No Ivory Towers in Sierra Leone Theological College & Church Training Centre.

To take a look out of a first floor room at the college’s main building, will ensure that theological education and church training is not offered from an ‘ivory tower’.

The staffroom’s only window frames a theatre of two solidly constructed four storey buildings. One identifies itself with a well worn sign, “Complete Solutions-Business Services”, the other states itself to be the home of Culture Radio on 104.3 FM as well as the offices for “Shelter Africa”. Both buildings are inertly solid and provide the ‘bookends’ for a space of domestic and commercial energy, which orchestrates constant movement within, and on the street in front. The scenery of the stage includes an overarching mango tree and an erect papaw tree as well as a huge satellite dish which partly obscures a solid well-painted building further up the hillside. The music comes from an orchestra pit, occupied momentarily by a stream of voluble pedestrians and street sellers, as well vehicles, for which Fort Street is a one way thoroughfare. Enter right and exit left.



The multiple scenarios, which are located around the DVD kiosk, with its bunting emblazoning adverts for Tigo and Comium, (mobile phone top-up cards) includes sales of packets of biscuits, sweets and chewing gum on an adjacent table for the walk on and walk off actors with dry mouths, and a huge cast of street sellers with their wares piled on their heads. Centre stage lies behind the corrugated sheeting, where open charcoal-fired cooking pots provide constant food for occasional visitors, babies are washed in bowls and nursed on stools by young and not so young women and clothes on washing lines are frequently played with. Some of the actors appear only fleetingly from numerous homes constructed of recycled timber and well seasoned zinc sheeting, secured in place by car tyres and concrete blocks. An occasional burst of intelligible krio can be deciphered but the script is largely a babble of sound from the orchestra pit.

After spectating on this epic from the staff room window, the move to the classroom brings an encounter with a different cast, many of them leaders within their respective churches and committed to adult education in response their ministry. As mature men and women who, as part of their registration are asked a series of questions, which including those which will make up their psycho-social profile.
Which of the following experiences did you witness during the war in Salone?
a) the killing and massacre of human lives, b) the death of someone close to you,
c) rape,d) amputation, e) looting of your own property, f) forced labour, g) hunger, h) disease, i) internal displacement, j) external refuge, k) specify others.

It is there in the classroom, with its richness of life’s joys and tragedies, that an interpretation of the Salonian daily drama can be explored, so that students and staff together can ask the question, What does God make of all this? And, what is our response to be?

It is hoped that the responses that appear in the months ahead will continue to be rooted in the theatre of life.

"You are witnesses of these things"

As the theme for the eight days of prayer and reflection on Christian unity comes from Scotland and was prepared by the group responsible for the Edinburgh 2010 Centenary celebration*, it has an increased significance as we study the material at a distance from a wintry Europe and in an African city.
As yet there are no visible signs indicating that Salone’s churches are engaging in the annual reflection which began on January 18th and concludes on the feast of St Paul. That may be because the ecclesiastical tradition is to follow the southern hemisphere’s preference, which is to recognise the octave of prayer at the time of Pentecost. Ecumenism in Salone is however, clearly evident in the training of ministers from several denominations at the Sierra Leone Theological College and Training Centre where we work. Our colleagues are from a variety of different churches which affirm the search for unity but not necessarily in the same manner or to the same end.
In taking chapter 24 of St Luke’s gospel as the base of the eight days of reflections, the theme of “giving witness through...” has been a useful lens by which daily life and its events can be examined.
Day One is that of “giving witness through celebrating life”, and is followed on Day Two by “giving witness through sharing stories”. The following account combines the two.
In walking the narrow, rutted road towards the Wellington community centre, some of the hundred or so members of NETHIPS might have been momentarily distracted by a football practice session being played out in front a large mosque. Hopefully the spectators of the football match had not been distracted by the large number of women approaching the centre, would have delighted the organisers of the monthly gathering, as maintaining anonymity and ensuring confidentiality is a key aspect of the work of the Network of HIV Positives in Salone (NETHIPS).
Inside the centre the group gathered for a programme of physical exercise, teaching on health and hygiene, distribution of condoms, eating together and of course renewing friendship. This gathering is but one aspect of the work of Methodist Church’s Primary Health Care Centre in Wellington, where a trained team of nurses, social workers and volunteers coordinate a response to the needs of over 300 clients who are registered with the centre. The photograph below is that of Hawa Juana, a nurse at the centre and Idrisa Songo, its director, who, as people living and affected by the HIVirus, endeavour to give ecumenical witness to a celebration of life through their daily work.
On arriving at the meeting the first person we shared a conversation with was Chris, who as a journalist working in an office close to our home was aware of our presence in Tengbeh Town. He quickly acknowledged his HIV status and that he had suffered for witnessing to it. Two days later he arrived at our home with a copy of The African Champion, a newspaper carrying a report on the meeting held in Wellington under the title “Methodist Church, open doors for HIV/AIDS clients” which he had written.
NETHIPS vision is to work towards a nation in which PLHIVs and orphans will enjoy equal rights and opportunities to live productive and meaningful lives, and claim their basic human rights. And in so doing encourage other to witness to these things.

* In 1910, Edinburgh hosted a World Missionary Conference that is seen a significant landmark in ecumenical development. website http://www.edinburgh2010.org/

Daily Living

Given that very few changes of address require no physical or emotional adjustments to be made, it is to be expected that a move from the principle city in Scotland to the capital of Sierra Leone, will involve numerous changes to daily living but some of the differences, apart from the climate, might be surprising.
On rising each day, after stepping outside the mosquito net, the hope is that water will have trickled through the thin plastic pipe into the holding tank to replenish the previous day’s consumption. This will have included preparing and cooking food, showering three times a day and hand washing laundry. The water provided by the Goba Valley Water Company, is not considered drinkable and as we have yet to find a domestic water filter, we buy this precious liquid in the largest available size, 1.5 litre plastic bottles. It has been ten weeks since it last rained and it might be another 12 or more weeks until it does, water conservation is a constant theme running through every day.

As it is the dry season we can eat all meals on the veranda. Whilst doing so, we listen to the radio news on countries and places within Africa that tests our knowledge, especially on their location, with good use being made of the map in the Methodist Church’s Prayer Handbook. When living in the UK, Radio 4’s “thought for the day” was anticipated on most days, whereas as now it is the broadcasting of African proverbs, which gains our habitual attention on the BBC’s World Service, spoken first in the person’s mother tongue, then in English, and sometimes followed by an explanation as to its meaning.

Living without a car also changes the manner in which food is both acquired and transported from the various open markets and supermarkets. To make life easier we ask the gate man, Mr Jalloh, to purchase the daily bananas, pawpaw and oranges from passing street vendors. Numerous food items which would have been on a UK shopping list, celery, broccoli, leeks and mushrooms are not available, whilst others, including hard cheese and dark chocolate are not affordable and in the absence of fresh milk, powdered milk is an essential, as are mosquito coils, but not for eating. Finding bottled gas for cooking is not as big a problem as transporting it home or cooking in the oven that consumes it.

The mosquito coils are particularly helpful if we choose to stay on the veranda long after the sunset at 6.30pm to witness the arrival of the Scope Owl which, in the gloom seems to be watching us as much as we watch him/her. Our observation of other birds and their mating patterns along with watching goats being born and now growing, has been far more than just interesting. Being just 8 degrees north of the equator, the sunrise and sunset times have varied only by a few minutes since we arrived in early November, but without rain the gradual browning of the plant life close to the ground is very noticeable.



Accessing money in the local currency is a challenge. Obtaining cash from the bank involves a lengthy bank counter procedure. There are “holes in the wall” to access it electronically, but, as the largest denomination is a 10,000 Leone note , the equivalent of £1.60, a huge wad of notes have to be carried when planning to purchase significant items. Plastic cards do exist, but are not used for general buying nor are cheques acceptable in many establishments. Having carried sterling with us from the UK, we are still using that, which means deciding which money changer on Siaka Stevens Street is offering the best exchange rate, and then getting him to increase it by 500 Leones on the basis that we are exchanging crisp, pristine pounds sterling for grubby and dog eared Leone notes. The carrying of anti bacterial gel in the absence of running water in cafes and restaurants is a “must” for hygienic drinking and eating.

Just leaving the house to go to the Sierra Leone Theological College (SLTC) is a 20 minute procedure. Laptops are put back into a bag, and locked safely away, keys are hidden, bedroom doors locked, then you have forgotten something, so the procedure in reverse, then sun cream on, water bottles filled, check you have enough money for what you want to do, doors locked onto the veranda, money and bags for Mr Jalloh to do the shopping , making sure you have a hat for the sun, and then out the door, its locked and the key left with someone, just in case the plumber, electrician or carpenter need to get in. Then down the road to find a taxi, greeting folk on the way, all of which has been written about in a previous blog.

And now we are becoming part of the life of SLTC as well as the Methodist Church. Names are being learnt, materials prepared, and the discovery that all photocopying is done elsewhere. The YMCA just up the road is recommended so off we go with our books and list of pages to be copied, to discover that it is Janice who has responsibility for this work, and that she got her name as a result of an American doctor operating on her harelip as a baby. And if our timing coincides with lunchtime, then the YMCA does a good groundnut soup with rice and fish, heavily spiced with chillies which bring an additional sweat to the brow.

As may be evident,the details of daily living add to the delights and surprises of living in Salone.

Religious but UnGodly

Whilst our teaching appointments at Sierra Leone Theological and Church Training Centre are our principal responsibilities we are also attached to the City Mission Circuit, which involves establishing relationships with the two large congregations of Balmer and Grace Brethren Methodist Churches. Our colleagues include the circuit superintendent Rev Philip Kaikurah, at present a temporary neighbour, who is awaiting repairs to the manse, and Rev Alpheus S Karoma, both of the Mende tribe from the east and south of Salone.
By the time reached Grace Brethren Methodist Church,(see above left) for last Sunday’s morning worship, we had already eavesdropped on an intense discussion between the Muslim taxi driver and the front seat passenger, on the essential worth of worshiping Allah and the basic requirements of Islam. The conversation was in animated Krio and clearly both men were in agreement on the importance and value of their faith and as we left the taxi at the front of the church, we were given their generous farewells.
During the service there was a baptism and a thanksgiving for the life of one of the church’s long standing servants. The service was therefore attended by two extended families, present to give witness to significant moments in their communal life. Each week it is customary for the congregation to be asked if there are any new visitors present, and to invite those who are from other churches or who are Muslims, to acknowledge their presence in order to be formally welcomed. The carefully prepared sermon offered by Rev Karoma, serious attention was given to day to day security and other ways in which assurance in life is offered. It also included reference to the existence of Salonians who are inclined to be religious but ungodly. I was swiftly aware of those people who I know who would not subscribe to being religious but who I would consider to be godly folk. I mused as to whether they are ‘irreligious but godly’
The words of the preacher soon began to mingle in my mind with the conversation heard in the taxi and continued to resonate far beyond the context of Freetown. I recalled the events of the week: in Malaysia where the debate on the authority of Christians who refer to Allah within their worship was challenged by some Muslims; to Egypt where Coptic Christians had been attacked in a reprisal for the rape of a Muslim woman by a Christian, which had resulted in injury and death; and also to Italy where people, thought to be Roman Catholics by the parish priest of the region, had attacked African migrant labourers with gun fire.
During day to day life in Freetown it is difficult not to reflect on the relationship of Muslims and Christians, of mosques and churches and of Islam and Christianity, as the people, their institutions and their belief systems are lived in such close proximity, that it would be more accurate to describe them as being intertwined and difficult to separate. Be it socially, educationally, economically and even devotionally, they occupy space and share oxygen together so that it is the norm at a local community meeting or official ceremony to commence with the saying together of a Muslim prayer, followed or proceeded, by the Lord’s Prayer.
It has been suggested that both Muslim and Christian Salonians’ desire to express and demonstrate their inter-faith unity is exaggerated. Both are swift to express recognition of the one same God and even suggest that the two faiths are equal , which may stem from their fear of identifying differences, lest it should imply antagonism. The hostility that exists between the two faiths in other West African states and in particular the occasional violent clashes of northern Nigeria, are seen as a consequence of acknowledging differences.
A college colleague suggests that the demographic balance of the similar number of Christians and Muslims in Salone society is responsible for the harmony, that is not to be found in any other West African country. In neighbouring Guinea there is a small Christian community and in Liberia a small Muslim community, so that each faith community functions differently and does not seek integration in the same way. In Salone society with its endemic poverty, Muslims, have no problem in eating imported “hogsfoot” or in sharing locally brewed liquors with their Christian relatives and neighbours. And likewise, adult male Christians are not averse to being married in church and then later in life taking an additional wife. Neither practice is a demonstration of orthodox belief in their respective religions but as my colleague indicates it the complexity of Salone’s Afro-Islamic/Christian lifestyle. The question is, would my other colleague consider such practices to be ‘religious and ungodly’? Or is it more a matter of being ‘irreligously godly’ in the name of living in peace in the midst of poverty?

The round ball - Africa’s third religion.

Clint Eastwood’s new film Invictus has yet to be released in Europe but is already tipped for Oscar nominations in a few months time. Based on the 1995 Rugby World Cup, it details Mandela’s masterful political acumen, in giving unprecedented black support to ‘white religion’, by not only defending the emblematic Springboks but donning ‘their’ shirt, and claiming it for the whole of the nation of South Africa, as they celebrated World Cup success.
Ghana’s national football team, The Black Stars, is named after the boat which Marcus Garvey used in 1919, to bring people of the African diaspora back to West Africa. It was Kwame Nkrumah who named the team and in 1957, as Ghana’s first president, hosted the continent’s first African Nation’s Cup. It was but one of his many strategic uses of what is often referred to as Africa’s third religion, football, to unite a nation and reinforce a Pan-Africanism, which is so strongly evident in the game of football in Africa today. Islam and Christianity are the two primary religions, with Traditional African Religion or indeed cricket being overlooked. It is to football that the masses,, men more than women turn to, as a means of transcending the daily demands of endemic poverty and the effects of corrupt political decisions.
The 27th African Cup of Nations, a 16 -team tournament, will open in Luanda, Angola, with the hosts playing Mali on Sunday 10th January. This takes place just 7 years after the end of a 27 year long civil war. The tragic shooting incident, involving the Togo team’s bus in northern Angola, is but one feature of the fragility of an infant democracy. Estimates on the cost of staging this bi-annual extravaganza have been put at one billion dollars, in a nation that has huge petroleum and mineral deposits. The juxtaposition of wealth and poverty are starkly evident throughout the country, with more than 70% of Angolans living on less than £1.00 a day. Preparations for the tournament have coincided with Angola securing its first post-war International Monetary Fund loan of £900m, with acknowledgements from the global lender of the nation’s commitment to political and fiscal reforms. Angola clearly sees itself as a rising power on the continent. The hosting of the tournament, the visits from global notables including Hilary Clinton and the opening of embassies in Luanda emphasise its growing influence.
For the 60,000 Angolan refugees who are still in the forests of the Congo and the majority of the 13 million struggling to repair and rebuild conflict-battered infrastructures, the international soccer carnival will be celebrated with religious fervour. This is the time when the African stars who play in Europe, and are watched on television in Africa, playing in English Premiership games, week by week, return to African soil. This includes idolised Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, of the Ivory Coast, recently voted African footballer of the year. Poverty, be it rural or urban, never stops anyone from partying in Africa. Such enthusiasm challenges the stereotypes of Africa that only suggest famine, civil strife and unbridled corrupt politicians. It is a mass response of hope in the face of adversity.
The games will be played in one of four newly completed stadiums in four separate cities, which have a total capacity of only 115,000. When compared with the World Cup, to be played in South Africa later this year, very few people will be visiting Angola to give support to their national teams. Travel costs alone are prohibitively expensive with accommodation costing 400$US per night in most of Luanda’s recently completed hotels. Only a few thousand Angolans will attend the games, but hundreds of millions will receive live coverage of the same spectacle, on small screens across the continent, and in every village and town, including Freetown.

Paramount Chiefs: age, gender and cultural change in Salone.

Alex Maada Kainpum , who in his late 20s, is the youngest ever paramount chief in Sierra Leone is a member of the Grace Brethren Methodist Church, in the City Mission Circuit of Freetown. During the Covenant Service, the Rev Samuel Kanu asked that the paramount chief and his family receive the blessing of the church and its continuing prayers for this prestigious and crucial role in the cultural and political life of Sierra Leone.
Shortly before Christmas, there was a huge controversy when Elizabeth Simbiwa Sogbo-Tortu was barred from standing for election to become a Paramount Chief, because she is a woman. Both her father and grandfather had been paramount chiefs in the Niminyama chiefdom, close to the town of Kono, to which she was seeking election. With support from Women's groups and the Human Rights’ Commission she has challenged this decision in court, claiming it is unconstitutional, as it discriminates against her on the grounds of gender. Female Paramount Chiefs have been elected in other parts of the country, but not, to date, in the Kono area, where the Poro Secret Society objects the possibility of a female paramount chief. The election has now been delayed until early 2010, in the hope that the “cultural” conflict can be resolved.
The position and role of paramount chiefs and their geographical chiefdoms were introduced under British colonial rule, and have gradually evolved over the centuries. Initially a chief was assisted by a chiefdom council and his responsibilities consisted of providing a safe environment in the chiefdom, resolving disputes, maintaining law and order, as well as patronizing secret societies in the chiefdom. The development continued with the coming of the indirect rule system of government by the British colonial administration with additional Titular Chiefs being used for local administration, collection of taxes and carrying out instructions from the governor general through the district commissioner.
A recent report on chieftaincy, “Reform is Not against Tradition” * is a vital contribution towards national re-construction . “Since the end of the civil war, there have been numerous changes in conception of development, governance, accountability, justice and human rights”. The report acknowledges that failures in the chieftaincy system were among the roots causes of civil war, but that the message from the post war community is that ordinary people want to see the chieftaincy system reformed and not abolished.
Today, paramount chiefs are nonpartisan members of parliament, with 11 District Chiefs representing the districts excluding Freetown Districts. Unlike the 122 elected members of parliament (of which only 18 are women), the paramount chiefs are not governed by a term of office.
The tradition of national Government requires that the office of President and Vice President reflect the nation’s religious plurality, with the offices being held by both Christian and a Muslim. The current President, Ernest Bai Koroma, is a Christian, and the Vice President, Alhaji Samuel Sam-Sumana, is a Muslim. The continuing prayers of Grace Brethren Methodist Church for Paramount Chief, Alex Maada Kainpum, will undoubtedly be varied and may or not be influenced by the prayer used by Parliament. Almighty God, without whose help labour is useless , without whose light search is vain, we thy unworthy servants here gathered in thy name, do most humbly beseech thee to send down thy heavenly wisdom from above to direct and guide us in all our deliberations; and laying aside all private interests, prejudices and partial affection, the result of all counsels may be to the glory of thy Blessed Name.
In this inclusive prayer, it is acknowledged that invocation for light and enlightenment, is an aspirational symbol, a guiding light for the debates in plenary on matters of national importance. It will certainly be required in resolving the impasse on Elizabeth Simbiwa Sogbo-Tortu’s rights as a legitimate candidate for the paramount chieftaincy of eastern Kono.#
*Reform is not against Tradition: Making Chieftaincy Relevant in 21st Century Sierra Leone. Oct. 2009. Co-commissioned by three national organisations, including the Methodist Church, and funded international aid agencies, including Christian Aid.
# http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8413266.stm

Sights and sounds from the veranda.

The mid-semester break at the Theological College coincides with Christmas and the New Year, providing us with ample opportunity to benefit from time spent on our east facing veranda. On some days it has been possible to watch the sun come up as we ate breakfast, later to have lunch and then, with a mosquito coil lit against unwanted intruders, to have dinner after 12 hours of sunlight. Throughout this period of time there are inevitably events worthy of sharing.
It is mating time for the resident Polyboroides typus, the African harrier hawk, which swoops to take the unattended free range hen’s chicks. The early morning screeching of both male and female hawk in a nearby tree has competed with the same instinct in the several members of the 12 strong goats herd. Rival billy goats have been performing head/horn butting sessions for sometime but with the females coming on heat, the competition has been even more dramatic and the resulting mating frenetic. Following bleating sounds throughout one night, a nanny with a history of falling in the rubbish pit,as as well giving birth to twins, produced two wobbly infants early in the morning and we watched as she guided them on a pathway perilously close to the pit.
For elegance, the regular arrival of white cattle egrets, Bulcbuclus ibis, and the grace they employ in hunting frogs and lizards within a few feet of a feeding goat, provides a captivating spectacle. A variety of lizards with bright yellow and sometimes orange heads are keen to spend the minimum amount of time away from the safety of tree trunks and branches where their camouflage quickly avoids detection. A sole kingfisher has been spotted just long enough to be photographed. Several species of birds can be identified at dawn by their call and by sight again at night, as they return to roost but our inadequate twitching skills have so far prevented identification.
Numerous palm nut vultures (Gypohierax angolenis) occupy the skies above Freetown and occasionally one will arrive to investigate what is happening on the ground of the compound, watched intently by the Corvus abidis, a black and white ‘minister crow’ which proliferate everywhere. Of late they have had the benefit of some ripe oil palm nuts to squabble over, in between fighting among themselves for nesting twigs and ganging up on the scops owl (Otus Senegalansis) should it arrive before dusk to perch on the roof of the nearby school building. This usually coincides with the appearance of first numerous small bats and then later larger ones which occupy the trees of Victoria Park in the centre of the city and leave to feed in the surrounding hills.
Two month ago we arrived carrying several items including essential medication, personal letters and gifts for various people. Since then the veranda has been the place where we have received visits from the recipients. Each of them has shared some of the history that lies behind longstanding solidarity between former mission partners and colleagues and friends living in Salone. The last to arrive was Daniel who came to collect a letter on behalf of his mother. This recently married young man is the country manager for a foundation addressing the environment and sustainability. Having been born and raised in a diamond mining area, he spoke at length on the challenge of encouraging ex-combatants and ex-alluvial diamond explorers to engage in agricultural production in the east of Salone.
Our first overnight guest was Helen, a German midwife who arrived four months ago to work for the United Methodist Church in the area of Koidu, an eight hour drive from Freetown. Helen enlightened us on the problems of improving the appalling situation of high maternal mortality and not for the first time, we heard that the major problems lies in women not appearing for ante-natal care and then choosing to deliver their babies in the confines of a rain forest or a remote un-hygienic location.
Several daily newspapers are available on the streets of Freetown but as they are thin on content and narrow on coverage, it is usually necessary to buy two or three, at a cost of 17p-25p each, in order to have a good read. The variety of programmes presented on the BBC World Service, which is available on FM, offers an amazing coverage of global and African news and is therefore regularly listened to throughout the day. Life on the veranda is therefore a classroom and a theatre which sees our knowledge horizon expanding daily as we try to comprehend a new context in a new country.