Operation Classroom: Travels 2008

In 2004 the OC team led by Hope and Les Law traveled to Makeni to help paint the UMC Junior Secondary School. In 2005 a new classroom block consisting of six classrooms and a teacher workroom was begun. That project was completed in the summers of 2006 and 2007. Hope Law is pictured above in July of 2008 in front of the completed school addition. Now the UMC school is a senior secondary school.

Above left: The Yao Narcisse Traore family. Yao was a four year workshop participant and workshop leader. Yao and his wife named their new baby boy Les Law. Les [upper right] is one of the leaders of the Operation Classroom team from the Rocky Mountain Conference. Sometimes it is difficult to see progress but the new UMC Makeni Secondary School classroom block pictured below is tangible evidence of the cooperation between Operation Classroom and our Sierra Leone friends.


The Kola Nut

The young girl on the right was selling Kola nuts for 100 leones each. This is about 3¢. In West Africa the Kola nut is a symbol of peace, friendship and hospitality. The girl was from the village of Maya Forria. She was one of many people who greeted the OC team that traveled to Maya Forria. This village is about 6 miles from Kabala. The Kola nut is a stimulant, much like drinking a cola or a Mountain Dew in the US.


The 'Catch Up' Factor

The primary student from Maya Forria [left] is practicing her vocabulary on a slate. The American students [July, '08] above were taking lecture notes on laptop computers as

they sat on the river walk along the Thames river in London. The thought of when will the 'catch up' take place does not have an answer at this time. However the Sierra Leone students that the OC team came in contact with had a great desire to learn and worked very hard at progressing to a higher grade level.
The OC team would bring gifts to each of the places that they traveled to. The gifts were bags of rice. The 110 lb bags had doubled in price since the summer of 2007. Thus the food crunch was more evident this year. The government of Sierra Leone is working hard to emphasize agriculture in order to get away from their dependence on imported food.

The dancers and musicians pictured on the left were in the village of Maya Forria.

Farandugu is a village seventeen miles from Kabala. The movies below show dancers, musicians and school children who greeted OC members on their visit.




Wherever the OC traveled sharing was evident. Above T. J. shares his meal at the UMC church hall in Makeni while Lindsay looks on. On the left the spokesman for the chief at Farandugu is presenting the OC team with a goat, four chickens and a bunch of bananas.



Above: A crowd always seemed to gather when the OC team arrived. Left L-R: Paul Mansaray and Abu Conteh who is shown with his daughter. Paul and Abu drove the UMC vans. Also shown is OC team member Dave Figi



Abu Conteh [aka-Indiana Jones] set a modern day Sierra Leone record as he was able to navigate the ocean at night from Freetown to Lungi and back in a record setting time. Abu always went the extra mile to make sure that Operation Classroom operated as smoothly as possible.

Above left: Mark Gruzinski is pictured giving 'music lessons' at the orphanage. Above right: Two girls at the orphanage put on their serious faces for their picture. Abu [below center] and his brother Emmanuel [below right] support an orphanage for 12 children in Makeni.



The OC team was inspired by many examples of the spirit of the people of Sierra Leone. One of our toughest visits was to the school for the blind in Kabala. The school was in transition and the temporary quarters of the blind students was an emotional shock to OC members. The OC team brought rice, clothes and treats for the students at the blind school. Above left and right: Emanuel was the headmaster of the school. Like his students he is blind. He is pictured with Hope, Kyle and Kira. He was thrilled with the OC visit. He could not see the tears in our eyes as we all marveled at the incredible will that these people had to live on despite the handicap that had been given them.

Below are some of the students attending Emanuel's school. The young boy [third from right- no shirt] has sight but has a brother at the school [striped shirt]. This young hero has left his home and went to the school to look after his brother and the other students. Despite his young age he prepares the meals for the students.



Mark Gruzinski, Abu Conteh, and Emmanuel Conteh rebuilt the toilet facilities [left] at the school. The old facilities pictured above had been a danger to the students.






Above: Operation Classroom team members are pictured unloading rice that was brought to the village of Farandugu [near Kabala]. Four bags were given to the village while a fifth bag went to an elder [above left] who had fallen on tough times. The 110lb bags were a welcome gift to the village.

The 'OC' team that worked on the new secondary school stayed in Kabala. The Narsarah Clinic was the home base where the team gathered for breakfast and dinner. The OC team stayed about 1/2 mile from the clinic and walked to the clinic in the morning and evening [below right]. The new clinic building [below left] is nearing completion but is in need of further financial help to complete the construction.


Above: Operation Classroom team member Carol Owen is pictured meeting new friends in the village of Farandugu. Carol lives in Hawaii and has traveled with the OC team in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008.


Left: Carol Owen and her sister Hope Law are shown at the Makeni Amputee Camp. Carol and Hope arranged for the gift of the bags of rice.

Above: Mosquito nets were a regular part of the evening ritual. Kyle and T. J. are pictured above with some of the friends they met during their stay in Sierra Leone. Above right: T.J. is pictured with O.C. friend Doris Lenga-Kroma. Doris lives in Freetown and hosts a meal where the OC team sampled the delicious flavors of African food. OC team members Hope and Les Law and Judy and Dave Figi taught with Doris at the UMC school [Harford] in Moyamba during the mid 1960's.



Claire, Lindsay and Kira are pictured with Chief Ali Kargbo who is the Paramount Chief in the Kabala area. Chief Kargbo was responsible for granting the land where the UMC Heritage school is being constructed.



From Freetown to villages near Kabala the OC displayed goodwill and met many new friends. Lindsay and Kira are pictured above spreading fun to children in Makeni. Musicians [right] provided OC members with music in Farandugu.



Above: Britni Taylor [L] and Heather Patterson [R] who were in 'Team 2' of the OC Makleni-Kabala project are shown in the Kabala market.

Right: New friends.


Top Row [L-R]: Isatu, Les, John and Elaine Blinn at the UMC Curch hall in Makeni. Elaine and Fina Kargbo at the Kabala Clinic.


Above [L-R]: The old "...now that I have it what do I do now?" look from Kira [holding Isatu's baby]. Heather Patterson with new friends. Justin Woodiel models clothes made by a local tailor.


Left: John meditates in Kabala. Right: Elaine and Isatu's baby.


Left: Justin Woodiel. Above: Britni Taylor with friends from the neighborhood. Right: Gordon Smith is pictured purchasing one of the most prized items that young people value in Sierra Leone. A soccer ball will be put to good use in the highly competitive games seen in Salone.


Final Glimpses: Kabala Mountain Climb