Whitey Man

Today was an early morning, which turns out for the better as we don't get baked by the sun from the moment we wake up. We woke up at around 6:30 and had some breakfast. We then headed down for our first day at the school. School started at 8:20 with an assembly. All the kids lined up in rows for some singing and dancing. This was followed by J.T. Koroma, the headmaster, introducing us. All the kids were very happy to see us all there and greeted us with the open arms that all the Sierra Leoneons have showed us so far. The people here are truly amazing, and the lifestyle is very social. Krissi's homestay, Robert Jawara drove us to school this morning and we must have stopped ten times to greet people. We saw the hospital, the post office, the prison, the cemetary, and the district office on the way today. While at the school we unloaded and organized all the things that we brought for the school. These things consisted of: clothes, books, frisbees, bubbles, markers, pens, pencils, crayons, pinneys, and other small toys.

Tomorow morning we will be presenting all these things to the kids. Krissi, Hannah and I spent a large portion of the day taking pictures of each kid and asking them questions so the sponorship program can grow,while Evelyn gave out some letters she had from the students at SCS.

One thing that was brought to our attention before we came was that we would be reffered to as "Whitey man" and this is very true! Children run around the streets yelling "Whitey man whitey man!" But what saddens me is that they also say "Give me money." In Freetown we were told by a man that white people were only good for money, so if we did not have any we should leave. This image that the white man is only for money troubles me, but I hope to be a part of changing the way we are viewed in this beautiful country.

The trip thus far has been very eye opening and surely not easy. There have been many tears shed and lives changed. I hope that by the end of this trip we have made a positive impact on the school we have built, as well as the community that surrounds it.

With all our love,

Jordan