Hello again,
Sorry it’s been a while. Busy, changing times. Hopeful of
having a proper break soon when I can report more. In the meantime, the update
from Salone is that rainy season is getting underway, with impressive
thunderstorms and torrential rain every other night. Finally some relief from
the relentless heat we had in April.
Babies continue to be born – more than ever. I have been
told May was bound to be a top month for births because the rain was almost
non-stop last August…..not much to do in waterlogged Freetown except reproduce
it seems!
Anyway, I am slowly but surely perfecting my Krio and also
getting to grips with local customs which can be very non-evident to outsiders
but add a bit of understanding to life here. Eg not allowing people into the
labour ward with the pregnant woman even if they are her family or friends –
because they may be devils taking on the appearance of those companions, and
then they will do juju (black magic) on the baby. Also relatives wanting to
wash the baby immediately when it is born (contrary to neonatal advice to avoid
cooling them) – but they think the birth matter will stick and give them a bad
smell for life! Next they want to tie threads onto the hair over the baby’s
fontanelle (soft part of the head) –
because they have realised it is an indicator of sickness (dehydration), it is
a charm to stop them being ill…….
Finally, I learned this week what they call the small brown
lentils we eat here. “Folic acid beans”. Is that because they are nutritious, I
asked? No – because they look like the folic acid vitamins that get given out
to pregnant women, apparently!
Well, I am probably just as strange, if not more so, to
Sierra Leoneans with all my European habits. Imagine not crunching up your
chicken bones to suck the marrow! Plenty “sharing” going on here.
I will be home soon for a visit so hope to catch up with as
many of you as possible then.
Bye for now,
Carolyn
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