Our team trained Hassan today and finished some employee contracts, giving us time to go to the market. Khanjan gave us a weekend gift today and let us sleep in. We woke up and watched Marc completely butcher a can of tuna because he never learned how to use a manual can opener. Don’t worry, he eventually got it, but it was an embarrassing experience.

Picture 1. Marc with his mangled can of tuna and bread.

There are some big soccer games happening and several hotel guests were watching in the kitchen. As someone who has no idea what sports are (or even why they are), I really liked the team that wore yellow.

I also messed up this morning and told Hassan the wrong time to be at the World Hope office. Swallu, one of our drivers, played some fun dancehall music on the way over. We told him we liked it and he immediately turned it off, so that was my second communication error and it was only 11:00 AM.

Jordan and Cassidy finalized our operations document while Zach and Naakesh edited the training materials. I finished our employee contract for Hassan so we can onboard him. Rohan worked on quality control in the mushroom production system house, which is 110 degrees Fahrenheit and 94% humidity.

Picture 2. Rohan and Naakesh smiling. 

Hassan came in the afternoon and was interviewed by Steph, our university videographer and full-time trip mom. He shared his experience as a community mobilizer during the Ebola epidemic. During training, he brought up several good points that we had not thought about. He addressed how to take corrective action for CHWs who do not correctly take data, how to avoid double-screening patients, cultural barriers, and men screening positive for protein. Hassan also told us he preferred a cost-recovery model, which was helpful feedback.

Picture 3. Hassan being trained by Naakesh.

After training, we went to the market and looked around. We got some tasty street food and fabric. Marc and Rohan got fake Gucci slides and they are super proud. ***Edit***Apparently, Marc actually got versace slides and that is somehow different from Gucci slides, but I fail to see the significance.

Picture 4. some GSIFs with their goods from the market.

We saw a man who used to drive for World Hope but was let go because the project ended. I hope that we will not have a similar situation where we have to let Hassan go after funds run out. It hit me that I also saw a man on a bike with a bomber jacket that said “Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta”, which is something specific to my hometown in New Mexico. It is interesting to see how the shipping of secondhand clothes affects fashion in Africa. I couldn’t find a single thing in the market that was not imported, even the skeins of fabric. The amount of cheap counterfeit goods was interesting and spoke to the influence of bigger markets in rapidly industrializing countries like Sierra Leone.

I’ve also been garnering some observations about working in Sierra Leone. Something that became clear this week is that vocabulary is a huge class indicator. All the educated people we spoke to used words that we would deem unnecessary in the United States for conversation, but it is used to indicate respectability. I’ve also been personally struggling with how we can communicate clearly with Hassan without being patronizing.

This weekend is an exciting national holiday for Sierra Leone. The celebration of Eid Al-Adha will start tonight and continue through Sunday evening. It is known as “Big Eid” or the “Feast of Sacrifice”, where Muslims celebrate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as Allah ordered. It also coincides with Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. It is interesting to be in a country where Muslim and Christian holidays are given equal weight in work schedules. Boxing Day is also celebrated here! Pretty cool.

Picture 5. Cassidy and Jordan smiling at Rokulan clinic earlier in the week.

Eid Mubarak! Tune in next time for what the Ukweli team is up to in SaLone.