December 2nd
In the morning, I have a meeting with the senior staff of Catholic Relief Services in Freetown. In the afternoon, I cross the ferry to the airport and leave Sierra Leone for the USA via Brussels. I should arrive at JFK on Wednesday the 3rd. If I have a chance, I will offer to you a summary of my meeting with CRS when I get back to the USA.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Final Full Day in Sierra Leone
Monday December 1
This is my last day here in Sierra Leone. In the morning, I was able to visit with one of my old teachers from Kabala who is now teaching here in Makeni. There was an interlude from 1992 to 2003 where he served in the Sierra Leone military. We were able to talk a bit about those years and his work. It was an interesting insight to the feelings of the army pre-coup of 1997, post war, and up to the present.
In the late morning I taped some reflections for Radio Maria programming - five minute notes that can be aired from time to time as special spots.
In the afternoon I was able to give input to my Xaverian Community which today begins a three-day assembly, an annual affair where they review their work, evaluate it, and propose priorities for the future. My contribution will be on our work at AFJN and in particular this Restorative Justice Project.
My hope is that the foundation of their outreach in this post war country will be related to our work in restorative justice. The more I go around and listen to what works on the ground, the more I see the leadership position of trust and mentorship which we have as pastors, administrators, and medical personnel.
After this meeting I travel to Freetown for the evening.
This is my last day here in Sierra Leone. In the morning, I was able to visit with one of my old teachers from Kabala who is now teaching here in Makeni. There was an interlude from 1992 to 2003 where he served in the Sierra Leone military. We were able to talk a bit about those years and his work. It was an interesting insight to the feelings of the army pre-coup of 1997, post war, and up to the present.
In the late morning I taped some reflections for Radio Maria programming - five minute notes that can be aired from time to time as special spots.
In the afternoon I was able to give input to my Xaverian Community which today begins a three-day assembly, an annual affair where they review their work, evaluate it, and propose priorities for the future. My contribution will be on our work at AFJN and in particular this Restorative Justice Project.
My hope is that the foundation of their outreach in this post war country will be related to our work in restorative justice. The more I go around and listen to what works on the ground, the more I see the leadership position of trust and mentorship which we have as pastors, administrators, and medical personnel.
After this meeting I travel to Freetown for the evening.
Visiting Kabala
Sunday November 30
In the early morning, Sr. Rosanne, Sr. Eleanor,and I traveled to Kabala, some 80 miles from Makeni to join the community there at prayer. Rosanne and I were part of the parish team 30 years ago and it was humbling to go there and see so many familiar faces and be hugged by so many friends. As we remembered them all well, they remembered us just as well and we really celebrated. Kabala town is coming back to life after being hit hard by the war. In 1995 there had been major attacks that destroyed much of the infrastructure of the town. Our parish house was destroyed and the sisters house was used as barracks for peace keepers. As we drove around town after Mass, there were many more signs of the war with houses yet to be restored than in any town that I have seen yet. But there are signs of hope… the hospital is up and running and better than ever. Government buildings are near completion and all three secondary schools in town are operational and filled to capacity. (The challenge is the quality of the teaching.) So there is life and hope. But the roads that stretch out to the villages beyond Kabala are in grave disrepair.
The present parish team of three Xaverians are doing very well and are really serving the people. Of course, with Sr. Rosanne and Sr. Eleanor present, the people pleaded for the return of the sisters…
In the early morning, Sr. Rosanne, Sr. Eleanor,and I traveled to Kabala, some 80 miles from Makeni to join the community there at prayer. Rosanne and I were part of the parish team 30 years ago and it was humbling to go there and see so many familiar faces and be hugged by so many friends. As we remembered them all well, they remembered us just as well and we really celebrated. Kabala town is coming back to life after being hit hard by the war. In 1995 there had been major attacks that destroyed much of the infrastructure of the town. Our parish house was destroyed and the sisters house was used as barracks for peace keepers. As we drove around town after Mass, there were many more signs of the war with houses yet to be restored than in any town that I have seen yet. But there are signs of hope… the hospital is up and running and better than ever. Government buildings are near completion and all three secondary schools in town are operational and filled to capacity. (The challenge is the quality of the teaching.) So there is life and hope. But the roads that stretch out to the villages beyond Kabala are in grave disrepair.
The present parish team of three Xaverians are doing very well and are really serving the people. Of course, with Sr. Rosanne and Sr. Eleanor present, the people pleaded for the return of the sisters…
Saturday, November 29th
In the morning I drove over to the Cathedral area of Makeni which is on the other side of the town from where our Xaverian Community Center is. At 10:00am I had an appointment with a young Canadian journalist who is here for some months, teaching at the Fatima Institute in the Communications Department as well as doing some free lance work. We chatted for a while about the challenge of reintegration of combatants and ordinary civilians as well as the challenge of linking Government with ordinary people and the lack of trust that hinders attempts to bridge these two realities. He found the perspectives helpful in understanding some of the barriers to a holistic reintegration of society post war. The challenges are many - challenges from the past as well as present.
I had been invited to lunch by one of the local priests, Fr. Daniel Samura. Daniel had been with me in Kabala 30 years ago as a young aspirant to the priesthood and he spent the first long vacation with Fr. Aniello Salicone and myself in that parish. It was great to be together after 30 years and to share the stories of those years. On my way back to the Center, I stopped in another parish to visit with Fr. Gabriel Koroma, one of the older local priests, having been ordained in 1980. Again, it was a warm and wonderful reunion, talking over fresh pineapple (which one only finds in Sierra Leone) about the stories of those years of war and woe.
At 4:00pm I met with representatives of the Diocesan Justice and Peace and Human Rights Commission. This initiative of Bishop Biguzzi and Fr. Joe Turay has the support of Caritas Italiana and is composed of a 5 person team that gathers information, monitors situations, and offers advocacy to those victimized by injustice in any way it can. There is a legal department to this commission outreach called Access to Justice which offers professional legal services to those in need. I spoke of Access the other day when I visited the Bikers Association, one of their service outreach constituencies. With their representatives, Mr. Paul Massaquoi and Albert, we reviewed some of the major issues that they are working on and I offered them some of my thoughts from the visit so far. There are some core issues that need to be addressed to avoid future conflicts in Sierra Leone.
On my way to the Sisters of Cluny for supper, I stopped at the home of Bishop Biguzzi. I had not had the chance to visit his home which had been destroyed and rebuilt after the war. He was glad to see me there, and we had a chance to have an in-depth conversation about some of my experiences for about an hour.
At long last I was able to met the Sisters of Cluny for supper. Their community has been in Sierra Leone since the time of their foundress, Sr Anne Marie Jahoway, who herself worked in Sierra Leone. Sr. Mary Sweeney, the manager of the Girls RC School as well as the School for the Hearing Impaired has been a friend of mine since my days in the Education Office. We opened the hearing impaired school together in the early 1980s. There is a Togolese Sister as well as two Sisters from India that are in the Makeni community now. Together, we enjoyed an evening of stories and laughter and friendship. I admire their willingness to continue to serve as they do in this challenging environment.
I had been invited to lunch by one of the local priests, Fr. Daniel Samura. Daniel had been with me in Kabala 30 years ago as a young aspirant to the priesthood and he spent the first long vacation with Fr. Aniello Salicone and myself in that parish. It was great to be together after 30 years and to share the stories of those years. On my way back to the Center, I stopped in another parish to visit with Fr. Gabriel Koroma, one of the older local priests, having been ordained in 1980. Again, it was a warm and wonderful reunion, talking over fresh pineapple (which one only finds in Sierra Leone) about the stories of those years of war and woe.
At 4:00pm I met with representatives of the Diocesan Justice and Peace and Human Rights Commission. This initiative of Bishop Biguzzi and Fr. Joe Turay has the support of Caritas Italiana and is composed of a 5 person team that gathers information, monitors situations, and offers advocacy to those victimized by injustice in any way it can. There is a legal department to this commission outreach called Access to Justice which offers professional legal services to those in need. I spoke of Access the other day when I visited the Bikers Association, one of their service outreach constituencies. With their representatives, Mr. Paul Massaquoi and Albert, we reviewed some of the major issues that they are working on and I offered them some of my thoughts from the visit so far. There are some core issues that need to be addressed to avoid future conflicts in Sierra Leone.
On my way to the Sisters of Cluny for supper, I stopped at the home of Bishop Biguzzi. I had not had the chance to visit his home which had been destroyed and rebuilt after the war. He was glad to see me there, and we had a chance to have an in-depth conversation about some of my experiences for about an hour.
At long last I was able to met the Sisters of Cluny for supper. Their community has been in Sierra Leone since the time of their foundress, Sr Anne Marie Jahoway, who herself worked in Sierra Leone. Sr. Mary Sweeney, the manager of the Girls RC School as well as the School for the Hearing Impaired has been a friend of mine since my days in the Education Office. We opened the hearing impaired school together in the early 1980s. There is a Togolese Sister as well as two Sisters from India that are in the Makeni community now. Together, we enjoyed an evening of stories and laughter and friendship. I admire their willingness to continue to serve as they do in this challenging environment.
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