“Tom, how do you feel about snakes?” It was an innocent question by our driver Massa, a wonderful man who is friendly and reliable. “I don’t like snakes, Massa.” An irrational fear that I share with my Mom (and I believe everybody else in my family.)
“Well Tom, in Sierra Leone, in the forests, we have lots of snakes, really big ones.”
Excellent.
Today I write this blog while in the community of Port Loko. About two hours north of Freetown, Port Loko is rich with resources. There are huge iron ore deposits here, which means mining is a major industry. I have brought Mark Thompson, a young journalist with Cotton Tree News.
Mark and I have been working together since I arrived at CTN. We’ve already completed one story together, a piece taking the government to task for poor conditions at one of the main prisons in Freetown.
Pademba Road Prison is well over capacity. A report from NGO Prison Watch Sierra Leone found that there were more than 1,200 prisoners housed there in October, well above the capacity of just below 400. For the story Mark interviewed Prison Watch, a former prisoner and the Public Relations Officer with the prison. The story turned out very well.
Here in Port Loko we are working on a story about youth unemployment. As I mentioned, this area is rich in natural resources, and there are a couple of major mining companies in the area. The only problem is the youth in the community are not properly trained to do the skilled jobs in the mines, electricians, plumbers, technicians and so on, so the mining companies bring in workers from other countries.
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Mark interviewed a young man who wants a job in the mines, and is willing to learn the tasks, he’s also spoken to a local NGO that echoed the concerns of the lack of proper training available in the community, and says this has created a big problem in the area.
The ironic thing about Port Loko is there are a number of post secondary schools here. We visited one school, which mainly trains teachers but is moving into other programs such as business administration and community health. The vice-principal there says they would like to offer more trades programs, but the cost is too prohibitive. They’ll need to bring in machinery and teaching materials and so on. They have written the government and mining companies for support, and hope to be able to launch those programs in the future.
While we’re here I’m also picking up a story to bring home to Canada about agriculture development in Sierra Leone. Right now the country must import staple crops such as rice because the farming industry here simply can’t meet demand. I met with a farmer here that is currently growing a crop of casava leaves. I grew up in Alberta, and live in Saskatchewan. When I think of farms I think of the bald prairie. Farms in Sierra Leone do not look like farms in Saskatchewan.
After weaving our car down what can be best described as a game trail through this thick, thick brush (I apologized to Massa afterwards, I sure hope we didn’t damage his car) we stopped, and were told that we needed to continue on foot through the forest.
“Er, don’t snakes live in the forest?!” I said with obvious concern in my voice, thinking back to the conversation with Massa earlier in the day. Mark Thompson simply laughed, “Don’t worry Tom, snakes are scared of humans and will run away.” Clearly he’s never watched Anaconda.
The hike through the forest with all my gear was not easy, the thick brush had a tendency to grab at the camera bag. I am pleased to report there was no spotting of a cobra or a python. The interview with the farmer went well. He says they need machinery, they need financial support. The goal of farmers in Sierra Leone is to not only feed their country, but to become exporters. They want to see an agriculture industry that can support the nation economically, one that will reduce poverty. When I come back to Canada I will have the story ready for you to see. (snake free thank goodness!)
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