After a long night of extensive rain (the ultimate white noise experience), the team of 5 became a team of 6, as Dr. Cheng had arrived in Sierra Leone the previous night. We indulged in a breakfast of eggs, bread, plantains, and tea, and then set out for the office. After arriving, we took a […]
Day 7: Tailors and Transcripts
A week has gone by and things are speeding up. Dr. Cheng is arriving tonight and we have a busy week ahead of us. With a Masanga visit on Wednesday and a Freetown trip on Thursday with all sorts of events in between, we needed a strategy to navigate the week. So the morning started […]
Day #6: 7 interviews
We kicked off the morning with our usual routine: meeting outside as a SicklED team to share what we accomplished yesterday, what we planned to do today, and any barriers we expected to face. Then we joined the larger group, where each team sent one representative to give the same update on behalf of their […]
Day #5: Connecting the Dots
The day began with breakfast—though not everyone made it on time—before the team split into two groups to tackle different priorities. Vedanth and Will joined the Mothers of Sierra Leone team on a trip to the University of Makeni (UNIMAK) to connect with professors and stakeholders who could review our SOP. Meanwhile, River, Sarah, and […]
Day #4: Slow but Steady
The night before, we met with the Mothers of Sierra Leone team. They’re producing a 7–8 minute film on sickle cell disease, which they also plan to screen at universities—just like us! Their advisor, Michael Kramp, offered to help us connect with educators in Sierra Leone, and the Mothers team will be joining us for […]
Day #3: Coconuts for CME
Once we filled our stomachs with yummy potatoes, eggs, bread, and beans, the SicklED team set out for the office. We came prepared with energy and snacks, as today’s objectives were very computer-work focused, with a long day in the office ahead of us. We began assigning tasks across the group, with Sarah and I […]
Day 2: Our First Meetings
After a day of getting situated and contacting people, we were ready to make our first meetings of fieldwork. In a day of meetings, the morning started with a meeting with Khanjan shortly after breakfast. We talked over our plan for fieldwork and our strategy moving forward. The meeting was quite insightful and we feel […]
Day 1
After a long day of travel, our team finally arrived in Freetown, jetlagged but full of anticipation for what the next few weeks would bring. Once we made it through immigration and gathered our bags, we were welcomed by Khanjan, Eric, and the World Hope International (WHI) team. With the help of a few generously […]
Week 8: Checkmate
In what seemed to be no time at all, Mountaintop was coming to a close. After seven weeks of intense work, SicklED’s team was going to Sierra Leone this Saturday. On Monday, we ran the EDC/NHS conjugate release pads, one perfectly scaled down and one improvised. Success! We had two functional pads, one with dark, […]
Week 7: Lab, Lab, and More Lab!
This week would be the most intensive lab week the team has faced all summer. While it was not the busiest, the time spent in the lab was arguably more than the time I spent in bed. Monday morning, the team did a fresh conjugation, using one of the few “good” vials of beads. With […]