Looking Back - Unpublished Post Written 30/1/2015

Hello lovely people.   Prodigal Baindu returns...  I can't believe I have been away from this joint for  two weeks ( Note to self: Child you can't be giving up on my resolution so early into the new year).   I know it is too early into my resolutions for me to be pulling a disappearing stunt like this. I promise to do  better (pinkie swear and fingers crossed). Moving on...
These days I am withdrawing and spending most of my time alone... but I am still going for my therapy sessions.

  My week has been  a bit all over the place with regards to my emotions and my health.   It is third  week of my last semester of grad school and work load is already becoming overwhelming especially with all the group work, assignments and projects  piling in.  



There is no doubt group work training is necessary for public health professionals,  I mean public health is all about working with people, but my oh my can they get draining and exhausting. Setting meeting times for working students with very different schedules,  setting the work agenda and pace, making sure everyone is on the same page, managing different personalities and the whole shabang makes it challenging for me personally. Don't get me wrong I have worked in amazing groups and delivered solid results so while it may be difficult and tedious sometimes, I am grateful for these opportunities



Then there is my capstone thesis which I  really need to wrap up my by now if  I am to graduate in June yet it is moving at the space of a snail  on  sedative :-(

Talking about graduation, I have been  thinking a lot about what lies ahead after I walk across that stage come June. I am sincerely nervous about life after grad school, I am so used to being a student that the though of being a full time working adult  and the responsibilities that come with it scares me a bit. I have always wanted to back to Sierra Leone after completing my degree and I still intend to do so.
The question remains whether I should relocate right away or whether I should stay back in Canada for a  year or so to get my permanent residency.  With a Sierra Leonean passport you are constantly  treated like a leper and made to jump though gazillion hoops at visa offices and immigration ports of enternce thus making  a Canadian PR wonderful asset  for my future career and my sanity in general.

But then staying back in Canada when my heart is in  Sierra Leone and when I know deep down there is a greater need for public health workers right now more than ever following the Ebola epidemic; just makes my staying here feel so wrong.

Hmm decisions decisions..



Well folks, that's it for today, I just wanted to pop in and share what was on my mind.

Sierra Leone Independence Celebration in Vancouver

Today April 27, 2015, marks the 54th Independence anniversary of my beloved country Sierra Leone.  Happy Birthday Mama Salone! 

The Sierra Leonean Community of British Columbia Canada came together on Saturday April 25th 2015 to celebrate our country, culture and experiences. Like every Sierra Leonean event, it was a celebration that transcended political affiliations, tribal lines and religious beliefs. This was my first Salone event  since moving to BC almost three years. Boy was it fun to be around fellow Sierra Leoneans, eat delicious traditional food, and dance to good old Salone music! 

It may seem there is not much to be happy about considering  what is currently happening in the country, ( I will delve into this in another post) and all the  nation has gone through since her Independence. Nonetheless I remain hopeful that Sierra Leone will rise from the ashes. I am confident that my generation of Sierra Leoneans will bring about the change for our ascent to glory. There is a reason to celebrate because there is hope.

Check out some pictures and videos of the event below 

Getting ready and very excited  for the big event! Had to represent in my Green White and Blue.

Green white and Blue everywhere!

 Group Selfie with my Salone brothers

Posing with the gorgeous Christina

Everyone getting their cameras ready for the traditional dancers

Making my way to the stage to take pictures!

Click the link below to watch the Sierra Leone Independence Day celebration cultural young stars performance  Posted by Rachel Kay on Saturday, 25 April 2015

Yes, these young Salone girls rocked that stage 

My favorite part of the evening was the Mende Goboi performance. This bad boy came out and stole the whole show. The crowd went wild. I LOVE MY CULTURE! Check out the videos below.

Click on the link below to  watch the Cultural Dance Salone Independence Video

Posted by Rachel Kay on Sunday, 26 April 2015

Here is another YouTube video 

Goboi doing his thing

Dancing with the Goboi 

More dancing

It is wrap, yours truly is tired and sweaty after a great time!

Watin de Apin (February 1 2015)

Hello lovely people, congratulations on making it to the second month of 2015!  I can’t believe it is February already, January practically flew by like someone or something was chasing it. I am sure a lot of you are glad February is here.

A bit of  personal update before heading diving into Watin de Apin. In my two weeks  away from the blog I was pleasantly surprised to receive emails and messages with inquires from people who were concerned and wanted to know how I was doing and why I  hadn't posted in weeks. To you all I say a heartfelt thank you, I really appreciate the love. And to answer your questions, I haven’t given up on my blogging resolution, I just had to take some time away to deal with health issues.  In my very first post I came out about my ongoing struggle with depression and anxiety and admitted to seeking help.  Though  I am handling it much better these days compared to prior to seeking help, I still experience bad days.  The past two weeks has been one of those times, during which I just want to be alone and do absolutely nothing. I can’t afford to do that right now  because I have a lot on my plate at the moment. It is my final semester of graduate school, I am juggling my course work,  writing of my (mini) thesis and my current job along with preparing for a possible relocation to Sierra Leone after graduation, job hunting and trying to stay healthy and sane. My solitude has been my space of comfort these day. I look forward to my “me time” more than anything and have I been listening to my favorite artist and girl India Arie (yup in my head we are bffs) to soothe my soul :-) This is my current jam of the week.

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Okay now that I have updated you about myself. Let’s move on to Watin de Apin. A lot has happened during my weeks of hiatus giving me numerous options for this week’s list of the good, bad and ridiculous.   

Remembering January 6 1999

January 6, 1999 commonly referred to as J-6 will forever be a date entrenched in the memories of many Sierra Leoneans.  My family and I woke up to heavy  and repeated sounds of gunshot and screams at 4 am on that fateful Wednesday morning.  In no time everyone had jumped out of their beds into the hallway, our expressions identically marked by intense fear and dread. Without saying a word, my mother hurdled us together in the corridor between two concrete walls. We all knew this drill from previous experience. It was done to get us away from the windows, making it less likely to be hit by stray bullets entering through the window. As we hurdled together gripped with terror, my older brother softly uttered the first words saying “dem don cam” (they have arrived), everyone including my 10 years old self knew what this meant. Mother turned on the radio to BBC’ where focus on Africa anchor  Robin White confirmed our worst fears.  RUF rebels and AFRC soldiers (they) colloquially referred to as Sobels many of who were child soldiers hooked on drugs had indeed invaded Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone. We would sit in this corridor for almost the whole day and thus began for me one of bloodiest three weeks in the history of my country. It was filled with heinous crimes including murder, amputation, rape, robbery, displacement and destruction of private and public properties during which Sierra Leone became the worst place to live.

New Beginnings

Appi Nu Yia we no die oh! Tell God tenki   fo we lif O¹. So it is January 1, 2015, the start of a fresh new year. There are lots of resolutions flying right, left and centre. Some of these resolutions will die by January 7^th , other’s by July 1^st and they very luck one’s will live to see December 31^st 2015. Regardless I say go for it my people, go for it!

 Hi, Kushe, Buwa, Seke ²! My name is Baindu and one of my new year’s resolution is to start blogging.  I have been making this specific resolution since 2011, but every year I make up excuses and never get to it. Actually sometime in 2012, I did start a blog that I never published (side eyes myself).  So here I am in 2015, four years later with my first blog post on the first day of the year. Better late than never, I say.

Looking back through 2014, I have to say it was one of the toughest years for me. It started off with a bang. I was off to my Mother land, Sierra Leone (proud salone titi for life) for an all-expense paid four months internship with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. It was an exciting, challenging and great learning experience for me, in a way it was one of the most fulfilling things I have yet to do (watch out for a full post about this experience).  The first quarter of 2014 was great, I got to see my family, hung out with old friends, made new friends, network with people in my field and made a lot of great memories.