I was embarrassed in Freetown, but I'm happy for that!

Yesterday evening I was standing in front of Freetown's famous landmark, the Cotton Tree. I was peeling a couple of oranges and casually chucking the peels on the ground (I've only been doing this since I came to West Africa, because everyone does it and there are no bins to dispose of rubbish anywhere). But soon, 3 passers-by embarrassed me by telling me to pick up the peels. So I picked up the peels. But I was at first very surprised, because I would not have littered had I not seen locals do it before and even if I wanted to properly dispose of rubbish, there were no bins. But I soon realised how comforting and wonderful this embarrassment was. This tells me that Sierra Leoneans DO care about their country, which is vastly different from other West African countries I've visited. This brought me great joy and from it I saw hope in this small country that has only emerged from a brutal civil war a few years ago.

This is just one of the things I've seen or experienced that make me dare to think that Sierra Leone, if it can continue or even improve its current governance, holds a more promising future than other West African countries I've visited. I salute its people and their compassion!