I can't believe I have posted 100 blogs since I started on November 30, 2008. My subjects have been mainly related to motorcycling or propaganda. Motorcycling has included driving tips, technical stuff, nice roads and bikes. The propaganda started with some myths about Nazi propaganda and also included some current propaganda, religion and politics. Because I consider all those to be bound up with propaganda. I ended up with over 20 blogs about propaganda alone.2009 is the fortieth anniversary of my first year as a teacher and a CUSO volunteer in in Sierra Leone. I found out that the current president of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, might have been in my class at Magburaka Secondary School for Boys in 1969. He attended that school, and was 16 in 1969, the year I started teaching there. I don't have the actual class registry, and it's too long ago to remember all the names, but I do remember a few "discussions" on politics in my Physics class - proving once again that I have a hard time sticking to one subject. I am hopeful that he turns out to be a good president, Sierra Leone deserves it.
I also found a current picture on the Internet of my old house on the MSSB school compound, which has been partly destroyed by the war in the nineties. That war finally ended when Tony Blair sent British troops in on a peacekeeping mission. Some good things can be achieved by peacekeeping, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about it. I want to congratulate Tony Blair and the British peacekeepers for doing it the right way.
Congratulations on your 100th blog entry ... a landmark worth noting. I trust the next 100 will be as worthwhile reading as the first.
ReplyDeleteHello! I think that your blog is spectacular. I was born in Sierra Leone. I would like to hear about how you became a CUSO volunteer and why you chose to become one.
ReplyDeleteI hope President Kamara is a good one too.
Cuso was originally "Canadian University Service Overseas", similar to the Peace Corps in the US. Started up in 1961 at the University of Toronto. By 1969 it had government funding and had spread to many Universities. It was a non-religious organization whose goal was to promote international goodwill and development in the third world. It has evolved since 1969, but sill kind of similar.
ReplyDeleteIn 1969 their main activity was sending Canadian University graduates to teach in various developing counties with teacher shortages. Usually a two year term, with expenses paid by CUSO and a salary paid by the host school - at the same level of pay as locally recruited teachers.
I was 20 years old and was just finishing my Math and Physics degree when I got a CUSO pamphlet in the mail, that was the first I heard of CUSO. I decided to go because why not? The only reason a person would not go would be because they were 1. afraid 2. wanted to make a lot of money fast 3. had friends, family, a girlfriend to leave behind .
At that time, my ties to home were not enough to make me pass up the opportunity. I grew up in a small and isolated northern community, and I wanted to see more of the world. And if I could combine that with helping out in a poor country, that was even better. I made my decision not really knowing where in the world I would go, who I would meet, what would happen to me. By a stroke of luck I was sent to a country that even though I had never heard of it before, turned out to be one of the best countries I could have gone to, and many CUSO volunteers extended their stay in Sierra Leone, as I did. When I left after 3 years, I did miss many things about living in Sierra Leone, and I include among the things I miss, the friendship and hospitality that all of the Sierra Leone people showed me when I was there. I also missed the music, the food, the beaches, the climate, my motorcycle, my teaching job, and my CUSO and Peace Corps friends.
I just wish more people in the world could travel to other counties and meet nice people there - because we would not have as many wars. I still think President Bush was a bad choice just because he didn't know anything about people outside of the USA.