Brief history
I was
born to a farming family of thirteen, I found it difficult to be educated
to a level I have not only admired but wished. My father had three wives
and my mother had to press hard for me to be included in his prioroty
list for getting financial support for my education. I justified this
support by progressing from Secondary school to further educate myself
in three separate Tertiary Levels
(a Diploma in Higher English, a Teacher's Certificate and an Honours-Bachelor's
Degree in Sociology).
During my Bachelors
Degree Education in Fourah Bay College (University of Sierra Leone),
I came in contact with Edward Kargbo, the FIOH-Sierra Leone Coordinator.
My contact with him was through the people he served and worked with
in the Yoni Chiefdom. During my holidays in the community I always hear
people praising and others grumbling about Edward in his attitudes towards
development in the community he serves and even beyond. And in one afternoon
two days before Christmas 1995, I caught up with Edward who took the
pains of not only telling why the people talk about him, but went ahead
to narrate the origin and philosophy of FIOH-world wide. Among other
things, he told me that the Organisation seeks to encourage International
Solidarity through the promotion of shared values. With my prospective
discipline ie,SOCIOLOGY, I straight away consented to work with Edward
in serving the people through development.
With no background
of what a PROJECT is I joined Edward and we started working together.
As one of those with a higher education I was always often helping with
the reading and interpreting of documents and information to many other
workers in the FIOH. He was willing to teach me and share with me his
acquired knowledge and experience in working with communities and people
and I gathered a lot of skills from a man many saw as uneducated but
to me a teacher of a growing 'professor in development work'.
Today I am thankful
to Edward and the FIOH, as I hesitated not in my final Honours 2, class
to choose PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT as my speciality and very
recently I entered in the ST.CLEMENTS distance learning to pursue a
Masters Degree in SOCIOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT. Frankly I say If I am today
able to plan, Edit, Draft, Monitor any Project or teach any one in any
of those Skills I would be more appreciative if the person joins me
to thank the FIOH, EDWARD and all those who have contributed financially
or technically in all of our programs and projects in the FIOH SIERRA
LEONE.
