Village

I can’t tell you how long I have wanted to go to the village. Okay, maybe I could....since last time I was here two years ago. I wished and hoped, but never had a way to get up there, as travel was not as safe as it is now, and I had no one to go with me. So when Kathleen said we were going to Gbarnga, I was so happy. And, not only was it for fun, but we got to squeeze some “work” in there too. We decided to go to the village on our last day there, Saturday morning. Okay, maybe I should explain more about the village, since it is a little vague perhaps. I just assume people know what I am talking about. This is the village that James my brother-in-law’s mother lives in, and his brother and sister and their families. Grandma, as we call her, or Yakata (her name is actually Younger) is in her 70’s I believe, and doesn’t speak english, except to say Thankyou. She speaks Kpelle. The one word I understand is yes, which sounds like ohwee. I think last time I was here she came down for one or two months and lived with us. I sat next to her at the table, and felt like we bonded. We broke a barrel handle once too, trying to carry it up the stairs (it was full of water and very heavy). I know this, she likes her tea with lots of milk and sugar. Anyhow, so back to the trip. We woke up Saturday morning, and it was pouring. I thought, oh no, maybe we won’t be able to go. (rain always puts a bit of a damper on things:) We had a slow morning, ate our breakfast at the dining hall at the Catholic Retreat centre, packed our bags. Thankfully by this time the rain seceded. (is that a word, I am pretty sure it is, if not, the rain got less) and so we headed out. The kids were very resistant to going, complaining about the rain and the hike through the “jungle” and the “snakes”. Then they were worried we would get lost....Anyhow, we went anyhow. We were able to drive alot farther into the village than they had done previously. There was one very steep hill that was all muddy, but Kathleen drove like an old pro, apparently growing up on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island prepared her for times such as these. I think half the battle is thinking you can make it, and the other half prayer. It is kinda fun driving through small villages that you know very little vehicals pass....especially ones full of white people. Sometimes you can just see the surprise on peoples faces. As always, the children wave and shout, white woman, white people, even white children...We wave as we drive by, feels almost a bit like a parade.
We get to the last village before ours, and park the truck next to a mud hut. The people are sitting outside, under the outdoor kitchens. It works out very nicely, becuase Samuel who is Kumbah’s husband (James twin sister) just happens to be in the village, so he walks with us, and carries the 50 kg bag of rice we have brought as a gift for Yakata. It is raining, so we bring our umbrellas and I change into my runners, just in case of big mud or snakes. It is only a 25 minute walk to the village. It is called Pilliloweh ( I have no idea of spelling). As we walk there is a woman in front of me carring a big bowl on her head full of something. She is in flip flops and almost slips a few times in the mud. I am in awe of anyone that can carry something on their head. This one guy that is walking with us and helping carry the rice his name is John. He says, if you slip, you will fall down. Makes sense. The mud along the trail is red like the colour of rust, and very slippery. The kids have stopped complaining and despite themselves are enjoying the trip. Along the way, through the bush we see a woman at the river washing clothes. As we are almost entering the village there are two young women huddled under an umbrella shucking corn. Its corn season now. I also notice as we walk that there is alot of bush cleared along the path. Samuel tells me that they are trying to clear a path so that cars can come out to the village. The one obstacle is the river, they will need to build a bridge heavy enough for cars to cross. This would be a major help as the village is only accesible by foot, or bike I suppose. The children reach the village first. We come last. I am trying to take photos on the way. As we enter there is two palm clusters hangin at the entrance. Samuel tells Kathleen that it is medicine, becuase the palm harvest has not been going well this year, and so they hope that this will help.
We walk in and say hello to a group of women shucking corn. We go to where Grandma is....she does a little dance to welcome (even though she is not well) us and hugs Kathleen, we have surprised her with our visit. I get a hug and then shake hands with several other people and get a hug from my neices mother. I recognize her from pictures. We go to Kumbah and Samuels house and sit down for a short visit. I brought a mug and soap from Canada as a small gift for Yakata, and we tell her the bag of rice is for her. She jumps up, saying thankyou thankyou...she is so happy about the rice. Our visit is very short, becuase it is still raining, and we don’t want to get stuck in the mud on our way out. We will have to go up the muddy hill this time. The other problem is that before we left Monrovia, James did a little electrical work. Our horn wasn’t working so he fixed it temporarily so you just squeeze two wires together to honk the horn. The only problem, somewhere along the line the lights stopped working, and so we can’t get stuck out after dark and have four hours of driving ahead of us. We apologize for the shortness of the visit, and start walking out. I take a few more photos of family members and the huts. As we are leaving, they give us fresh corn to take home for roasting. I was so glad we got to go, despite the briefness of it, and the rain, it was all worth it. I hope I get to return later on this year for a longer stay.