August 29
Today, Karl and I made the journey to Sierra Leone. It is a verifiable journey! We flew from Ghana to the Lungi airport and then navigated a large crowd to buy tickets for the ferry- yes, that is correct. To reach Freetown, you have a choice of the local ferry or a quick helicopter ride. As Karl and I both share a dislike for confined spaces, it was an easy choice to vote for the ferry. We had met our colleague, Dr. MacNamara from the University of Illinois, in Accra and we took on the journey together. Dr. MacNamara has been working in Sierra Leone with our colleagues from Njala University for the last few years and was of great assistance in the navigation. After a short bus ride, we boarded the ferry and enjoyed local music videos as we traveled over a grumpy and bumpy sea.
When we landed and claimed our baggage, we traveled to our hotel in the heart of Freetown. For a Sunday evening, the town was active with several people out shopping and enjoying a walk through the city. It was a beautiful night with very agreeable temperatures. Freetown is a town of hills and we traveled several of those to our final destination. We are looking forward to seeing the city in the daylight and I am especially looking forward to seeing the mountains that surround the city and give the nation it's name-- Lion Mountains.
August 30
It is difficult to believe we are at the end of August; this summer has gone so quickly. The Food Processing and Fortification Workshop for Enhanced Nutrition in Sierra Leone was held in the Mamba Point Hotel and Conference Center. It was a nice morning with good sunshine but without the heavy heat and humidity we were expecting in the afternoon. Instead of heat we were met with repetative rain storms that darkened the skies.
The workshop was co-hosted by Helen Keller International, Njala University, and the University of Illinois. Over 40 participants attended the workshop where presentations were given about micro-nutrient needs, food fortification work in Sierra Leone, soy nutrition, flour fortification, HAACP and food safety, soy functionality and applications, and school nutrition.
It was a pleasure to be a part of the workshop and we thank Dr. MacNamara for his invitation. He has worked dilligently to reconnect the University of Illinois and Njala University. It is exciting to see this collaboration continue to grow.
Sierra Leone is a beautiful nation that is working to address many challenges. It is a nation with the second highest infant mortality rate, significant malnutrition and many developmental needs. These issues were all part of the topics discussed today and groups were gathered to work on creating solutions. This was also wonderful to witness.
After the workshop, we met with several of the attendees to answer questions and continue discussions on soy usage opportunites in Sierra Leone and enjoyed a dinner with a Helen Keller International representative.
Regards,
Bridget
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