We left early to get to Moyamba in good time. It meant traveling on some rough roads and in all it took us about 4 hours to get there. On the journey we saw many burned out buildings where rebels in the civil war had left their mark and many obsolete train stations. We arrived in the village and was led into a mud and wooden building, which was in fact the school. Inside sat 100 or so children and teachers and we sat on a top table. The school head welcomed us and after greeting and introductions we were treated to a cultural programme of african dance. The singing and rhythms banged out on the drums and percussion instruments made our ears tingle and it was an amazing welcome. We were shown the school being built - a concrete structure which seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the village. They explained that a further £5000 was still needed for its completion. After returning to the current school we said our goodbyes and continued on to Bo.
Bo is Sierra Leone's second city and unlike Freetown is supplied by electricity, although only a few buildings seemed to be connected. The cathedral was smaller then Freetown but the space to work in was actually bigger. There seemed to be much more of a relaxed and laid back atmosphere in Bo and working with the children we felt this too. A highlight for us was splitting everyone into smaller groups one day when waiting for lunch with a Free For All leader working with each one. As each group started to sing songs and dance it led to an impromptu celebration as one of the students lept to the drum kit and started to play. We must have danced and sang as a group of around 150 for about 30 minutes. We performed on to an audience on Saturday and the children were great. It was possibly one of the best performances we have done. On Sunday we attended the Cathedral and expressed our thanks for a great few days. Bishop S Gbonda was delighted to get a Free For All T shirt and we presented all the T-shirts we had left to the Cathedral.
On Monday we took a last trip to the market for gifts and memorabilia and then all spent the rest of the day on Laka beach. It was desert island like and a great way to say goodbye to this special country. These 11 days have been a special time for us all and we have all made our own individual connections. Perhaps for Zoe (Our Singer) it has been the most special. She had knowledge of her Grandfather living in Freetown but had never met him or that side of her family. Although he had passed away, the tight knit community were able to lead her to other siblings who turned out to be her aunties. As we say goodbye we have all been touched by this place and has been the perfect finale for the Free For All tour. Check out all our photos in the gallery and I will put a link to the video highlights of our trip in due course. To see photos out and about around Freetown and Bo click here
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