A bit over a week ago, we went on our second trek to check out two more of the six pilot counties involved in our project. This was supposed to be a longer trek, but ended up only being 2 days, 1 night, because the other team members were set on getting back to Monrovia as soon as possible (…even if it meant not doing as thorough a job as we should have...). Anyway, lots of driving down crazy unpaved roads in the dark, always safe and always fun. I kept some notes on during the trip and I think they’ll be able to say more and capture the mood in their original form much better than my verbose rhetoric will. It's a bit stream-of-conscious . . .
A quick overview – I’m going out to 6 villages in 6 different counties to do project assessments for a joint MIA/UNDP project that is aimed at increasing local governance capacity and advancing the goals of decentralization. So, here’s how the trip went down:
Meetings: difficult/challenging but good!
Highly political - Informal market - Focus on technical - Walked to see sites – cool
Cestos = fishing village, cold storage = big deal
Rain came – heavy - Took refuge in church – took pics of heavy rain
Noticed what looked like a body lying in a dark corner
Was not convinced alive…but moved.
Woman.
Soiled lappa [skirt].
Laying facing wall
Me: Is she ok?!?
She’s sick, here for spiritual healing.
Me: Sick in the mind or the body?
In the body.
Me: So we just leave her?!?
Yes.
Cold Storage – very logical for fishing community
Ate lunch like starving
Felt terribly hungry – shaking.
Devoured entire plate: rice, eggplant, fish. Left only bones.
Worm?
Meds amy gave me for running stomach = lifesaver!!! [spent weekend sick with running
stomach, pain, fatigue, but meds cleared it all up]
Super Star Boat – US$2,500
On the way here, team members kept saying road was terrible.
But not as bad as South Bank road in the
Asked by David: Are you married to an educated man?
Matta's Answer: Yes, my first husband, before the war killed him, he was a medical
doctor.
Hiding in church from rain, 1 hour now. . .
Got lots of info, frustrating at times
Lendeh – knows technical stuff well but told me I was “too interested in the economic side” – funny because I am NOT an econ person
Just want to actually justify projects and make sure they’re a good idea by lookin at REAL numbers. . . So hard to get real #s though . . .informal markets
Also, community members look at me and tell me higher prices because white denotes money
Original cost of canoe – US$15,000 – after other community members raised alarm, price revised to US$2000. Some people are honest!
The place we were supposed to sleep at got burglarized last night . . .
Buchanon. [a bigger town about 3 hours from Monrovia]
Found place to sleep
Smells like urine and bug spray.
Went to get beer with the old boys.
Hooker bar. Bakini’ed women painted on the walls. So loud music it was un-hearable, one Michael Jackson tribute song on repeat.
Didn’t finish beer.
Back to motel, confused how I end up in some places sometimes.
Sat and chatted with other team members in “lobby”
Chatting ended when ------- came home with women. Two.
Wanted to stab little man with sharp things. Disgusted/embarrassed.
Do what you want to do, but I don’t want to see it. Esp. older, married men.
Lame.
Bedtime.
Now horrified that this is a whore house
Old man Lendeh is vexed about the hookers – he was supposed to share room
with -----. I don’t blame the old man! I’d be livid. . .
I hear arguing in hallway, hookers leaving.
Not very long deh!
Can’t bring self to lay down in nasty bed.
Stood in room and took self portraits for 1.5 hours. What else can I write about….
Backtracking – the ride from Cestos to Buchanon was terrible
Road seemed MUCH worse at night. Tried to sleep
Seat didn’t recline
Felt car sick.
Also thought I was having a heart attack. Maybe just indigestion? Or OD'ed on
Amy’s stomach medicine?
2.5-3 hours in dark, bumpy, tired, dizzy, indigested, chest-painy, kept leaning
head on hand then punching self in face when we hit bumps. Often.
Tried deep breathes and happy thoughts.
Survived.
NOW exhausted. About to pass out. Sitting on side of nasty bed. Baby steps. Smell of urine has subsided – or I’ve adjusted.
Mosquito nets has holes. Wonder how much this place will cost me?
Grand Bassa, 30 June 2009
3 motorcycles parked in front of a huge puddle as a parade of Buchanon Renewables 18- wheelers, honking and waving to people. New trucks. Shiny and Off to
Jumped in UNDP car, made good time to Desoe town – here by 11.
Toured town, chatted, took pictures with kids, men, women, chatted more. 12. 1. 2. still now the other car has not arrived. But no network to call them.
Not sure where they are.
Want to start meeting – but everyone else thinks we should wait for the other car. It’s been hours.
But village is bereaved. Old man died last night. They want to get on with their lives.
I started the meeting at 2:30. We arrived at 11. I think we waited ample. After 45 minutes they show up, annoyed that we started without them – they were carrying the Commissioner. Politics. Silly.
Meetings went well but we should have stayed longer to be more thorough .. .. .. big rush to get back to Monrovia. In UNDP car again - made it back to Monrovia by 10:30 . . . the other car got stuck, had to stay in whore house again. Ha. Glad i wasn't there. . . . . . .
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