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More "Trips, Journals, Photos":

Trips - General  à

Basic Web Sites for
Sierra Leone Travelers  à

Who-What-
Where-When-Why  à

2005 Survey -
Table of  Villagers' Needs

2006 Trip (#1) - Sierra
Leone Travel Journals

2007 Trip (#2) - "Images
of Sierra Leone"

Trips, Journals,
and Photos Home Page

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Trips - General

                                 
            The first work trip occurred in early May 2006.  Plymouth Church pastor Jim Gertmenian and fourteen others, most from Plymouth Church, traveled to Sierra Leone with Jeff Hall leading.  The group spent almost a week in the three villages and an equal time in the capitol, Freetown.  See "Sierra Leone Travel Journals" and the July 2006 "Flame" article about the trip for more details.  The second trip, in mid-May 2007, followed much the same itinerary.  On the second trip, we saw our funds at work on the essential school addition and several clean water wells.  For images and journal comments about this trip, see "Sierra Leone Images."  A third trip is underway in June 2008, with several extra days in Freetown and the villages..

TRIPS TO SIERRA LEONE--GENERAL INFORMATION

            SLPP makes a trip each May or June to Sierra Leone for 14-18 days.  Each trip is  led by Plymouth Church member and SLPP coordinator Jeff Hall, who was a Peace Corps volunteer in the village of Jokibu, Sierra Leone for two years and has since made several return trips.  Opportunities like this--to experience village life in Africa--are very rare.  Most trips to the African countryside require expensive guided tours that, even so, usually do not stop in villages or introduce villagers.  However, Jeff Hall's close relationship with Jokibu and nearby Foindu and Pujehun villagers and his willingness to serve as a free guide allows travelers a very unusual travel experience at a relatively low cost.  In addition, a strong, cordial, and deeply meaningful relationship has been established, not only between Jeff and the the three villages he served but also between villagers and each group to go from our SLPP.  Our travelers have included people from several churches, a group of high school students from Blake School, and college students from Amherst who stay much longer in the villages as interns. 

PURPOSE OF TRIPS

            The trips are work events, but not in the traditional sense of the word.  Instead, it is each group's job to form committees and to research the needs of the villages.  Some of those needs can be met by equipment or help each group brings with it: for example, the first group brought one peanut grinder per village, installed the three grinders, and taught village women to use them.  However, more commonly, the jobs of the committees is to further research the needs of the villagers, talk with their corresponding village committees, and determine how--upon returning to the U.S.--we can better help the villages by targeting money and equipment.  In addition, the members of each group stay with a host family, thus further cementing the bond of respect, communication, and love between villagers and SLPP travelers.  As the first group learned, it is "the hardest trip you'll ever love."  Sanitation and health safety measures are provided for a safe trip; while the constant humid heat in the villages is noteworthy, it is the cultural and economic differences that are profound and leave such a strong impression on those who visit.  

ALL ARE WELCOME

While many people who go on these trips are church members, our SLPP is not a religious organization.  We welcome people of all faiths or none to join us. In the villages, we enjoy working together with Christian, Muslim, and pagan/animist villagers and in no way try or intend to convert people or preach to them.  Plymouth Congregational Church, the organization that provides a mailing address and other beneficial support for us, is a liberal Protestant church that welcomes everyone to its activities, community services, and worship. 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF A TYPICAL TRIP

              A very rough, estimated timetable--give or take a few days--for any given trip is as follows: 

Day 1: Travel to Sierra Leone via London.

Days 1-3: Stay in the highest-rated hotel and explore the capitol, Freetown.

Day 4: Travel from Freetown to the southeastern village of Jokibu.

Days 4-12: Stay in village with host families; eat as a U.S. group together each night.

Day 13: Return to Freetown.

Day 13-15: Stay in Freetown.

Day 16: Return to Minneapolis via London.

While most travelers come and go with the group to Sierra Leone via Minneapolis and London by jet, then back, some join the group in London from another location in the United States, and others extend their travel on their own time and money before or after the trip by staying longer in Africa or Europe. 

WHO TO CONTACT

If you are interested, the SLPP would be very pleased to talk with you.  Please contact leader Jeff Hall at jeffthall1@aol.com.  

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Basic Web Sites; Who-
What-Where-When-Why

Basic Web Sites for Sierra Leone Travelers

The web sites below are among the most important ones  introducing Sierra Leone to travelers.  For many more sites, including information on specific topics, maps, and photos, see this web site's "Sierra Leone Resources Page."
                  
( 1) Sierra Leone - The CIA World Factbook: www.cia.gov/cia/
publications/factbook/geos/sl.html

   
( 2) Most Recent and Best Statistics by U.S. Department of State: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/
bgn/5475.htm 

   
( 3) Health Information for Travelers to Countries in West Africa, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/travel/
wafrica.htm#country

(4) New York Times Travel Article tells it like it is in Sierra Leone.

(5) Please also see this web site's Sierra Leone Resources Page.

Who-What-Where-When-Why

Anyone in good health over 14 is welcome to go.  You do not have to be a member of Plymouth Church.  Our travelers have included high school students with two of their teachers, senior citizens, and many others of all ages.  Men and women are equally welcome, and both can be assured of safety throughout the trip.  Medical conditions that normally can be taken care of by daily medication also present little or no problem, and included in travelers' insurance for a low fee are emergency air evacuation options. 

The only physical requirement is that you be able to handle 90-95 degree, high-humidity heat for the week the group is in the villages.  Safe food, water, and bathing is constantly available.  If you are capable of camping for a week in a (non-air conditioned) trailer, you should be able to handle the physical requirements of the trip comfortably.

Travelers follow the approximate "Tentative Schedule" shown below.  In the villages, travelers usually are broken into pairs that stay in volunteer host families' homes.  Some 30-40% of villagers speak some English, and everyone is provided with an interpreter as needed.  

The trip costs about $3500 per person for 14-18 days, all of which is tax deductible as a service trip, and involves the approximate schedule shown in the middle column in "Tentative Schedule," starting and ending in the capital city in a first-class hotel with cool private rooms, a large swimming pool, and outdoor and indoor bars and dining.  These are work trips: while there is very little if any physical labor, everyone is placed on a committee to help in the villages: see "PURPOSE OF TRIPS" in the middle column. There is also plenty of time for viewing and learning about a number of places, activities, and people, both in the villages and in the capital, Freetown.