Yesterday I had the most unforgettable moment in my life as a man came to greet me during my project visits to the outreach clinics. This man was not any ordinary man, but with a hooked arm just like Captain Hook from Peter Pan. He was one of the innocent civilians being amputated during the civil war that took place in Sierra Leone, the war lasted for more than a decade from 1991 to 2002 – as told by one of the national staff, every family is affected by this war in one way or the other. I felt extremely ashamed for being shocked and didn’t know what to do, although trying the best I possibly could to act normal, but I didn’t have the courage to shake this hood hand of his at first.

© Gloria LEUNG

At times I found that it is often the foreigners who would feel uncomfortable in situations like these; the longer I stay in Sierra Leone, the more I admire how the locals just put the trauma of the civil war behind, they simply moved on and enjoy life. Being in this mission, I have learnt to take everyday as it comes.

© Gloria LEUNG

Luckily, the security in Sierra Leone has remained stable. But this is all very volatile; it can change any minute with tensions rising for elections held in our neighbor countries and our team has to be very alert all the time, to what is happening in our neighbor countries and be prepared for the worst. Meanwhile, I can hear laughter of the local people from my office, then I realise it is not so bad to live in a place between tension and joy :-)

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