december 19, 2006

tuesday
freetown

3pm
the ujima press national conference was an opportunity for the press and members of the community to meet the event organizers yeniva and david as well as the sierra leone born and international recording artists giving back to the country and people they love.

4pm

my cousin duraman went with me to visit the japan international cooperation agency (jica) in freetown. i had learned about the organization at an international ngo fair in tokyo and have been very interested in learning how i can combine my current life and understanding of japan to benefit my homeland. megumi and akio were both very helpful and we are working on some possible collaborations in the near future !!

7pm

i met my aunt memuna along with my father's cousins allieu and abubakar with my cousins duraman and muefau. i was astonised to learn that my aunt memuna and uncles ali and abubakar had just had a conversation about my whereabouts and if they would ever see me just 2 1/2 weeks before my arrival in freetown!!