Arrival in Kenema

Friday, November 21st

Early in the morning I took the Government Bus with my friend Emmanual Roberts to Kenema. We arrived at the Kenema center around 11:30. The workers there welcomed me with hugs and great joy. I had been director there from 1995 until 1999 when we had to withdraw from the country. It was sad to hear of the six workers who have died in the last nine years. Most were still very young and died from diseases like typhoid that could be treated so easily if only the medicine were available. But those still there were a sight for sore eyes. Later in the afternoon I met with Bishop Patrick Koroma who only recently returned from Rome where he attended the Synod on the Word. While there in Rome he had a medical crises and ended up in the Gemelli Hospital with heart problems. He is glad to be home, but still on the mend. We had a long chat about AFJN, the Restorative Justice project, the support that the US can offer for pastoral projects, and the challenge of self reliance for the Church in Sierra Leone.