I recently returned from my fifth trip to Tikonko. Why do I keep going back to one of the world’s poorest countries? It’s not as if I have family connections or an economic interest in the country. It’s not for a vacation and the opportunity to spend a couple of weeks enjoying the heat of equatorial Africa. So why do I travel there?
I first visited Tokonko for the grand opening of the Mbao-mi birth waiting home in 2018. Our church had contributed funds towards the building and I was invited to attend as a guest. I was there for eight days and thanks to Joseph Sogbandi, now RHCI’s Director of Operations, I was able to see a great deal of the chiefdom as I rode the dirt roads on the back of his motorcycle. That year I met a lot of people and heard a lot of stories of the needs of the community. I told the people I met that I’d try and tell their stories and that I hoped to be back the following year.
Construction of Gondama Birth Waiting Home in 2020
I returned in 2019 and that was when I met Aminata, the midwife at the Gondoma Community Health Center. She showed me an empty building across the street from the CHC and convinced me to talk to the board about turning it into our second birth waiting home. During that trip my friendships with people in Tikonko deepened.
In 2020 I was able to travel with a few members of our church. This helped our congregation develop much stronger ties to RHCI and the people of Tikonko. With this being my third trip I was also very much looking forward to seeing my friends.
COVID put an end to my travels for a couple of years, but in 2023 I was once again able to go and visit my friends in Tikonko and again see firsthand the work RHCI is doing, “to partner with rural communities in Sierra Leone to redevelop health care systems & overcome one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world.”
Rashid and Adama Lukulay (dad and mom) with their twins Rudi and Sudaison at the Home Visitation Program.
This year, not only did I get to see the ongoing outreach work that has grown tremendously over the years and visit the birth waiting homes, both of which were at capacity during my visit, but I also got to see the impact of the home visitation program and the malaria vaccination programs. All of which contribute to improved health outcomes in the community.
It is a privilege to be able to travel and see the work of RHCI in Tikonko. I wish every donor could travel there and see firsthand the impact their donation makes in the community.
Written by Neil Craigan – RHCI Volunteer Board Member
