More Photos from Paul Chantrey

Paul Chantrey has been sending me photos occasionally.  (I’m not sure how much of a treasure trove he has.)  Below are three you might be interested in.  

The first was taken from the train, heading upcountry.  Paul was able to catch the back end of the train as it went around a curve; that looks like Jerry Davis in the window behind him.  I remember that it was a narrow-gauge railroad, but I never rode it.  Did it run just from Freetown to Bo, or did it go on to Kenema or another town?

                    The second pictures a young Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in Bo upon the occasion of the queen’s 1961 visit to Sierra Leone.  (To see an archival video of the queen’s visit, in Freetown and elsewhere in the country, click on the “Sierra Express Media” link under “Links” in the right-hand column of the blog.)

And the third is of the Bo Teachers College staff and the school’s graduating class in 1963.  (Identifications supplied by Paul.)

First row: Sean Farren, Irish staff volunteer; Father Walsh, Irish priest; David Williams, PCV; Tom Maxwell, Irish staff volunteer; Father O’Sullivan, Irish priest;  Al McIver, PCV; Father O’Toole, Principal;  Rex Jarrell, PCV; Paul Chantrey, PCV.  

Second row: Mr Kanaua, Mr. Soi-Gnandy, Mr. Sam, Mr. Lahai, Mr. Fefgagula, Mr. Turay, Mr. Lansana, Mr. Moseray, Mr. Jaba, Mr. Bangura, Mr. Ngebeh.

Third row: Mr. Massaqua, Mr. Bundu, Mr. Pessima, Mr. Dauda, Mr. Gbekpa, Mr. Tanu, Mr. Sarh. 

The photo was taken in front of the main entrance to the Bo Teacher Training College.  The priests were all members of the Holy Ghost order.

Bill Prosch and the Old Kolenten Students Association

A year ago Bill Prosch contacted the association of former students of the school in Kambia where he was stationed during his Peace Corps service.  Most of the secondary schools in Sierra Leone seem to have such associations, and it would be interesting to know how many of you have communicated with the one for your school.  Below are two responses Bill received and has been kind enough to share with us.    - Tony

* * * *

Dear Mr Prosch,

It’s wonderful to hear from you again after so many years.  You are quite right, Sir.  You and John Benanti were the first Peace Corps teachers to go and teach at Kolenten about 48 years ago.  I believe the year was 1962, and my younger brother Harun Charm (whom you inquired about in your posting) and I were fortunate to be among that generation of Kolenten students in your Form Two English Language and Literature classes.  John Benanti taught us Geography and History.  

Now that some of us have had the opportunity to come and study and stay in the US, we appreciate more your dedication to teaching and helping, and the challenges you had to brave to go and teach at Kolenten in Sierra Leone in 1962.  For that and for your continued interest in our school, please permit me to seize this opportunity and say to you and John Benanti in the Temne language, on behalf of ALL Kolenten students, both past and present:  Ma-mo nu-ung.  Ta ka korneh karan su ro Kolenten.”  [Thank you for going to teach us at Kolenten.]

  

 As you have read in the OKSA or Kolenten Website, despite the decade-long rebel war that devastated Sierra Leone’s institutions and infrastructure, destroying Kambia town and our beloved school, recovery efforts are continuing.  Kolenten has been rebuilt, and we the Old Students of Kolenten, at home and in the Diaspora, are raising funds to build a multi-purpose building in the school compound.  When completed, it will be an imposing multi-purpose structure, a landmark symbolising our appreciation and gratitude for all that Kolenten has done for us by providing us with an education.  

It would interest you to know that it seems as if some of us caught the “teaching bug” from you while you were teaching at Kolenten.  Upon graduating from college in Sierra Leone in 1971, I and some of my peers--Bampia Bangura, Justin Bangura, and Harun Charm, all former students of yours--as well as others you may not know, went back to Kolenten and taught for several years under Fr. Olivani and Fr. Brioni.  I am proud to report that today some of our former students at the school hold distinguished careers and positions in different parts of the world, including the United States.

It seems from all indications that the Almighty God has heard and answered the prayer in the lyrics of our school song, “May Our Light For Ever Shine,” and indeed he is making and will continue to make “Our Light” that is Kolenten to shine brighter and forever.  Thanks to good people like you and the Catholic priests who travelled from faraway lands to make that light shine brighter for us and for generations yet unborn.

On a more personal note, I published my first novel in March last year.  Its title is It Took a Broken Leg to Go to School.  It’s a fictional African autobiography woven with several themes.  I hope you will find the time to read it.  I will send you a copy when my next shipment arrives from the publishers.  It’s published in softcover and hardcover by Xlibris Publishing Company, and is available online at www.xlibris.com, www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, or visit your local bookstore.  You can also get a synopsis of the book on the book website by googling or yahooing my name, Dr. Alhaji Hamid Charm, and the book title.

Again, thank you for your much appreciated services at Kolenten.

Hamid Charm

• * * *

Dear Mr. Prosch,

It is indeed a great pleasure to hear from you after such a long period of absence and separation, spanning 45 years or so, and most importantly, in imbibing your fond memories of Kolenten and Kambia that you so dearly nurture.

I have just subscribed you to the OKSA (Old Kolenten Students Association) mailing list, and I have as well taken the liberty of sharing your uplifting and nostalgia-evoking message to the subscribers of the list.  Hopefully the organization’s secretary, Mr. Sidi Sheriff, and Dr. Charm, whom you still vividly remember, will get in touch with you.

We would love the opportunity to have your current picture (if you have any) posted next to the one then at Kolenten during those Olivani years.

May God Almight bless us all and May our Light Shine!

Sincerely,

Nabie Y. Conteh - OKSA Listserv and Web Administrator

Jerry Davis's Peace Corps Journal, continued

Training for Sierra Leone: June-August, 1962

In June of 1962 I was accepted into a Peace Corps group entitled Sierra Leone Project 11.  I had never heard of the country, and going by the name, looked for it on a map of Latin America.  When that failed, I soon learned that Sierra Leone was a recently-independent former British Colony in West Africa.  I left for New Paltz, New York, where the preparation training was to take place at SUNY-New Paltz.

 I arrived on June 18th.  Looking back on my year in the Peace Corps, I am reminded of Teddy Roosevelt’s letter to his friend Henry Cabot Lodge that spoke of his crowded hour charging up San Juan Hill.  It changed Roosevelt’s life.  Nobody was going to shoot at me in West Africa, but the experience would be with me for the rest of my life.