My time volunteering
I arrived in Sierra Leone in 1983 as an untrained English teacher. It was the frist time I had been on a plane, in fact I hadn't been further than France by ferry. I still remember the heat and the smell of the tropics as we got off the plane
The impact of my placement
I went back to the school where I worked for the first time in 2016. They had a big ceremony with speeches and singing from the kids. Quite a few people still remembered me and one of my ex students was an inspector of schools
My unforgettable moments
Friends is one thing - one of the other VSOs I met at that time now lives and works in Sierra leone so it really had an impact on al of us. i also remember trying to teach Shakespeare and get myself understoood - quite a challenge to get Julius Caesa over in a class of over 60 students.
The impact my placement has had on me
It's what I've done ever since. I went back to Sierra Leone in 2015 after Ebola as DFID's senor education adviser.
Yonibana
Sierra Leone
