I started on a 5 week journey to Sierra Leone on February 28th and was supposed to return on April 3rd. This was my second trip this year to start the construction of the El-Rapha Medical Clinic in the remote villages of the GBO Chiefdom BO District Sierra Leone. We run a Non-Profit in the United States, but having been born in Sierra Leone we have always wanted to give back and help the people back home. This clinic will serve 17 remote villages.
So I arrived in Freetown on 2/29/20 and stayed there one night before heading to the villages to start the purchasing of supplies and getting the ground work laid out for the clinic. My brothers have been the go to people on the ground having hired staff and started clearing the land before I arrived. So I hit the ground running thinking I had to complete a lot of projects in a short 5 week span. I had received donations before I left for purchasing goods for phase one of the clinic there will be 3 to 4 phases before completion.
It started going well ground was cleared, trenches were dug, cement was mixed, mud and cement bricks were being made, and this is all done by hand no machinery there. So as the foundation was being made Corona Virus was starting to ravage the United States. I feared for my husband he was home alone, and stuck inside.I spoke to him almost every night as long as the power was on and he assured me he was OK. Then as the time came to come home he informed me my flight had been cancelled and all US International flights are on hold. Now I began to panic a bit since Sierra Leone started seeing its first cases of Corona Virus around April 3rd. So one cancelled flight after another, but I felt safe since I was deep in the villages away from crowds but missing home. Weeks turned to months and finally my husband said there is a rescue flight leaving Sierra Leone on June 8th and he made arrangements to get me on board. I had finally arrived back home and now I am stuck inside still due to corona virus, but I realized one main thing God kept me safe an he kept me in Sierra Leone longer to meet different people that can help me in the long run to hopefully complete this clinic. I would not have met them or even saw the progress being made if I returned home in April. I am happy to be reunited with my husband and family and so Thankful they are safe and helped me so much in the extra months I stayed in Sierra Leone.
Keep checking out my site for updates and hopefully I can get back to Sierra Leone for Phase 2 of the project sooner rather thank later. God Bless Stay Safe Stay Well.
Seray