If Shelley and I had never purchased a float home on traditional lands of the Squamish First Nation in North Vancouver we never would have thought to seek out a local carver to create a moon mask–and I wouldn’t have met John Spence. John, or ‘JP’, was born and raised on the Capilano Reserve […]
Reflections on Aid to Africa; Good Intentions, Unintended Consequences
Since January of 2000 I’ve traveled to Sierra Leone on six or seven occasions. Whereas my first few visits were for the purpose of researching a novel, my recent travels have been to assist friends in establishing businesses, a medical clinic for a birthing room, and schools for providing school fees for several high school students. […]
Diamond Mine
This is the quickest blog post I’ve ever done…the video speaks for itself.
New Used Shoes, revisited…
I wrote a post in 2010 titled ‘New Used Shoes’. It was a story about three young girls who had never owned a pair of shoes. They were orphans cared for by an older woman in the village. They went to school in flip flops or, more often, in bare feet. And so we went for […]
Just Imagine
This country is addicting. And heartbreaking. Strolling along the beach between River Two and Tokeh is addicting…if you like sand the colour and feel of cornstarch between your toes. And if,looking back, your footprints are the only ones for a mile. Occasionally a young boy will approach, adding his story to yours. “Who you support?” […]
Construction complete—it just took me a while to get out of my garden…
It has been awhile–two years. I left Sierra Leone in 2014 not knowing at the time that Ebola had just brought her misery to the country. I recall that $1 U.S. dollar bought something close to 4200 Leones–today you can get 7400 Leones on the street. I’ve maintained contact with my close friends and the […]