Salone 23: Day 10 and Day 11- The journey back and final thoughts from us all…

After another hearty breakfast on Sundfay 29th, we set off just before 12 pm to catch our ferry headed for Lungi airport. Lots of emotions and pupils both looking forward to being home, asking each other what is the thing they most look forward to (McDo being one firm favourite!), but sad at the same time to leave Salone behind. Very smooth check-in and then departure- duty free prices an aboslute joke ($16 for chocolates!? really?), and then finally at 7 pm we boarded our flight bound for Brussels first, and then London. Poor Tobin and I spent most of the flight awake as Tobin became ill due to some dodgy tuna sandwich picked up at the airport. We finally made it to Heathrow, despite all this around 10 am and said goodby to Oriane, Chrina, Tobin, Holly and Cami. The rest of us continued our journey to Wells. Thank you for the beautiful presents we received on our arrival and for your kind messages, emails and all your support of me and the team, and mostly a big thank you to all 15 pupils who made this trip one for the books! Thank you Dimity, Emily, Ella, Gabby, Cami, Eva, Oriane, Nina, Chrina, Ellie, Holly (OW), Alex, Kelvin, Tobin and Theo. And of course thank you to Naughty Neil, Jammy Jack (who decided to stay over a few extra days) and Shimmy Shelley- a great team! So here our final thoughts... Final thoughts by ‘Naughty” Neil Bowen So another unforgettable Salone comes to the end. This one we have had to deal with more illness among the team than usual, but spirits have remained high. The burden of dealing with illness fell most heavily on Jules and we are all grateful to her for the indefatigable and highly capable way she managed the situation. As ever, the standout moments of the trip were when our pupils interacted with Salone children. Each year I am struck by the sheer joy of this experience and by the openness and friendliness of both the hosts and the visitors. Another standout moment for me was the sight of Mr Coward turning down food. Normally Jack ‘three pies’ has what might be called a healthy appetite, so he really must have been feeling rough to eschew the chance to enjoy a lunch of chicken and rice after the epic inter school football match. That he was still there lending his support to the team though clearly feeling under the weather and suffering from the intense heat is a testament of the supportive spirit of the whole team. Every single member of the team can be proud of their contribution - they were all fantastic ambassadors for our school. Of course, Jack will be much missed next year, but one consolation is that, at least, there’ll be a substantial saving on the food budget! Final thoughts by “Shimmy” Shelley Deans Thank you Ballanta , JTR, all the fantastic schools we visited, Freetown, and Sierra Leone for an incredible shared experience with wonderful colleagues and pupils. This was without exception the most enriching school experience I have had the privilege to be a part of. The highlight for me was observing how beautifully, skilfully and sensitively our pupils interacted with the children, educators and people of Sierra Leone; they were an inspiration and a credit to their families and our school community. We were immersed in music, dance , drama , culture, conservation, , delicious food, colour , vibrancy, education , love , joy and hope for 10 days, leaving an indelible mark on all our souls. “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Maya Angelou Final thoughts and reflections by ‘General Juicy’ Jules Desmarchelier This trip was always going to be my last one, for a while at least, and so it was always going to be an odd one, full of mixed emotions. In fact, this trip has proven to be one of a kind! After a great journey on the way there, we started all well and good on Saturday 21st… but by 4 pm on our first day, we had our first heat exhaustion. This was not anything that we had not experienced during the other trips, but usually, it happened more towards the end! This was the beginning of a week of off and on sickness amongst our 15 pupils, including a trip to the local, and may I say rather better organised than some I have experienced in the UK, hospital. I had always been worried about having to take a pupil or a member of staff for fears of the unknown I suppose. But what this has shown me, is that if you are sick and can afford the bills, then you will receive excellent care (and yes it does mean a divide in society, as those who cannot afford it or have no insurance, have to go to the other hospital in town). This also served to remind me how much things have changed in Freetown since my first trip and why I love this place so much, and why I believe it is such a life changing experience for our pupils, that far outweighs the potential health issues we encounter.

Our arrival was a million miles from our previous ones, with a brand new sparkling International airport, sleek passport control and even sleeker transfer to the Sea coach buses to go down to the ferry port… On a brand new road courtesy of Chinese investment, no great gaping hole like last year forcing us to take a detour. Even more new restaurants along Lumley Beach Road- still without running water unfortunately, where once there was nothing but corrugated iron with beautiful paintings.

And yet, so many things have not changed: the warmth of the people of Sierra Leone, the poverty at every corner and the love towards our pupils at both Ballanta and JT Reffell.

Despite the illness, I was proud to see our pupils’ resilience and to see them bounced back after their recovery. It was hard as they are not used to this type of climate, but they ploughed on and fought valiantly. Does it make me question the validity of this trip? Of course it does… but ultimately, I believe that this is a wonderful eye opener for our pupils, an opportunity to experience something unique, and to feel that they can be themselves and make a difference. It was wonderful to see them appreciate talent in the least expected of places and embrace the Salonean culture, join in and even already talk of coming back. They hated me for pulling them out of Big Market where the haggling was mind boggling! It was lovely seeing them all wear their African outfits on our return journey today, bringing some warmth in the English countryside.

So, yes it was a stressful trip, as any parents would worry if their child was feeling unwell in an unknown environment, but our pupils made it a very enjoyable trip, full of laughters and music. Over the last 8 years or so, we have taken nearly 100 pupils to this magic place, and all have become part of the Sierra Leone Project, spreading the word about what we do there and the importance of such relationships with the Ballanta Academy of Music and Performing Arts. There are too many memories for me, but no matter which group we take, the people of Sierra Leone and the Country will always stay in my heart.

I shall remain at the helm of the Project and organise future trips, but for now, Shimmy Shelley has agreed to return next year, which is great! It has been a pleasure taking our pupils there, and I want other members of staff to discover Salone and fall in love with it. For now, I shall cherish the memories and friends I have made with the people I have met. TENKI as they say in Krio for the music and for the opportunities.

I shall leave you with something that has stayed with me since the first time I visited the Don Bosco Orphanage:

Child you are a special person You have talents and skills for you to develop and grow Always think of your rights, they protect you from them when they treat you badly Your are the future of the country You have the power to change the world because you are the world. Until next time, I very much feel like this little guy, left behind on the beach…

Salone 23: Day 9 Tacugama National Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Our lovely day started with a later breakfast than normal, however we still had some members of our group who turned up considerably later than everyone else! We had a stern reminder from the General about the rather messy state of some rooms and then we were sent off to get ourselves ready for the hike. En route, General D spotted what could easily have been our next lunch sticking out of one of the millions of keke in Freetown!

After a nerve wracking car journey which was so bumpy it succeeded in waking up Gabby and Oriane (who were having their usual nap in the bus) we got to the sanctuary: a place where they look after Chimpanzees, the national animal of Sierra Leone, either because they are injured, or have been abandoned as pets. Our first stop however, was the 2 hour trek to Mount Benet. We started our hike only to discover the tour guide had the wrong key to open the gate near the dam! However he did not let this defeat him and used his machete to hack down part of the fence so we could climb around the gate.

After this adventurous entrance, we began our trek with some lovely views at the dam, before starting our ascent to Mount Benet and the view Point.

We were treated to the ‘magic malaria tree’ by our guide and we all drank some of the water flowing from it, meaning we were doubly protected against malaria. It was here Alex made the unpleasant discovery of a centipede crawling around under his shirt, which was swiftly removed. This led to much teasing by Naughty Neil. Our hike nearly ended up longer than intended due to a miscommunication with the guide, but this was quickly spotted by the General because, as we were frequently reminded, ‘I have been here 7 times before guys’. We finally got to the view point and could see Waterloo and the region north of Freetown, beyond the surrounding hills. After the General handed out some much needed peanut brittle (given to us by Mr Jawad), we started our descent back to the dam.We then walked slowly down to the waterfall (with some quick sprints to avoid the rather large ants). There we were treated to more beautiful views! We then made our way back up the hill where we had a lovely lunch of rice and fish stew, much needed after our long and sweaty trek! We were then joined by Chrina, Eva and Jammy Jack, who had stayed behind due to taking it easy after not having felt great.

We then had a tour of the chimpanzee sanctuary and were amazed at how human they seemed. We even found some chimpanzees named after members of our group (Camilla).

Despite our sweatiness, we then went to the market where we (badly) haggled our way to several purchases with some of us being rather overwhelmed by the noisy and enthusiastic sellers. Special mention to Eva who was a pro haggler and got a necklace for just 10 Leones (clearly fully recovered!). We had a cold shower at the hotel and then had a delicious buffet meal at Alex’s Beach Bar (which doesn’t actually belong to our Alex) where we were joined by Musa, Kitty and Stephan (a German brass player who comes every year) and Lovelace. On our return to the hotel, some of us went for a last swim, procrastinent the inevitable packing of our suitcases… thus making leaving Salone a reality! We want to say thank you to all the teachers on this trip that have made it so special! Thank you to Shimmy Shelley, Jammy Jack, Naughty Neil and last but certainly not least Juicy Jules (aka ‘the General’). All of us have made memories to last a lifetime. We are sad it’s our last night in Sierra Leone and will miss it greatly. Special message to all our mothers... if only we had kekes in Wells!

Salone 23: Day 8 The Football match

This morning Théo and I woke up and went to breakfast on time (ish) at 7:35. Kelvin and Sibley sauntered into the dining area closer to 8 nearly half an hour late, this has become somewhat normal though so nobody was worried. After breakfast we were slightly late piling up into our respective transport vehicles, as one of us went down hard and both General D and Shimmy Shelley had to stay behind to look after the patient, and make sure that they got the right treatment. After a while, we all made our way as one big group to JTR. It took us a long time to get there as the roads were very busy this morning and we had to take a longer route up and around the mountain so we arrived at about 10 (ish) instead of the normal 9:15 am. The girls who had been at JTR this week had selected a couple of us each to help them with their lessons this morning. The kids at the school were excited to see some new faces and thoroughly enjoyed the short ‘lessons’ we delivered - which consisted mostly of fun group games. Next we had a VERY important football match. After a nail- biting 30 minutes the final score was 2-2 a DRAW! Mine and Théo’s personal Man of the Match was Naughty Neil (AKA Mr Bowen) for his sensational goal keeping very much keeping us in the game. Our favourite moment in the match was Kelvin’s shot from half way, which flew its way into tho back of the net starting our comeback from 2-0 down at half time! Then we were treated to some Jollof rice and chicken - a classic but it hits the spot. On the whole the experience at JTR school was awesome.

After JTR the original plan was to head to the big market, unfortunately we had a couple people back at the hotel from illness and everyone was rather hot and sweaty after the football match, so the teachers decided it might be best if we went tommorow when everyone could go! We then returned to the hotel instead where we showered and chillaxed by the pool… In the evening at roughly 5 we headed to Ballanta for the last time for the final concert, the BAFA, which marks the anniversary of the creation of the Ballanta Academy. We had supper when we arrived which was couscous with boiled veg - rather scrumptious. The concert scheduled to start at 6 started closer to 7. It kicked off with the SL national anthem performed by a group of brass Ballanta students. Then there was a solo pianist who played Für Elise. After that, us lot did our set, consisting of the pieces we played in the outreach concerts, which were all received well. We were then treated to some more traditional Sierra Leonian dancing such as we had seen at the cultural village. Then there was a brief interval before we watched the Republic of Sierra Leone’s Armed Forces Band (the RSMAF Band for short). They played a short set which consisted of some covers of noteable artists such as Adele, John Lennon and Elton John and it was fab! We headed back to the hotel for a well earned rest, and to check on the patient. We are happy to report that the patient is on the mend and received the best care possible- thanks General D for your care.

By Théo and Tobin, edits by JDA.

Salone 23: Day 7 Memorial service for PC Kombarai Peter Penfold- British High Commissioner

Today started with us hopping on the bus to Ballanta and JTR, as per usual after a good hearty breakfast of pancakes, watermelon, papaya, oranges, bananas, omelettes, cakes, coffee and powdered milk for Cami- don’t ask, the girl is obsessed (NDLR). As we knew we would have to curtail our teaching at JTR, Dimity, Ella and Cami started with some French with Y4, with General Jules next door doing the same lesson with the other Y4, whilst Gabby and Emily entertained the Y3 with some Drama games. We then took on Y6 for one final time, and Gabby and Cami did Fortune tellers- they had great fun trying to tell our fortunes afterwards! Pupils and teachers stopped at 11 am to head back to Ballanta to have an early lunch, get changed and head out.

Today was the final day teaching in Ballanta. All of us were undoubtedly fond of our students and will miss them massively despite only knowing them for a few days. We taught everything from piano to dance to playing the song ‘tequila ’ on the trumpet and saxophone. Although we were the ones doing the teaching we’ve learnt so much from the people of Sierra Leone. Their friendliness, optimism and kindness is something we’ll never forget.

We ended teaching early today in order to attend the memorial of the late PC Konmrabai Peter Penfold, ex British High Commissioner of Sierra Leone, and the reason why we , Wells Cathedral School, have this strong bond with Ballanta. He was the one who suggested the music school to Mr Ladley when in 2009, Mr Ladley wanted to establish a link with Sierra Leone, having served here in the British army during the civil war (NDLR). Despite never knowing him in person, we all got a sense of how influential and positive his life had been. Camilla brilliantly played a solo Bach piece on the violin in his honour. At the end of the service, his wife Celia Penfold scattered half his ashes and a tree was planted in honour of the man that changed the lives of many people in St Augustine’s Church garden, to the sound of Tell him tenki, Tell him thank you), a Krio tune, played by our ‘blowers’ as Mr C referred to the Euphonium, Saxophones, Trumpet and Bassoon. It was a long service (nearly 3 hours), but pupils were an absolute credit to the school and their parents of ourselves (NDLR).

We then headed to the Golf Club for supper where we all enjoyed the great food, socialised and wound down for the day. Afterwards we were treated to an ice cream at Gigibonta, where we were all spoilt for choice from an array of amazing flavours. Eva and Oriane, edited as usual by General JDA.