Back to main index

Back to David's main page

July 22, 2007

Back to Sahn in a Poda Poda

During our previous trip to Sahn, I was angry about our breakdown though changing the tire was fun in a way. This time round we had no easy trip though there were no breakdowns. In the park, we were first to the vehicle and took the opportunity to buy eight seats for seven of us. More people have joined GMin. Henry Kpaka, who I worked with during the Youth Conference; Gustav Gordon, a Danish colleague from high school; and Ishaka Mansaray, a senior from high school in Norway. The group has expanded as it has diversified further and this trip was expected to be great.

Our aim was to show the other GMin members, especially Gustav, how we went about the project and to indoctrinate the other members into the joyful life of our group. We bought about a thousand yards of ropes and lots of nails to help people fix their ITNs in the event they hadn't. Preempting the reasons they might give, we had decided to buy the ropes and the nails as well as screws. By the time the poda poda was fully loaded and ready for departure, we had spent nearly an hour seating in one position in a very hot poorly vented mini-bus. I sighed heavily- with relief- as I sunk my head into the back of the seat in front of me when the driver honked to signal our departure.

It was a relief not because the journey was going to be smooth and uneventful but rather, it was a relief because we had begun moving. The road is as horrible as it gets and with bags of rice under your seat and hence an elevated leg, every dance to the left is painful. As we swayed from one end to the other, I wished for the breakdown, as this will force us to stop and stretch our legs. Unfortunately, this did not happen and I had to emotionally sleep through the whole 4 hours journey.

We were greeted with salutes for Jacob the hero of Sahn and the new members of the team. It was raining again. Hoping for some sunshine we planned to play football. As the sun was nowhere to be found, we changed into shorts and ran to the pitch in the rain. It took only a couple of minutes before the pitch was crowded with youths ready to play with us and we were underway.

After the game, we were met by the youths for a deliberation. We had promised them a price for the football gala for malaria that we had organized. Jacob's team had lost the final 3-2. We were contemplating to either buy shirts for the football team of Sahn or to buy subscription to the local Satellite TV donated by the World Bank. Hoping for the former, we were told the youths wanted to subscription fee as this could raise income for the community once the new European football season began. At the end, we settled for some monetary award for the top 3 teams. More work for me, more shisha for the other folks.

We walked all across the homes and we were able to meet more and more people who have been using their nets. The appreciation was overwhelming and the use of the ITNs was encouraging. More and more people used their nets on a daily basis and for those who found it had to hang their nets, we also offered assistance. Feedback will be vital in this project and we have had many. We look forward to receiving more over the next couple of months and hopefully this community would have had as much impact on our lives as we have had on theirs.