Sierra Leone - Freetown (2)
Today, Mohamed (from the YMCA staff) is going to visit Kroo Bay - the largest slum of Freetown, along with us. The YMCA participated (together with other non-profit organizations) in a relief project.
The heavy rain from last night flooded the road down to the tin-roofed shacks with garbage washed up from other parts of the town and now it is impassable by cars. Residents have already begun to remove the rubbish, but because there are loads of it, it will take some more time.
Kroo Bay is, as already mentioned above, one of Freetowns slums in which about 6.000 people are living in very cramped conditions in shacks and sheds. Here, the Crocodile River flows into the sea, flooding the miserable dwellings every year during the rainy season and carrying cholera and other diseases.
“Save the Children” founded the “Kroo Bay Project” in 2007, with the objective (among others) to renovate and equip the run-down clinic, prevention of the overflowing of the Crocodile River banks by building walls of sandbags, instructing residents in health care so that they are informed about such important things as saving their babies lives by giving them rehydration salt when they get diarrhea.
“Save the Children” has an interactive website with 360° panoramas, on which they present the latest news in “webisodes”. I think it is worth seeing and probably the best website for a slum.
The rest of the day we were strolling through the streets. Despite the unbearable heat, they are overcrowded. Our skin is wet and our clothes are sticking to our body. The climatic conditions are extreme for just flown in Europeans. Now and then we have to pause at some shady spot and drink to get the important liquid in that climate.
And in the evening, of course, we were able to spend some time at the terrace of the hostel which has a gorgeous view of the city. At dusk, you can watch an impressive spectacle from here: the starting of hundreds of fruit bats flying every day from the nearby Cotton Tree into the night…
… to be continued
