18 June 2007

A TED-bagful of inspiration from Sierra Leone

TED Curator Chris Anderson writes: If there had been no other outcome of TEDGlobal than the story below, I think the whole thing would have been worthwhile. This hit my inbox today... It's from Yene Assegid, the founder of a development organization in Sierra Leone called Integral Africa. She was part of the Fellows program at the conference.

On my way back from Arusha, I had taken the speedboat back to town ... and I tell you it was adventure. The sea was rough, the boat was swinging right & left to the point that I thought we were about to be thrown in the water. We ran out of fuel and it took a while to be rescued. Upon arrival on the beach, we were all wet, most people were sick (what a mess) and in all this, my TED bag was snatched by the beach boys. I only realized after I reached home. The bag contained all my passports, credits cards, notes, phone, ipod, etc.. And I had to travel back again in 3 days. Madness.

So, on Saturday, I went back to the beach to talk to possibly 5-6 dozen boys. These boys are feared by all, some are ex-combatants, some are just hoodlums, most are on drugs ... Anyway, I told them I need my bag back (like right now). I explained about the TED, about how we will not progress our countries forward if we behave this way, about how the rest of the world is moving forward and that unless we sort ourselves out -- we will not create a better future for our children and coming generations. Do you know that we had such great conversations. It was a magical encounter and before long, they brought my bag back with everything in it (except for the phone and the ipod). They even apologized. Well, this has never ever happened. No one ever saw their stolen items returned.

So, I cooked for them. In huge pots -- Rice & Stew. It was one of the best gatherings ever. The women came, the grandma's came, the children came, the old men came and the boys came. We had such a wonderful time talking, eating, and sharing about how we must go back to our own the essence of African traditions (full of ethics, hospitality and compassion).

This is the adventure of my return from Arusha. Often times Sierra Leone is only thought of as a war torn country with "not much hope" for the war affected communities. But through this story, it was obvious that heart was still there. And that if we level with people, without judgement & prejudice, well people listen and in listen we can effectively communicate to bring change.

Yene is hoping now to make a short film about this experience, with any proceeds going back to the beach. Fantastic.

Posted by TED Staff | Permalink | | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)