I was catching up with someone who is desperately interested in moving back. Me being the realist that I am, when ANYONE approaches me about moving back, I don’t try to paint a picture that isn’t there. In fact, many people send me messages about my blog saying that’s why they appreciate my posts. I am not here to paint a rosy picture, but many people have asked “why do you love it there so much?” or “why do you keep going back?” First of all, let me answer this one really quickly. I don’t just keep coming back, just luck would have it, things keep bringing me back. I was really interested in moving to East Africa for a few years. I am still interested if anyone wants to find me a good job 🙂
Anyway, this time around I was asked for the conversation to shift: “tell me about the good things!” I guess I don’t talk about the good things only and it may SEEM like I only focus on the negative, but I never want it to be one or the other. It is not all good and it is not all bad. It is all mixed in, BUT I’ll take this challenge. You asked for it. What do I love about being in Sierra Leone? This is in no particular order…
Peace. I am at peace here mentally more than I am in the U.S. Although we have our own issues with the colonizers and other foreigners, I don’t have the same worries here as I do in the U.S. I just feel at home. Even when things are tough, I feel so at peace with the fact that I don’t have to be conscious of my skin all the time or other things that put me on edge in the U.S.
Warm weather. Year-round warm weather. Everyone who knows me, know that I hate the cold. If I am feeling gloomy, I can choose from the many beaches available. I can go to Lumley and watch and feel the waves, watch the sun set or rise. Feel the warmth. If I want to swim, number 2 beach is not far. Even when it is rainy season, it is beautiful. There is something about the rain that brings me what I describe above, peace.
What rain looks like or the formation of rain…beautiful no?
Money goes far. I am a millionaire in my country I always tell people. Let’s not talk about the economic implications of this because this is a happy post! Anyway, what’s mine is mine. If I buy a house or a car, it is not on credit. The land and house are mine. I don’t have to worry about bank payments. I can find a good home for about $5,000 a year and it is paid off, so even if I hit a moment where I am struggling financially, you know what I don’t have to worry about? My rent. I used to work 12 hours daily and even on the weekends. I had no time to rest or do anything. 300,000 leones a month (about $30) can get me someone to come to my house every week to clean and wash my clothes. I probably could add 400k and have them cook, but I don’t eat like that at home.
Most of all…I feel like I am making an impact. Small, but still, I feel fulfilled. Whereas in the U.S., except for the times I worked in places like Baltimore, I always felt like I was just working to make money and take care of my many bills. Here I FEEL like I am making a difference. When I say here, it is not just Sierra Leone. I mean on the continent in general. My father would disagree with me. Many of his generation would also. They say Africa is a lost cause. Many of my colleagues who have come and failed and returned would also agree, but this is about me not you. Ha! Nothing gives me more joy than when I see that child finally learn a new thing in my class and they are so excited. Or when we find a new home for a child with SUDU and they are jumping for joy. Or when I get messages from the many youth I’ve worked with since I came back in 2014 updating me about their accomplishments, many of them owing some of it to what I considered a very short time I worked with them.
This and many other small things bring me joy working in Sierra Leone and on the continent and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Salone Creatives 
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