Hello world!!!
I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing great, glory be to God. Also, I want to thank all of you that have been contributing to and supporting my journey as your Miss Sierra Leone USA. I truly appreciate each and every one of you, and I wish all of you God's favor in return. On Saturday, November 16th, I attended the 2013
Deeper Missions First Annual West African Celebration in Burke, VA. According to the executive director of Deeper Missions, Derek Reinhard, this evening was to celebrate the continued growth and service of Deeper Missions in West Africa.
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| Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson |
This evening consisted of culture, friendly and enlightening conversations, delicious Africa-themed food (such as jollof rice, fufu, chicken, etc.) and a silent auction to raise funds for the organization's efforts. This evening was time to learn about the work of Deeper Missions, experience West African cuisine and culture, and to get the coming year of service off to a great start. A time to celebrate the beauty and culture of the continent of Africa! Being that this was also a fundraising event, there was a silent auction in which attendees competed for various small gift-packs and medium-priced items including autographed memorabilia and some high-value travel, golf and adventure-of-a-lifetime packages. Really great deals!
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| Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 and Mr. Derek Reinhard (Executive Director of Deeper Missions) |
FACT: Deeper Missions is a tax exempt 501(c)3 public charity, dedicated to changing and saving lives. Through meaningful mission travel, Deeper Missions implements sustainability projects, such as clean energy, safe water and sanitation. The mission of Deeper Missions is "to supply materials and provide on-the-ground services which improve the education and livelihood of the people of West Africa." The current efforts of Deeper Missions are on environmentally-friendly projects such as self-contained solar lighting (so children can study without using the typical and unhealthy open-flame lamps) and community-friendly fresh water well-digging and waterless solar composting toilets in Bo, Sierra Leone. Deeper Missions believes that without managed sanitation and safe water sources, drinking water for communities and schools is contaminated, causing ill health and loss of school/work time.
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| Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson, Ms. Ronke Luke (President of the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment) and her friend from Malawi. |
The entertainment of the night consisted of drumming and storytelling by Kofi Dennis with friends and family, as well as drumming and dancing by KanKouran West African Dance Company. Mr. Dennis told a story about Anansi The Spider, a series that is told widely in many West African communities. It was really great to hear this story again along with the drumming. Mr. Kofi Dennis has performed in many big and small events, and has also been invited by the African Students Association at Virginia Tech several years ago to perform for the Hokie nation. At the end of the event, I had a great conversation with Mr. Dennis and expressed how much I enjoyed watching his performance and told him of how talented and beautiful his daughters are.
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| Drumming and storytelling performance by Kofi Dennis and friends |
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| Mr. Kofi Dennis (drummer and storyteller) and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson |
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| Mr. Kofi Dennis and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson |
The other entertainment of the night include drumming and dancing by KanKouran. The mission of
KanKouran West African Dance Company "is to preserve and promote traditional West African culture by providing quality entertainment and educational programs to local and national audiences in an effort to facilitate cross-cultural enrichment." KanKouran did an excellent performance that evening, and had everyone in attendance moving. During their presentation, I was even invited to dance with them, and of course this Salone titi a.k.a Sampa accepted the invitation. I showed them some of my Sierra Leonean moves. Thanks to Mrs. Dahlia Orleans-Pobee, here's a video that captured some of my performance on my
youtube channel.
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| Performance by KanKouran West African Dance Company |
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| Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson with KanKouran West African Dance Company |
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| Keynote speech by Ms. Ronke Luke (President of the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment) |
Ms. Ronke Luke is the president of the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment. She has broad experience in energy, environmental and Information Technology consulting for government and commercial clients. Ms. Ronke is currently a Director of Business Development at General Dynamics IT standing up their new Energy account. She volunteers on energy and educational initiatives in Sierra Leone and other Africans nations. Her interests span all aspects – from architecture to fashion. She is fascinated by the balance of culture, functionality and aesthetics. Ms. Ronke holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany. Ms. Luke is a Sierra Leonean, and was born and raised in Freetown. I loved sitting next to Ms. Luke and learned so much about her and her many endeavors. Other Sierra Leoneans that were in attendance were Mr. Sorie Songowa (husband of Honorable Wullaimatu Hannah Bundu-Conteh Songowa) and Mr. Gibrilla Bundu-Conteh (brother of Honorable Wullaimatu Hannah Bundu-Conteh Songowa). Honorable Wullaimatu Hannah Bundu-Conteh Songowa is the Parliamentary representative for Constituency 21 in Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone.
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Left-Right:
Ms. Ronke Luke, Mr.. Gibrilla Bundu Conteh, Mr. Sorie Songowa, friend of Ms. Ronke Luke, and Ms. Dahlia Orleans-Pobee. |
Special thanks to Derek Reinhard and Michelle DeFreese for inviting me to this event. Congratulations to Michelle on being awarded the Deeper Missions Volunteer of the Year. From the many great things said about her that night, she truly deserves that award and I could hear the passion in her voice for Deeper Mission and her love for Sierra Leone. A very big thanks to Mrs. Dahlia Orleans-Pobee and Mr. John Orleans-Pobee for opening their door to their home and being my host of the weekend. I had an amazing time during the weekend, and loved spending time with Ms. Dahlia; she reminds me so much of my mom, and I was happy to have her as my surrogate mommy for the weekend. Thank you for also taking my pictures and recording videos throughout the evening. May God continue to bless you and your wonderful family.
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| Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson |
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| Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson and Michelle DeFreese (Deeper Missions Board Member) |
Overall, I had a great time and I'm honored to have been in attendance for this Inaugural event for Deeper Missions. Please continue the great work, Deeper Missions. Your efforts in Sierra Leone are appreciated!
Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.
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