Days One and Two

1st day 

As soon as we arrived at our accommodation in Makeni it was go-time. 

We went straight to the clinic to see the center and get a briefing from emma, who told us how the nextfewdays should pan out . So we painted signs for the race , ate chicken and rice, took photos of kids at the center who had come to welcome the runners. I drank about a gallon of water and stayed to help erect a marquee before being called to lewis's side (the race director) for my first task assisting marie and ches with night time hotel drop offs. What's a few days hard work for this cause? We're all in it together. 

2nd day 

Getting dressed in front of the fan this morning was the coolest I've been all day! I took note of the cultural norms and wore trousers. Finally submitting to the heat several hours later I changed in to a skirt I had packed in my bag.

I make my way, by motorbike taxi, to the town hall to help with runner registration. 'Aporto!' kids shout in the street. Not because of the skirt though!  'Aporto' means white skin. 

Later in the day, as a bus used to take runners to village visits waits at a petrol station, two Amputee children, possibly homeless,  ask the passengers for food.

'Hey friend, how you doing chum?' 

They were given water but I couldn't help but feel that they needed more and that this was why we were here. For those children who slipped through the net. 

We spend the rest of the day running small errands and carrying out tedious but necessary tasks to help bring the event together. During race registration I get talking to a guy called Jon, from Kono, who runs a similar charity to Street Child, in fact working in conjunction to each other. He tells me that through his work he has formed a football team made entirely of boys that he helps called Everton FC Kono. A lot of under age football teams here apply for funding from their premier league namesakes, some of whom succeed in gaining kits, footballs, visits to the clubs in their home countries and in the case of Manchester City FC in Sierra Leone, a mini bus.  

We leave a huge call-drop to runners, to visit the amputee football match, which is incredible. Watching grown men play with such speed and control with only one leg felt very humbling. They play internationally and are the national team. I'm looking forward to seeing them run in the 5km race on Sunday. 

I'm becoming progressively overwhelmed with how different (surprise, surprise) life is here. The tiniest things are difficult to deal with-brushing your teeth or flushing the toilet is much more involved than turning a tap or pressing a button. A fact that's enforced when you consider that countries nearby are much more developed simply because they have a richer economy. I think of my generation in this country, and generations above, and the penny drops that they are all survivors of a horrendous war. The sun-sets over Makeni, poignantly highlighting that so much suffering took place in so beautiful a setting. I feel very unlearned about it all, which is something I'd like to change. I also feel very lucky.