Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Back in Mapaki! October 2011

I’d forgotten how much I miss waking to the sounds of roosters and morning Muslim prayer mingled with distant church bells all brought in on the whiff of morning cooking fires. My first morning in Lungi, Sierra Leone, set me straight and anxious to get back to Mapaki where I now am. Feeling like I've never left but delighting in reconnecting with friends and noting new developments (gravity-fed water from the hill means no more bucket trips to the river during dry season; library ringing with laughter and song and little dancing bodies as the new nursery school gears up for daily class). Once again, I'm told that the junior high students have had some of the best exam results in the district and seeing the library table filled with studious youth and teachers while little ones crowd the floor and benches around the solar lights helps explain why. There's lots to do while I'm here (for a relatively short time) but I hope to post daily while here. For now I'm just letting you know where I am. Stay tuned for upcoming videos and photo postings.