Monday, March 6, 2006 [ Entry by: Jurist Tan ]

I thought I would be prepared for anything coming from Jakarta, Indonesia, but Sierra Leone presented new excitements and challenges I had never before experienced.

This awesome helicopter can hold up to 25 passengers.

When we arrived at Freetown’s Lungi airport, the immigration booths were jam-packed. Our group must have stood out both because of our fair (me: tan) skin-tone and because we looked really confused. Not for long, luckily, as a couple of CARE staff found is in the crowd and introduced themselves to our group. One CARE officer named Sylvestor took care of our passports as we gathered our luggage.

We could hardly see our big backpacks coming around the belt, let alone squeeze through to grab all of it, but somehow we managed and left for the helicopter that would take us over Freetown’s bay. Lungi airport was built on the opposite side of an enormous bay from the capital city and the fastest way in and out is via antiquated military helicopters. Very cool! As we flew higher and higher, Caroline's smile got wider and wider. I was so amused by her that I forgot to feel anxious.

I think I learned more on our way to the hotel than what I had learned my whole life in Jakarta. The slums we passed by, the children sitting on the road side, the people who lived underneath a piece of cardboard or tin roof--I have all this right behind my house but I never paid attention. And there I was, a thousand miles away, feeling really sad about poverty. There was almost no electricity in Freetown, only candles. Some people, incapacitated during the war, wandered around on crutches. I couldn't stop thinking that if this was the capital, what about the places we were going to visit?

Mariano asked our driver, Morrison, how many people worked in the CARE main office. About 100, he said. Mariano was surprised--that's a lot of people. Morrison chuckled; in total, CARE employed around 300 people in Sierra Leone. I could only stare out the window wondering how CARE’s work is helping these people and hoping that our project could contribute to their efforts.

I went to bed with lots of questions in mind, reminding myself to ask them at the office the next day.