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