We’ve returned back to London after a wonderful and hugely successful trip to Sierra Leone. Dr. Jalloh and his family and staff are so nice and lovely. They have looked after us in every possible way and the work they carry out is so important. Being a vet in Sierra Leone is not something you do to make money, it’s something you do because you love animals. Dr. Jalloh has a very big heart.
The delivery of the Mercedes clinic was very successful. It came off the boat and was taken to SLAWS. The theft that was carried out on the boat was limited to the first room and the reception. Most items such as operating tables, medical equipment and supplies, food, toys etc etc were still there. They took tools, some food, the projector and random things like the torch, but not its charger, which means it will be useless by now for them. Very frustrating, both for them and us! We brought a new one though as Mark had an identical at home. We also brought new tools and a new projector (paid for by my boss so won’t affect the WSPA budget, woohoo!) so all in all they more or less got everything that was in the truck initially.
The thieves also left random bits and we picked out a few useful things like an adapter and some other electrical things (I think it was, don’t quote me on that, Paul will verify later!)
Mark has shown the drivers and Sulaiman how to operate the truck and how to park it up safely with the stabilizers and how to take the awning out to make the reception.
Dr. Jalloh told me that they have done several clinics out in the regions in the past and most of the time it’s the children that come with their dogs. Most, not to say all, are far too poor to pay for the vaccination and the sterilization which is why it is so incredibly important to support WSPA. If it wasn’t for the WSPA-funding Dr. Jalloh wouldn’t be able to carry out his work.
He has vaccinated and sterilized several thousands of dogs in Freetown which means the stray dog population is now a lot lower. Every female dog can have up to 6 puppies which means that it doesn’t take long before it gets out of hand if it’s not controlled.
A lot of dogs carry diseases such as rabies which humans can contract. As children are the ones closest to the dogs they are also the most vulnerable. They are the ones that get bitten and if rabies is not treated immediately the child will probably die. You can read more about rabies on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies
With this truck they will now be able to travel further and it won’t cost them as much. The clinic is equipped with two beds and there is room for more to sleep on the floor. That means they don’t need to find anywhere to stay and pay money for hotels/hostels or anything like that. They have sinks with running water and a toilet in the clinic so all they need is a place to park.
The toys we brought Dr. Jalloh is intending to give to the children that come with their dogs as an incentive and thank you for taking care of their animals. He wants to change people’s attitude to animals and make them understand that animals have feelings and emotions just like humans.
The old LDV, the mobile clinic they had from before is also on track to recovery. It turned out that the engine computer was faulty and therefore the new engine that was installed wouldn’t start. This is not a big problem however and we have linked up with IMATT (International Military and Assistance Team, a British initiative; http://www.operations.mod.uk/africa/imattsl.htm)
This means that Dr. Jalloh has backup from mechanics he can trust. Unfortunately that is one of the problems in Sierra Leone, they don’t have access to the same education and training as we do and hence lack skills in some areas. It is difficult to get hold of a mechanic who knows what he is doing.
Mark and Jules trained Sulaiman who lives with Dr. Jalloh so he can maintain and look after these two vehicles. Sulaiman is very bright and Mark said he picked up the skills very quickly. He is keen to learn and works hard, which is very reassuring for us. We don’t want this clinic or the LDV to deterorate as it is very robust and with maintenance should have at least 10 – 15 years worth of use left. Once the engine is gone it can be parked up and used as a stationary clinic, but before that happens it would be great to get as wide reach and much use as possible out of it.
We also went to a national radio station that broadcasts over Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. They are very keen to promote animal wellness and to spread the word that animals should be treated as well as humans and not as second class. It was quite scary as we weren’t briefed beforehand and had to answer the questions there on the spot, on live radio! I think we all did well though, considering the circumstances. We have a copy of the interview and will publish it here as soon as we have converted it to mp3 or whichever formats this website needs. (May need to publish it on Youtube or something instead, but if so we will put a link here.)
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Update: Here’s a link to a video panning SLAWS yard and showing some of the two clinics. Apologies for the poor filming – I’m not used to this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCzuw5dNMXM
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Sierra Leone as a country is amazing. They have a lot of assets, but unfortunately they don’t seem to be able to draw from them. The country is very poor and infrastructure is more or less nonexistent. The people are happy, friendly and very helpful. We made lots of friends and they weren’t harassing us just because we were white.
Off course, the beggars perhaps lingered a bit longer by our car than by the other cars, but when walking the streets people just looked and smiled at us, waved and said hello. They wanted to make friends with us, but they weren’t pushy or aggressive. If we stopped and talked they spoke with us, but if we just smiled and walked on they let us be. Wise from other African countries this was quite a nice change.
They don’t seem to produce anything, everything is imported. Even fruit juices like orange and pineapple comes in glass bottles from Egypt, Morocco etc. This means prices are almost as high as in England. A can of coke costs approximately 30p if you buy it in a shop, 60p if you buy it in a cafe and about £1 if you go to a swanky place. Bearing in mind that most people don’t make more than a few pounds a day, if even that, prices are very high. Even for me with a British salary I thought things were expensive. Two hot dogs and two portions of chips came to nearly £10 for example!
On a more positive note, Sierra Leone have some of the most amazing beaches in the world. Freetown’s main beach is called No 2. White sand, palm trees, warm sea and tropical jungle behind you. Think paradise and you will be close.
There is a river and you can go up it in a wooden canoe. You travel through mangroves and the peace and quiet is so calming. All you hear is the small splashes the paddling makes. You see exotic birds and if you are lucky – which we were – you see wild monkeys. We heard a lot of them and we also saw one or two running and swinging in the trees.
We saw chimpanzees at the Tacugama Tescue Centre (http://www.tacugama.com/) but it’s not the same thing when they are in an enclosure. To see monkeys in their real habitat is just jaw-droppingly amazing.
When you get to the end you can swim in natural lake with sweet water and we were lucky to see some locals washing their clothes in the river. The children were mezmerised by us and kept waiving.
Mark climbed up on the mangroves which was something he’s always wanted to do. Apparently he saw a program with Ray Mears where he said that it’s not a good idea to get stuck in mangroves as you will have trouble getting out. They are not strong enough to walk on and you get tangled up quickly.
Mark can confirm that they are not easy to climb on and you certainly need proper shoes. (Which will then be wet and weigh you down.)
We were a bit late and took a little bit too long up at the end of the river so when we came back the tide had come in. It was very dark and the waves were high and the current very strong. We got to a point and then we just couldn’t get any further. It was very frightening as we were 6 people in a very small wooden canoe and the ocean waves were hard and strong. We fought for 20 minutes and then managed to get to a different shore where we could leave the canoe and walk back.
It turned into a proper adventure and walking back in the pitch black African jungle with some of the locals was a great experience.
We had food there, grilled barracuda and chips/couscous and I had grilled shrimps. Very tasty food and such a beautiful night. The moon was full and we could see the silhouette of the mountains around us and the sea in front of us. Stunning. No words can describe it.
We are so lucky to have had this experience. Mark has been the driving force but we all chipped in to make it happen and it has given us so much in return. We think we have made a difference, which is important for us. We have taught Sulaiman mechanical skills and he’s adopting Mark & Jules attitude to maintain things rather than fix it when it’s broken which is a great start. We are also going to send down A+ and networking books for him as he wants to get into IT.
We’ve also equipped Dr. Jalloh with not one but two mobile clinics. (Ok, the LDV is 95% there but we’ve established links with IMATT to ensure it gets going.) The amount of work he will be able to carry out is fantastic. He will be able to get to the regions which otherwise wouldn’t have had any chance of getting their dogs vaccinated or sterilized.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who has made this possible either by donations or support in other ways. You know who you are. The comments on WSPA’s facebook page has been amazing and really kept us going when it was tough. It’s been very hard work, but so worth it. It certainly has been a trip of a lifetime.
Thank you.
Mark, Jules, Paul and Vivi
