FIFA, Famine, Food and Forests

It is less than a week since the climax of the FIFA World Cup, when, for month, it appeared there was only one story in Africa to be reported on. Our household is uneven in its love of the game dedscribed by one writer as the provider of “the coinage on human discourse” across the whole of Africa.

Before the continent’s biggest ever sports story began to unfold a friend, who knows a little of Africa, sent us a book, “Africa United – How football explains Africa”. And in many ways it does, at least with numerous stories of joy and celebration, conflict and war, international and national political manipulation, as well as of the transcendental power of a game in the midst of poverty, famine, piracy and opulence in a few of the sixty nations that are ‘Africa’.

25 years ago a single story began to emerge from the Horn of Africa, which may have contributed to the notion that there is only one story for the whole continent. It was the famine of Ethiopia, the result of successive harvest failures, coupled with unresponsive superpowers, immersed in the “Cold War Story”. All these impacted on the need for humanitarian aid, to avert the impact of ‘climatic genocide’ upon millions of people.

As the details the famine of Niger and Chad become increasingly evident, the question as to why it is happening and how it could have been prevented will be re-visited. However it is highly unlikely that it will be the prime story from the continent unless there is a journalist of the calibre of Michael Buerk, working for a large media corporation, or a rock star as big as Bob Geldof, to raise the profile of the disaster and demand that the world take note and act with its cash and food!

Thankfully the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico may no longer be the threat it was, but there’s still too much truth in what Leon Uris wrote fifty years ago, in his book, Exodus. “Only the Kingdom of heaven runs on righteousness... The kingdoms of the earth run on oil”. The BP oil spillage has been headline news for the last three months, with reference to billions of dollars. Chad and Niger have rarely featured, and the amount of money needed to feed hungry people is significantly less.

Sierra Leone is now into the rains, the time that is referred to as the hungry season. Crops are planted during this time, to be harvest during the dry season. Last year’s harvest has now finished. Subsistence agriculture depends on rainfall and sunshine and timing of both. If the rains start too early, or finish too late, the nation’s harvest will be affected. For the subsistence farmer the balance of both rain and sun is vital, and neither can be plugged, capped or tapped.

Niger and neighbouring Chad, already among the poorest nations in the world, are at the centre of a food crisis affecting 10 million people in the Sahel region. The average age for Nigers and Chadians is 15.2 years and 16.6 years respectively. Figures last month showed that over one in five children were already facing acute malnutrition in the worst-hit regions. These same children are already the food producers for their societies. It is increasingly apparent that the human cost of last year’s failed rains in the Sahel belt could be as high as they were in 2005, when TV images of starving children shook the world out of its inertia, but it was too late to address the worst of the crisis. An appeal for an increase in the World Food Programme’s aid for Niger and Chad to US$253 million from US$191 million has so far had little impact, with only 58 percent of the required figure having been provided, leaving a shortfall of US$107 million.

In Sierra Leone, where the average age of the entire population is 19 years, the war children of the previous decade are now the fathers and mothers of their own children, and the education process that was severely disrupted, or denied to young parents is still evident. A nation’s informal agricultural education is never assisted by the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of its citizens and unfortunately the need to establish an adequate income forces people to harvest the rainforest. The demand for hardwood timber by the oil rich Gulf States and beyond, has resulted in the growth of both the legal and illegal logging industries. It is therefore encouraging to see that the government’s initiative to ban the export of logs last year, has now been extended for a further three years. Logging for processing and for the domestic markets of fuel, furniture and the building industry are not affected, but the short term economic solution of raising cash from logging will have been seriously deterred.

It is unclear if FIFA’s proposed new goal line technology will involve posts of timber or not. Throughout Salone the soccer goalposts are usually constructed of stout lengths of bamboo. There is an abundant supply of bamboo and huge stands of this versatile crop are often located alongside the nation’s largest and thriving oil industry, the palm oil. But that is another story of food for a later date.

“Ah tel God tehnki”.

Towards the end of the rebel war ECOMOC soldiers had been brought into Sierra Leone, to try to bring some form of law and order to the country. Like any intervention in a country such groups need to be housed and fed. Freetown already had army barracks at Wilberforce, and so it was to this place that the troops were located. Extra buildings were needed and constructed. “Wilberforce Barracks” is now an residential area of low cost housing in Freetown, and not just the place where troops live. ECOMOC troops left a number of years ago, and some of the former barrack buildings provide housing for many families looking for a place of shelter. We walked through an area of the original barracks with Doran, a nurse from the Methodist Church Sierra Leone - People Living with HIV and AIDS project, to make a home visit to one of their clients who is living with the HIVirus. Hawa, the mother of the family, had been contacted, to ask if she would be willing for Peter and I to visit her. MCSL is very careful in the way that they conduct the home visits, as often the neighbours are not aware of the status of the person they are visiting. This was the case with Hawa. A mother of four boys, all of them HIV positive, she had moved into the room of a house, as her husband had abandoned her, once he knew her status, even though, he himself is also positive. We went into the dark room, made of mud blocks, with a concrete floor, measuring 12’ x 8’. It had a zinc roof, but the rain-filled sky above could be seen through the holes, made from the nail holes when used on a previous building. The only protection for the window was chicken mesh. A piece of foam, covered with sheets, was on the floor. There was just one chair to sit on. Hawa and her four children share this space with a 5 more people.

Confidentiality was just one of the big issues of the conversation. She did not want her neighbours to know her status because of the possibility of being homeless again. All of them are taking antiretroviral drugs, but they are kept in a friend’s house who is also HIV+. The medication is given at 5am in the morning before the rest of the room is awake, so they do not know what is happening. Taking the medication on an empty stomach is not a good idea, and she spoke of her children sleeping a lot. The youngest child was sick, and needed to go the hospital for medication. At least this is now provided free. The three other boys were on holiday from school, but did not know their end of year results as the teachers were demanding almost £1 per child in order to give the results. The teachers have to find another way of supplementing their income, especially if they have not been paid.

Like many other women, Hawa discovered her status from blood tests done at the ante natal clinic. All pregnant women who attend ante natal clinics are tested, given counselling, and prescribed free drugs. She spoke of the father of the children. He too had been tested and is positive. But it is Hawa who is seen as bringing the sickness into the home. He now has another “wife” who is pregnant.Hawa shared with us her own health problems, and that she has been bleeding most of the time for 4 months, but did not have the money to pay for the medication. Hopefully this problem will be resolved in the next couple of days.

MCSL had helped Hawa , with the provision of a home kit which includes a bucket, blankets, and toiletries as well as food, and she spoke in great detail of how this had made a difference to the life of her family. She also highlighted how the fortnightly visits of the volunteers gave her encouragement, and removed the feeling of isolation. Before we left we prayed with the family, and the most common phrase spoken during the time together was “Ah tel God tehnki”.

We then moved to another part of Wilberforce Barracks where we visit Selia, who was recovering well, having been in hospital for two weeks. Feeling strong and eating well, she too said over and over again. “Ah tel God tehnki”. Like Hawa, she had discovered her status through the ante natal clinic, but unfortunately both her children had died. Her husband had left her, but friends had been encouraging him to return, that she needed his support and encouragement. He had not been tested for the virus. Her living conditions were slightly better than those of Hawa, and had friends that she could talk to. Her father knew of her status and though angry at first came to realise that his daughter needed him, and so had started to show more help. We prayed with her and left with the same words echoing -“ Ah tel God tehnki”.

We then drove much closer to the centre of Freetown, and not far from the college where we both teach. We went to visit Teresa, living in a room of the first floor. She had been seriously ill, three years ago, could not see, hear, or walk. Taken into hospital her blood was tested for the virus. Her daughter, 25 years at the time, was with her when she was given the news. She is the only member of the family who knows her status. Teresa’s husband works in the police, and says he has been tested negative. He knows Teresa is taking medication, but she says it is for sickle cell anaemia, which is common in Sierra Leone. We talked about safe sex, when just one partner is positive, and she said that they use condoms as they do not want to have any more children. She has developed some intriguing strategies to hide her status.

I had met Teresa at the monthly meetings in Wellington, and so there was an exchange of humour, when we went in, as I had taught the group the action song, “ Head , shoulders, knees and toes”. Laughing, Teresa told us how, if clients from the clinic meet each other in the street, they touch their head and shoulders as a greeting! Teresa hopes to be at the meeting on the third Friday in the month. Again we left with the words “Ah tel God tehnki”.

All the conversations we had were in Krio. Peter and I do not need literacy classes but we need to learn how to communicate in Krio. The empowerment of such women as Hawa, Selia and Teresa, through becoming literate and numerate, can make another difference to their lives. A group of people from MCSL, living positive lives, are to be trained at the end of July, to make this possible. They will then go on to teach their friends.

The Methodist Church Sierra Leone - People Living with HIV and AIDS project has over 300 clients on its books. Home visits are made to 46 of them, who live in various parts of Freetown. The commitment of the full time nurses is tireless, often not taking their annual entitlement to holiday leave. There is a team of volunteers, counsellors and social workers who work with the nurses, all of them HIV positive, present themselves as positive, optimistic people. For all of them, and organisations like Christian Aid that provides some of the funding for this vital project “ Ah tel God tehnki”.

Note. The training of Adult Literacy Facilitators will take place 19-30 July. Classes for the women who attend the monthly meetings will proceed, subject to funds being available. If you can find time to pray for this, “Ah tel God tehnki”

“Wata, Wata, Plastik, Plastik”

The collapse of the Nile Basin Initiative talks concerning the waters of the Nile River, has reminded me of just how problematic such conversations can be, even when there are only two countries involved and there are no complicated colonial treaties. Whilst we were working in Porto in the mid 1990s, a 3 day Iberian Summit was held in the same city but despite both Spain and Portugal’s concern on the issue of water, it was thought the subject was too divisive to be placed on the agenda. The numerous major river systems that cross Portugal, including the Douro and the Tejo, all rise in neighbouring Spain, seen at that time, as removing an excessive amount of water before it reached Portuguese territory.

Five East African countries have recently announced their refusal to go back on a deal they signed last month to share the waters of the Nile, despite fierce criticism from Egypt and Sudan. Egypt is of course almost totally dependent on the waters of the Nile and, in addition to the threat of climate change, is also watching the construction of a hydroelectric dams in East Africa. Meanwhile Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya proceeded with the signing of an agreement in May, without the participation of their northern neighbours. The Nile Water Treaty, signed in 1929, is perceived as unjust, having been agreed during a period of colonial rule. Two other nations, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have yet to sign the deal and have so far refused to say whether they plan to so or not.

The weather in Freetown this past week has demonstrated just how wet the next few months are likely to be, with the capital only recently receiving the heavy rainfalls that most of Salone has been experiencing for several weeks. One exceptionally heavy thunderstorm coincided with the announcement that more than 50 water companies have responded to the government’s requirement for certification and licensing from the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone for the selling of sachets of water. This is in response to a number of companies being found to be selling contaminated water. Supplies of piped water into the city are controlled by the Goma Valley Water Company from a reservoir in the nearby hills. However the infrastructure of the operation was designed in the 1960s for the capital’s 400,000 people and today greater Freetown has more than three times that number of inhabitants.

Thirsty people require drinkable water wherever they are and that includes when on the city’s streets as well as in their homes, which generally have no piped water supply. The demand for this most precious of all liquids, results in huge quantities of water being sold in polythene bags that hold half a litre of “treated” water, which unlike Goma Valley water, is considered drinkable. It is not difficult to imagine what happens to discarded polythene bags as they are dispensed with by pedestrian and households alike. Polythene bags quickly provide an impenetrable dam in storm water drains and result in flooding where it is least wanted, with the water packets that do escape the street gutters invariably end up in the sea and on neighbouring beaches.

A degree in environmental science is not required to conclude that water distribution in Freetown is an ongoing disaster in search of catastrophe. So when we heard of the Trashy Bag project from two USA mission partners who were in Ghana recently, we were all ears and cameras. (see www.trashybags.org). The ingenious recycling of 90 polythene bags and sewing them into an attractive and sturdy shopping bag is a huge initiative and provides employment for 150 people and offers a potential, if small, solution to the discarded water packet problem. In Freetown a packet of water costs approximately 5p, but at 10p a litre that is great deal of money to individuals and impoverished communities who consequently have to resort to drinking water without the security of knowing its quality, so that typhoid and other water borne diseases are far too prevalent.

At a time when Salone and Freetown enjoys a more than generous rainfall the problems of the Nile Basin nations can seem far removed from daily living but the issues of water are always multi-dimensional be to the north or the south of the Sahara.

Tiwai island

The well established ecotourism facility and wildlife sanctuary of Tiwai Island is one of several tropical rainforest islands on the Moa River in the south east of Sierra Leone. Local communities in the area are benefiting from visits by tourists and researchers to provide an income and support the needs of their communities. Since the end of the war, The Environment Foundation for Africa (EFA), with the aim of creating a protected area suitable for biodiversity research, conservation and ecotourism, has worked in convincing local communities that farming, hunting and logging are the not the only ways of prospering from the island.

Arriving on the island by boat you are led to a camp in an opening in the forest which comprises of a main central open-sided building, shower and toilet block and peripheral sleeping areas.

The central building holds information on the island and has dining facilities and is where you are debriefed. Around the edge of the camp there are currently three sleeping areas which consist of a concrete base with tents (without fly sheet) and mattresses under a wooden frame with corrugated iron roof. We soon discovered on the first night that this configuration works extremely well as we were totally protected from the heavy downpour. Extra accommodation in the form of wooden chalets in pockets of the forest which will offer a more luxurious stay are also being built. The facilities on the island are basic but the on-site cook provides good meals of local produce normally consisting of the typical rice, fish and nut stew. Drinks can be bought on island but it is still worthwhile bringing some provisions with you.

Activities on offer include guided walks, boat excursions on the river and spending time on a beach which unfortunately is only worth visiting during the dry season. Visitors can follow guided trails but in order to venture further a field we opted for a morning and evening guided walk as you are more likely to see the various species of monkeys and other wildlife at those times of day. There are several guides who take it in turns to show people around the island and whose knowledge of the grid system of tracks is invaluable. The tracks are designated by letters or numbers that after a while you would get to know but as we were only there for a short period of time its worth leaving the navigation to the guide.

Walking through the cool undergrowth of redwoods, thick vines, large crops of bamboo and smell of formic acid and stopping while the guide provides information of the flora and fauna or points out a group of monkeys you would have either walked passed or easily disturbed without realising they were there. Our guide also pointed out the significance of certain types of tree. The cotton tree is one significant example.

It is highly respected as it is considered to be sacred and that the closest and largest one to a village should not be chopped down, to for example, make a dugout. A striking example of this same symbolism can be seen in the old part of Freetown where a cotton tree provides a roost for thousands of bats most evenings. In traditional medicine, the seeds, leaves, bark and resin are used to treat dysentery, fevers, venereal diseases, asthma, menstruation and kidney diseases. Definitely a tree worth looking after. Another tree with more relevant symbolism in the west and visually impactive after being cut into was the latex tree.

Our guide was very helpful and informative and keen to provide us with the best chance of seeing and learning about whatever we came across, pointing out duiker droppings, monkey footprints and mimicing calls of certain monkeys. The duration of the walks were a lot longer than advertised but as we were so engrossed in the search for the different species of monkeys, chimpanzee being the most sought, we just kept on looking. One major benefit of the early morning walk is the temperature you experience under the protection of the canopy and relief from what would be energy sapping heat.

The most elusive creature in the area is the pygmy hippo. It is a solitary nocturnal animal only found in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. Its behaviour is currently being researched on Tiwai by an American lady who has only seen it three times in the flesh and uses motion trigger cameras to track the animals and glean potential information. Previous attempts to capture and tag these animals have proved unsuccessful as two animals ended up in a holding pen resulting in one killing the other. They are also so elusive that even when a BBC wildlife visited the island to film the they were unable to get any footage.

Amongst the various species of butterflies, spiders and vegetation the highlights of what we saw include western black and white colobus monkey, lesser spot-nosed monkey, diane monkey, red colobus monkey and olive colobus monkey.

We also saw several species of the six varieties of hornbill found there who’s call and noise of their wings flapping above the canopy were very distinct. The experience of wandering the forest, enjoying its sights and sounds and getting away from the hustle and bustle of Freetown is definitely worth the trip!