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February 27, 2008
an hour... or so i thought!
we traveled yesterday to a village 25 miles from kabala. i was planning an hour in my mind... i didn't expect that the roads would make the michigan forest service roads look like a cake walk: 25 miles took 3.5 hours! and we sat with the villagers - all the opinion leaders of the village, there were about 20 or so of them, one from each 6-7 homes - for a while, seeing their work from the previous day and that morning. they were taking part in a community development training. there were muslims and christians, imams and pastors, and tho there may have been conflict or friction between them before, this training creates a space for them to come to agreement and respect each other in the process. at the beginning of their time together, they outlined the norms they would function by. i'd like to share those with you. these are not trainer-imposed, but participant decided:
1. respect each others view
2. we should respect time
3. talk one after the other
4. listen to one another
5. talk or leave after permission
6. no smoking
7. no sleeping
8. no side talks
9. don't spit on the floor
10. no shouting on others
11. no fighting
12. don't laugh at others
13. use no abusive language
14. no side attraction
they were to outline their 6-month community plan after we left. i'm excited to hear what they plan...
after sitting with them for a while and sharing their food (especially loved the fresh bananas!), we turned around and made our way back to kabala. most travel on this road is done on foot or on motorcycle, so going by truck is difficult. many places have deep ruts from being washed out in the rainy season. we had just enough time for a short walk in town to stretch our legs and get blood moving before nightfall.
this morning i think we're staying at the office to discuss things and then tomorrow we're off back to freetown and the airport... another 7 hours in the car!
your host for this episode : carrie; February 27, 2008 04:06 AM
Comments
I hardly read this post--but seriously--are you staying under 40 hours?
from the peanut gallery of : lorraine "I'm not bitter" woodward ; March 2, 2008 02:04 AM