowerment of the women.

Sowie Daughters

The Dance

All of a sudden two young girls appear their necks and chests covered with what looks like white flour. They have sashes around their waists with metal pieces dangling from them. They have anklets of jangling metal also. Unsmiling they perform a ritualistic dance. They are daughters of the Sowie, a secret society of women, and always perform on rice pounding day. As they are dancing one of the village men hands them coins. It is customary to give them money for the dancing.

Kola Nuts

We are invited to gather around the Peace Tree and while the women continue to pound rice the Chiefs and elders of the various communities who are gathered here today welcome us. The Kola Nut ceremony is performed and bananas and oranges brought for us to eat.

One of the Town Chiefs speaks to us explaining the peace, unity and ideas brought to them by Fambul Tok. The message is the same as the other villages and my sense is it will be the message in all the ones we visit. They LOVE Fambul Tok and the results of reconciliation and the power of forgiveness. They want more ideas so they can get even more out of working together in peace and unity.

Some of the Peace Mothers take a break to speak to us about their successes. They also wish for more ideas to make them even more successful. They want to show us their store rooms and tell us they could be so much more productive if they had proper storage.

The rice and ground nuts must be sold soon after harvest or mice, rats and bugs ruin the harvested crop. Sound familiar? Here the houses are very small and the storage space even more limited than the last village. Groundnuts and rice in very large bags are stored in the rafters above their beds in an effort to keep the rats, etc. away.

Peeling The Orange

As an aside, it is interesting how oranges are presented, sold and eaten here. First they are peeled leaving most of the zest in place. Then a thin slice is taken from one end. You place the open end of the orange in your mouth and while squeezing the orange you suck the juice out. You keep squeezing it like a tube of toothpaste until all the juice is gone and the orange looks like a deflated balloon.

As we begin to go to the car we are told they have lunch for us. Since it is an insult to refuse food, we sit down to eat. As we eat I am presented with a large papaya and a kola nut pod. 

Once we are in the car we learn that we ate the lunch meant for the visiting chiefs! It was served to us at the head chief’s insistence. He is walking towards us and we wave him over thanking him profusely for his generosity.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma/Sara

Chafing The Rice

Picking Stones Out Of The Rice