SL 7: Bagbo 2

NOTE: From this point on, my blogs will be written Post-Sierra Leone… Since there is limited electricity in SL, I had to choose between charging our camera equipment or my computer… guess which one I picked :)

So about a half hour drive down the road (and I use the term road loosely) we stopped outside of a school and a clinic. Apparently it was just supposed to be a quick stop so the WV staff could show off the clinic they built… but as we got out of the car we were mobbed by a group of screaming children. “Padee… Padee mua!”… They yelled over and over again. (We were later told that means friend and Michael & Sam would holler it out any time he saw a child… which didn’t get old at all ;)

In any event, we were captivated by the children who were elated to simply touch us. All they wanted to do was hold our hands and pose for photos… and of course every time the flash went off they CHEEEEERED!

We finally got back on the road and by the time we got to our next village there was a large group waiting for us.

We met our sponsored child Abduli and his family… he loved the toys we gave him (a fake toy snake was a hit!)... but it was our interview with the other sponsored child, Lahi, and his family that had the greatest impact on us.

We eventually learned that Lahi’s father was a chief… and his story was heartbreaking. Lahi’s mother was probably in her early 20’s while his father (the chief) was at least in his 60’s. The chief eventually told us the heartbreaking story of how he ended up with such a young wife.

He was married before the war with 6 children… when the rebels attacked Bagbo, the family escaped to another village about 40 miles away. It was there the rebels killed his 6 children and burned his wife alive.

He narrowly escaped to another village… And then THAT village was attacked. He was able to escape again, this time saving Lahi’s mother & her brothers. Her family was so grateful that they offered their eldest daughter as his wife.

The two now live in Bagbo and have 5 children of their own… but the Chief is old and is concerned that none of his children are old enough to take care of the family if he dies.

He gave me a tour of their home and showed off their crop of peanuts. He also proudly pointed out the mosquito net over the kids bed… provided by World Vision.

Finally they invited us back to their porch where they had a feast for us. Rice with some kind of Chicken Stew… amazing! And to drink… they hacked off the top of a coconut and we had fresh coconut milk. It was messy but wonderful!
Then it was off the next ADP, Lugbu…