Hi again! Today is Tuesday, August 15th, 2023. This was the Ukweli 2023 team’s ninth full day in Sierra Leone.

Have you ever been showered with so much love and attention that you’re left wondering if it’s all even real? Today was that type of special day for us. In the morning, our team headed to the Makama Hospital. Lorraine Rwasoka and Brooke Lee were making their second visit, and Reeza Chaulagain and Sterling Salmini got to join as well. It was antenatal Day at Makama, a day when mothers bring in their little ones for check-ups. And let us tell you, it was pretty busy and fascinating to watch! We observed kids being weighed on a standing scale, with a bucket and pulley attached so they could float–got to admit, that is pretty ingenious. Moms and children were relaxing in the waiting room, while nurses traveled back and forth, checking boxes and babies with practiced speed.

For the first part of the morning, we found ourselves in the nutrition room. There, we had a chat with a new mother and got to know her and her home a bit. Once she left, we stepped outside for a moment. We were met by a bunch of children all around! We had a blast getting to know these energetic and bright kids. Sometimes, we find that adults are–understandably–more apprehensive to immediately connect with us. But kids have been a great joy to get to know. Often, with the difficult context of our project, adult conversations stay serious. It is with kids where it is them asking the questions instead of us, wanting to know every little thing about our home. We played games, taught each other dance moves, and swapped favorite songs. Children loved Brooke’s hair, giving her a fancy new design (that will not make its way back to the States). After a couple of downtrodden days, their energy was contagious.

For example, Reeza got to know a boy named Daniel. When we asked about his future ambitions, he replied that he wanted to become a bank manager, and loved mathematics. It was very impressive because not a lot of kids in Sierra Leone choose such a clear-cut career path at a young age. The most striking thing about children in Sierra Leone is how bright they are. They are better at English than most adults, are creative with the ways to pass the time and have a love of learning. Yet often, children do not speak of Sierra Leone with the ambition they see America with. It highlights the great need for our support and research contribution to happy, healthier lives here. There are so many beautiful minds all around us, it has been a great gift to be the recipient of much knowledge and affection

As the morning winded down, the multitude of our interactions began to weigh in. Those heart-to-heart talks with the kids made us realize the tough realities of opportunity and privilege disparities so many face. It was also a testament to the deep interplay of economic, health, education, social, and career stagnation that we have peeked into firsthand through our Institutional Review Board troubles. In all the love was a reality check that hit us hard. The mix of humbling experiences and surreal moments left us reflecting for a while after our morning, and we carried that for the rest of the day

Back at our second home, the World Hope International office, we had hours of downtime to kill. We skimmed through some research papers on cervical cancer, read our approval board letters again, and coordinated with Edwin Abu for a potential fallback plan to visit a cervical cancer screening site later this week. For the rest of our afternoon, we did some team bonding. Brooke introduced Reeza to the grapevine/karaoke dance move–our security guard Abu joined in too! We played Simon Says, and Ninja, and feasted on coconuts. Brooke’s continuing multi-day effort on a photorealistic drawing rounded out our time until dinner.

Today was an introspective day for the Ukweli 2023 team. We took on the day’s opportunity and gave ourselves some emotional momentum. We appreciated the day we spent.