From the US to Freetown to Bo—two days of travel and we have arrived

Departed Philadelphia at 630 pm on 11/2, reached Paris in 6 hours where I met several of our 25-person group. Immediately greeted by friendly faces, as if I knew them all from a prior life. 

Sharing stories from prior trips, sharing our apprehensions and glowing about our supportive families and/or significant others left behind led to a quick bond. We each reminded each other to take our anti malaria prophylaxis and shared war stories from the slew of vaccines we took prior to our departure.

Finally we arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone close to a 24 hour travel day later...with a ferry ride from the airport to the hotel as the only thing left between us and our beds. The hospitality in this country is immediate, a crew of Sierra Leoneans ready and waiting to receive us, smiling and grateful. We were taken to the ferry dock and greeted by this bridge—dark on the other side, slightly rickety—a metaphor for this trip...it’s the first mission to Sierra Leone for Med global and of course there’s always an aspect of the unknown no matter how much planning, and let me be clear there was A LOT of planning on the side of our fearless leaders here! 

We arrived at our hotel, a beautiful little place by the ocean called Sierra Palms, scurried to dinner and then put to bed to prepare for the next morning. The next morning our Sierra Leonean liaison Josephine (without whom this trip would not be possible), introduced to a rep from the Health Ministry and the two of them discussed cultural sensitivity. The topic is so crucial, there are so many gestures that we find common and “normal” may seem offensive—the simple act of a female shaking a male’s hand. Although some of this came from the Ebola era and encouraging folks to practice strict hand hygiene, the fact remains that what we may find a polite gesture may come off the wrong way. Furthermore keeping in mind that Ebola left a huge scar on the people of this country—families wiped out, nearly 30% of physicians wiped out, communities crippled, people are still healing, PTSD is not uncommon secondary to the atrocities this country has seen in the last 20 years. 

After the morning session we set off for Bo town, a near 6 hour drive through lush country side, rich with greenery a stark contrast to the poverty within it. We passed some towns that appeared completely abandoned and I wondered if this was an area that was effected by Ebola—what a clear nightmare to the region, a country so beautiful it feels so cruel to have undergone such devastation. 

Though these trips have mixed sentiments, often feelings of hopelessness and frustration, can we really do enough? The saving grace is the company, my fellow bus buddies, like-minded folks with similar energy and passion. The ride was long but full of inspiring stories and ideas for how to make the world a better place—and quickly I’m reminded, of course we can’t ever really do ENOUGH, there’s always more, but we are all in this together, along with so many others across the globe, from all walks of life. 

We are all brimming with excitement for what the week brings, and looking forward to sharing it with you all.