Finding Salone

"I don't see it!" "I think it's over here..." "Wait, that's it there!" Scrutinizing the recently painted map, some of the junior students at my school attempt to find their homeland. They point towards Asia, then towards South Africa, and then after one more futile point at South America, they give up. "Show us! Where is it?" After, some of the senior students point Sierra Leone out to the younger ones, they start to get upset. "Our country is so small!" "Why did you paint it so small?" The senior students just laugh at their silliness and then look to me, hoping that I will explain everything. I go over in my head what answer I could possibly give that would satisfy them and it comes down to this simple explanation that every other Sierra Leonean gives: "God made it so." Should have I given them the correct answer, that colonialism and greed gave shape to their country, instead of allowing them to remain ignorant to the truth? I probably should have, but that will wait until another lesson on another day. Regardless, my students contented themselves with the fact that our painters distinguished Salone from the rest by painting it the colors of the flag: green, white, and blue. "I'll never forget now! Our country has more colors than yours!" I remember my search on the map for Sierra Leone after I found out my Peace Corps placement. Where in the world would I now call home for the next two years? My reaction resembled that of my students, "So small!" But now, after a little over 9 months here, I realize that geographical size of this country does not matter. Sierra Leone seems huge! The fact that a nearby town, only 15 miles away, can take an hour to reach in the dry season (almost two in the rainy) stretches this country out. When that drive in the U.S. can be so brief and insignificant, going that distance in Salone seems like a grand achievement. Sometimes after a journey to another volunteer's site, you look at the map and find yourself shocked and in disbelief that such a short distance took you at least four hours to accomplish. Rough roads and rusty vehicles make Salone big. The small geographical size of Salone also deceives in other ways. In the United States you can drive throughout one state and stop in almost every city, town, and village and you will typically hear English. Salone does not always have that convenience. Most speak the lingua franca, Krio, but you could stop in one village and hear Themne, and then go a little further and hear Mende. The list goes on with Limba, Kono, Mandingo, and so on. The United States may have a diversified population, but this small country with a number of different languages spoken once again makes it seem bigger than reality. Yet, I cannot deny the things that allow Salone to appear as small. No matter where you go, you will never fail to see people preparing rice, cassava leaf, petete leaf, kren kren, and so on. In every village, town, and city, women will wear their lappas around the waist and the men may be enjoying a cup or two of palm wine after a day in the field or work at the shop. Young girls will make their line at the pump or well, and boys can be seen enjoying a game of football. As you pass by in the car, it never fails that children will start yelling "oporto" or "pumoi" at the stranger. It can seem all too similar. No matter how small or how big Sierra Leone might feel, it has started to feel more like home. A home far away from the original one that I know as much more comfortable and familiar, but a place that I slowly come to understand more and more each day. I can no longer look at Salone as just a place on the map. It's become too big for me to ever overlook it, and so big that I can never explain every experience I have. Like my students, once I found it, I'll never forget it.

"I have a dream..." for Salone

In celebration of Black History Month at my school, my Senior Secondary 3 English class (the very rough equivalent of a junior in high school in the U.S.) wrote their own version of MLK Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech.

Here are two speeches written by my students:

"I have a dream for Sierra Leone" by Major General A.S.K.

Let us say no to violence, nepotism, and tribalism. I tell you brothers and sisters. Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream for this nation. 

I have a dream that one day Sierra Leone will live in peace, unity, and harmony. I have a dream that someday Sierra Leone will be a place of justice or place where there is justice for both poor and rich people. 

I have a dream that some day Sierra Leoneans will live like people in America or even people in heaven. 

Even though we are sweltering with injustice, I still have a dream that is deeply rooted in Sierra Leone. 

I have a dream that one day Sierra Leone will rise up and show the true meaning of its creed "We hold this on our hands" that all mankind are created equally. 

I have a dream that even my four little children will one day live in a nation that they will not be judged by the colour of their skin nor their tongue or language. 

I have a dream today.

"I have a dream for Sierra Leone" by H.S. aka 2019

I pray for my sweet Sierra Leone that one day my children or the people of Sierra Leone will stop and be aware that all mankind are equal, either rich or poor we are all the same. And also we are to forget all political affairs and try to develop Sierra Leone as a nation. 

And the development of Sierra Leone is in our own hands, we the citizens. And if we work as a nation my dream tells me that Sierra Leone will become the best country that we are thinking of in the world. If we forget all of the corruption, dishonesty, lawlessness, and stealing in our country, the country be as developed as all other countries. 

The tears that run down from my eyes are showing the sign of peace, love, unity, and freedom to all of Sierra Leone that will one day in the future come. I hope that one day my dream will come true. 


These two speeches are only a couple of the many speeches that my students wrote. One thing to note is that English is the third language for many of my students, so while these speeches might not be very lengthy or the most eloquent, they get across the message that many Sierra Leoneans hold onto: a message of hope.

"MISTA JOSUWA, YU NO SABI SWIP"

Yes, it's true, Mr. Joshua does indeed the lack the skill of sweeping like a native of Sierra Leone. Maybe the way I arch my back fails to reach the correct posture or I do not hold the small broom in a suitable and efficient way, but it never fails that every morning, once I start to sweep the layers of peanut shells and dust off of my veranda, I receive this biting criticism.

"Mista Josuwa, no sabi swip," my neighbor girl, Sule, giggles. 

"Fayn, yu tek am," as I sullenly give the broom to her losing self-confidence in my ability to complete the most mundane of household chores.

"OOOoohhh, Mista Josuwa." 

Good thing my service in Sierra Leone does not include janitorial work, I clearly am sub-par at that. 

Luckily, at school I hear a different story. 

"Mista Josuwa, yu sabi tich." 

What a relief, people can still have some faith in me.

But do I still have faith in myself? The answer to that question does not always come easily. Throughout my service so far I questioned myself whether what I do here actually has an impact. The moments come more often than I would like in which I teach a lesson that does not come across clearly, or my students do not achieve the mark I hoped they would on an exam, or I just feel like no one pays attention to what I say. In other words, I feel like the most ineffective tool in the toolbox. 

When thoughts like these fill my head I realize I need to take a deep breath and a step back. Sometimes people come into the Peace Corps with this superhero mentality and think that they will solve every problem out there, but that only results in a overwhelming feeling that crashes down on you after your first failure. As we like to say in Salone, you need to take things "small small." Change does not happen in a day and you can't solve every problem with one action.

In my service so far I have only completed one term of the school year. That's a small chunk of my time here, meaning that there will come more time to see small change and personal growth, not only in myself but also my students. I can't deny that more setbacks will happen during my service, but many more successes will happen along the way.

My neighbor girl, one of my students at school, likes to tell me. "Mr. Joshua, when I am older and have money I am going to give you back what you have given me." What I have given her and her family seems so feeble, some money to cook rice or reading lessons before we all go to bed, but these small things are the things that she cherishes. It turns out the small things can have much more worth than the big ones, and I need that reminder often.

I do not how to put it into words sometimes, my life here in Sierra Leone. When people from home say, "Tell me everything!", nothing can compare to the level of difficulty in finding an answer to that statement. The number of differences between here and the United States of America increases reaches a point that I do not even know where to start explaining.

So for that reason, I will just tell you the short stories. Let's try and keep it small, ya?