When I read the touching real life story of Richad Cole in one of the old magazines I felt that such a man and his story should be saluted and his good and noble deeds brought to the attention of other people as well. So I decided to write his story in my words.
The Story of Richard Cole
In war ravaged Sierra Leone in West Africa a good Samaritan Richard Cole helped the brutalized child combatants regain their hope and find a meaning for living. This is a story and a real life account of a man who tried to bring in some kind of normalcy in a country that had only seen death, violence and every other kind of degradation of humanity for almost 12 years of civil war that took the lives of more than one million people by the end of it. Things are normal now but the painful past brings back many memories including that of amazing people like Richard Cole.
To go back into the history of Sierra Leone, which covers a total area of roughly about 72,000 sq kms, the country is famous for its diamond mines and also the De Beers Diamonds controversy (The same was also the subject of a recent film Blood Diamonds most of which was filmed in Sierra Leone and had Leonardo De Capiro in the lead as a mercenary diamond smuggler).The country gained its independence in 1961 from the United Kingdom and was showing a promising growth after that because of its diamond mines.
However, Sierra Leone's brutal 1991-2002 civil war destroyed almost all the infrastructure and political, social, and economic development came to a total standstill. In the recent years it is noteworthy that the country has made substantial progress in transitioning from a post-conflict nation to a developing democracy, with a lot of help from countries like the USA. It has also made notable economic gains in the past decade and is now emerging as one of the most stable countries in a volatile region that is Africa where most nations are still interlocked in civil wars and unrest.
The School and the Commander
School is over and a group of boys sprawl over wooden benches on a sun baked hillside above Freetown, Sierra Leone. The children watch as a stocky man in his fifties , wearing T shirt and Khaki shorts approaches and one of the boy quips “ Here comes the commander..”. The man grabs him and they both wrestle like puppies until the boy slaps his shoulder in surrender, saying ‘stop daddy, stop’ and laughing! Daddy being Reverend Richard Cole – the tough talking, self appointed father of a huge and unusual family. The mutual feeling of love is appraent with the boys adoring their commander who is like a father to them !
Through eleven years of devastating civil war in Sierra Leone and before that, during continued conflicts in the neighboring West African states of Liberia and Gunea – Cole and his wife Yeakah, have sheltered ,cared and raised more than 700 children. Some are orphans, some refugees, some rape victims and kids rescued from the streets. Many of them are child soldiers as young as eleven. All the boys live in their school, a cement block building on the hill side above the Sierra Leone’s capital city Freetown.
Day time activities for these children include getting ready for the school and other activities as well. They press their clothes with an iron filled with hot charcoal since Cole is particular that they look neat and presentable all the time. After a meal they go out to dig and weed the vegetable garden that provides them the essential daily meal and side by side struggle with their school work. Some of the stories are extremely horrifying and blood curdling and these children have seen so much in their young lives that is not easy for them to erase the unpleasant past from their mind and start afresh with ease, and that’s where the school helps them since it has brought them all together. They all share a kinship , a shared violent past and now working towards normalising their lives.
The horrifying tale of child soldier(s)
Tamba – In 1996 Tamba was a ten years old innocent boy who was happy with his family doing all the normal things that a boy of his age does. But when the civil war began to spread the family began to face hardship but carried on nevertheless. When the Revolutionary United Front attacked his village one day a few weeks later Tamba fled without knowing what to do. He was caught by the squad of boys not much older than himself carrying rifles and sub machine guns which they promptly pointed at him.
Tamba was frightened and remembers that the teenage commander told him “ You can either die or come with us, what do you want ?” Of course the boy chose to live and he was taught how to use a rifle and a few days later he and the others rounded up a group of runaway villagers. Too late, he realized that the group also included his father and two brothers and the teenage commander said “ They are spies , blow them away”. Tamba apparently locked his eyes with his shaking and fearful father not daring to speak, and within minutes the other boy soldiers gunned down the entire group and Tamba turned his back on the bodies blinking back his tears.That was the beginning !
He had become one of the estimated 3,00,000 child soldiers in the world, nearly half of them in Africa all of them forced to play war games with real guns. It was a cruel and cynical exploitation of innocence, because the adults knew that without education nor any normal sense prevailing there, the children could be pushed to do things that no sane adult would accept. Children were often sent ahead to face battle, to soften the enemy and it was no concern of the leaders how many of them died during this confrontation.
To come back to Tamba, for the next few years Tamba and his army of child soldiers robbed and killed civilians as and when they wanted, and they were advised by their commanders to make themselves brave and courageous by shaking gunpowder out of cartridges and mixing it with drugs like Marijuana and Jamba and smoke it up and this worked since the boys’ senses were far gone ! The civil war which started as a revolt against a corrupt and bankrupt regime had turned into something even far more sinister and when it finally fizzled out in the year 2001 up to one million were dead. Tamba surrendered and tried to track down his remaining family consisting of his mother and sister. He tracked down his sister who had become a street walker to keep herself alive and about the mother they had no clue. It was during such a time that he came across Richard Cole, who after taking one look at the boy and his tortured eyes knew exactly what his background was. Tamba was taken in without any questions asked and given a home, love and care by the couple along with the other children who shared more or less the same kind of horrifying past.
Story of Richard Cole the Commander/Soldier
In fact the story was almost similar except with a little difference regarding geographical locations, but they all had gone through the same experiences and lived a violent and horrific life. There were many others like Tamba at the school including their daddy and commander Richard Cole himself who was not a child soldier but a child criminal who lived by the gun.
Who else would be better able to understand the trauma and the mental anguish of these teenagers other than Richard Cole, who had been through similar experiences in life, seen it all, experienced it all and knew how difficult it was to get adjusted to the normal every day life. It takes a long time to dull the pain and ro erasee the mental scars , also needs a lot of understanding and effort to do it!
A runaway from his home at the age of 12, Richard Cole joined a gang of teenage hoodlums who were all involved in serious crimes like looting ,organised robbery, even killing without remorse when things turned unfavorable. He was arrested and sent to a reform school in Freetown, and after coming out , if anything became a full blown criminal. He drove a taxi as a front carrying a deadly spear as his weapon and was known among his gang as The Spear...When he was 25 years old he happened to meet a missionary while he was trying to loot a church ,who spoke to him and about God to begin with and later about the concept and virtues of living with a vision. Cole was understandably scornful in the beginning but the missionary asked him to visit his church just once more without any biased feelings. Cole did so and what was more impressive to him was the happy and peaceful atmosphere that he encountered within the church premises. Then he began to analyse life and decided to give it a try, starting with educating himself with the help of the missionaries in the church. He also met his wife who was actively involved in social work which paved the way to his complete attitude and personality change.
Cole became a missionary himself with the vision of trying to bring some order and hope to people in the war torn zone. Cole and his wife began by collecting destitute children and according to him , in every child he saw himself as he was a few years back. The children were given food and shelter and also made to do lessons in Cole's kitchen and all of them slept in the long veranda. The couple would grow vegetables and fish in the early hours of the morning to feed the children and themselves the next day. And then came civil war and the Cole's had to flee nine times and four times they lost even the little that they had built. However, they kept on doing what they could sheltering child soldiers and giving them hope and security through their presence because everything else was momentary . In 1996,after much persuasion the government of Sierra Leone gave Cole a cement block building ironically in the very reform school, where once he had been imprisoned. Supported by other social work units from London, Cole started a Nehemiah project – a home and a school for the child victims of civil war, where most of the inmates were child soldiers who had escaped the fighting.
Within a few years it has grown into a huge community day school with nearly 800 pupils including the 87 boys in Cole's 'Family' who live in the classrooms, 24 girls , who were mostly rape victims, who are separately cared for in an apartment nearby.Most children would find it difficult, even loathe the discipline that has to be followed at school and some have even tried to run away several times only to come back, realising that the outside realities were eve worse.
Cole and his wife have had a very tough job getting the child soldiers, most of who had lived by the gun, to get themselves adjusted to the new life where guns had no meaning nor use. They normally left the difficult ones alone to introspect and come to terms before asking them to follow the rules of the school. They had to wear uniforms and sing National Anthem each evening and speak to each other about their horrifying tales,families killed,houses burnt down , sisters and mothers raped and left to die in front of their eyes and comfort each other. It is Cole and his wife , who try to reassure the boys by telling them, they cannot be blamed for what they did since they were robots in the hands of the Revolutionary army, who would kill them mercilessly if they disobeyed them.
Later years
To help young people weighed down by such heavy burdens, Cole had to really look for methods on how to accept and go on without making them feel that there was something psychologically wrong with them , which was not the case.There was nothing wrong wit their minds, it was their hearts and soul that were broken and that had to be mended with understanding ,love and care. Cole was of the opinion that the boys had to be given the freedom to choose what they wanted to do even within the premises of the school and pertaining to their daily chores like sweeping the floor,cleaning or gardening. He felt that even these small jobs and the pride that they take in doing them was part of the healing process for their minds.
Although Cole is a fervent christian his church has neither a religious name nor denomination. He draws no salary, the school's modest budget is raised by the British social group which in turn receives donations from the rich and famous people, also some of the members from the British royal family. The local police often bring in a child who needs the healing touch given by Cole and his school.
With peace now prevailing in Sierra Leone, Cole has some ambitious plans for his school - a heath clinic, a few more class rooms, a library and study room stocked with computers donated by business organisations from UK and other countries as well, in effect make life better for his children. As he often speaks about life and its trails to his children he had this to say " My prayer is that each of you will be someone - someone who can help put your nation back on its feet, you may come from anywhere or nowhere and still do it, since only you can decide what you want to do, once you are sure 'Go for it !
That is the real life story of a great human being who lived amidst chaos,violence and degradation , changed himself for the better carrying a message of hope and determined to spread enlightenment for others like him !
The Festival of Lights, Diwali is going to come now. The Hindu Culture is such that when Diwali comes, people start cleaning their house, people start buying lot of sweets and gifts. They like to give gifts and sweets to their relatives and friends. Therefore, prior to Diwali, people start shopping in Market and Malls. A lot of Crowd we see in the market to buy lot of things. Shopping in one of the favorite activity of Women, So, Sometimes Women have a Craze to buy Un-necessary things as well. Wherever Women eyes go in the mall or Market, they like to buy it. Sometimes women get into the Store, where, they see a lot of Schemes on Purchase of the product. Yes, Diwali can be said an Expensive festival, but, this is one the festival for Hindu, this is given first priority. Husband also doesn’t hesitate to give Cash and Credit card to their wife in this festival. Now a day’s price of lot of expensive things has increased, so women do understand that they have to spend little less. Today, I am going to Discuss few Smart shopping tips, which if take care of , then we could enjoy our shopping as well as we would be able to retain our Budget.
When Women get tired in cleaning their house, shopping becomes the first option to them, where they could feel happy and tireless. When diwali comes, friends and relatives also come to our house to meet and give wishes to you. So, you would definitely like to decorate your house. You would like to renovate your house. You would like to buy new Clothes for your children and family. You would like to have new jewelry.
I think in having Craze of buying so many things, we forget what we had planned to buy? And what we have bought? After coming home, we realize that we have bought many un-necessary things. When we got to shopping, we should be very much clear in our mind about what we need to buy?
Use your Mind
When we go to any store in market or in the mall, the seller will ask us to buy as many things from his/her store. The seller could trick you will different Schemes. But we should use our mind and think carefully before buying. When we will step our foot to the shopping Mall, we would not be able to distract from Chocolates, Cookies, Fancy Artifacts and trendy foot-wear. We should be little aware in controlling our mind.
When you are thinking about buying any such items, think about its necessity and usefulness before buying. If you are roaming in the outfit or Clothes section, then before buying, just think once about the Wardrobe in your house. So, you would realize, what are the collection in your wardrobe and you will be able to restrict yourself from all un-necessary buying.
Prepare List for Buying
What I think is that, this is the best way to plan things. Preparing list, gives you a clear idea of buying and also you would be clear, where your budget limit is going. To stop buying un-necessary things, preparing list and then buying is the best way. If you are having requirement of the Outfit, then go only to the outfit section. Don’t waste your time in going and roaming un-necessary in other section. When you will go to other section, then you won’t be able to restrict yourself from attractive things. This will only increase your Budget, nothing else.
Spend by looking at your Budget
Diwali is such a festival, where, everyone likes to fulfill their desire. In the family, everyone wants some special things. So, plan your budget, such that everyone wishes get fulfill. Have a Budget planning and then go for shopping. You will be able to know, where your budget lies and according to that you will be comfortable in having shopping. If you have decided the range of buying the things, then you would see only those product, which comes in your range and this type of planning, will save time as well.
Do Bargain
When you go for shopping, then you should know how to buy products? There is different kind of enjoyment in Bargaining. We should do the Bargaining by looking at the quality, its work, design and pattern. Sometimes, we are not able to decide, the proper price of a particular product. So, it’s better to go to 3 or 4 shops and then to decide the price. Compare the price with different shop and then you would have a clear idea of the product. We should know to convince the seller to our price. We should be very friendly with the seller, while shopping. In short, We should enjoy shopping.
Hallstatt, situated on the south-western shore of the Hallstätter Sea, is the most picturesque village in Austria. Also, this village is the oldest still-inhabited village in Europe. Hallstatt is also a world heritage site for its cultural heritage. Only one road runs through the village and entire village can be explored in foot in few minutes. Hallstatt is also famous for its salt production. World's oldest pipleline made from 13000 hollowed trees around 400 years back, was first made in Hallstatt only.
Tourists can explore the 250 years old salt caves in the village, go for boating or fishing in the Hallstatt lake and enjoy the fresh fish in lunch or dinner, indulge in hiking and rock climbing activities and lot more. The best activity to do when in Hallstatt is to take a salt mine tour which takes around one and half hours. The train ride is fun and after the train ride, tourists need to walk up the steep hill upto the mine. The views of the Hallstatt village and the lake from the top are incredible. After exploring the mines, you are again taken back to the train.
Major tourist attraction of Hallstatt is Beinhaus or the Bone House. This is one place which one must have never imagined even in weirdest of the dreams. As the cemetry in the village was extremely small, to make place for new burials, the old graves were opened and the bones were took out. These bones and skulls were bleached in the sun and afterwards painted and decorated with flowers. The decorated bones and skulls (with family name and date of death) were kept in the Beinhaus. This practice has now been stopped.
Another tourist attraction is the Hallstatt museum that takes you through the history and civilization of Hallstatt. Tourists also get to know detailed history of the salt caves and mines.
I am sure most of you must have read the fairytale of Cinderella in your childhood days. The story must have fantasized most of the girls. Here, I'll be discussing about the famous and the most wonderful Cinderella Castle built in the Walt Disney Magic Kingdom in Florida, USA.
Visiting the Magic Kingdom is a wonderful and once in a lifetime experience. It is a huge theme park and as soon as you enter it, you feel as you have entered a magic world full of fun, frolic, and fantasy. The main attraction of the Magic Kingdom is the Cinderella Castle which is located in the heart of the Magic Kingdom theme park. The design of the castle was inspired from the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany and took around 18 months for the construction work to complete. It is the tallest structure in the Magic Kingdom and was built in a way that it can withstand hurricanes with winds of 90 miles per hour.
As soon as you step inside the Cinderella Castle, you would feel as if some fairytale characters have been put to life. The beauty of the castle cannot be described in words. The interiors of the castle consist of mural paintings some of which have used 14 karat gold. The roofs inside the castle are painted in royal blue color and top of few of the towers are made of real gold. The castle has a huge hall where Cinderella welcomes her guests to dine at the Cinderella's royal table. Before proceeding to your royal feast table, you can get pictures clicked with Cinderella which are afterwards delivered in a beautiful Cinderella themed photo frame onto your feast table.
Outside the castle, you will also find a wishing well on the sides of which you will see birds and mice making the dress for Cinderella.
People can also get their little girls transformed into Disney princesses at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Visitors can make a reservation at the Disney Resort hotel with a room facing the Cinderella Castle.
Overnight Stay in the Cinderella Castle
Also, one can even win an exclusive overnight stay in the Cinderella Castle, which is not an easy task and a very fortunate person gets this once in a lifetime opportunity. It is a very special prize for 5 of the lucky guests in the castle. The winners are chosen by Disney computer at a random time and location in the Magic Kingdom.
The castle suite is located at the fourth floor of the castle and the winners can get there through a special elevator run by the mice. From the elevator, the guests are taken into Cinderella coach made of tile mosaic and finally you reach the suite. As soon as you enter the suite, you get a feeling of a dream come true.
The suite consists of two beautiful queen sized beds facing the fireplace run by the remote control. There is a mirror in the room which transforms into a TV. There would be white chocolate carriage filled with chocolate coated strawberries on the table.
The bathroom of the suite is massive and royal with tile mosaics all over and twinkling stars on the roof.
You will feel pampered in all the ways. The guests are taken to special VIP longes from where they can view the fireworks and the spectromagic parade.
Romantic Road is a 350 Kms highway built in southern Germany which covers the cities of Füssen and Würzburg. It's a scenic drive that takes you through beautiful castles, picturesque villages, romantic hotels and lot more. The Romantic Road tour takes you through following sites.
Wurzburg
Wurzburg is the city from where the Romantic Road Tour starts. The city is located in the heart of the wine producing regions of Germany and hence, is famous for its excellent wines and wine festivals. Special bottles of wine called "Bocksbeutel" are a must pick as souvenirs. Situated on a beautiful hill alongside the river Main, Wurzburg city is also a home to oldest churches in Germany. Wurzburg residence, a UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the finest palaces in Europe known for its magnificent staircase.
Do visit the Alte Mainbruke bridge when in Wurzburg. It is an old bridge located on the Main river from where you can get excellent views of the skyline and vineyards. On each side of the bridge, statues of saints are housed.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is one of the well preserved cities in Europe and is situated between the cities of Frankfurt and Munich. In the old town of Rothenburg, you will get to see the cobble stone streets with beautiful half timbered houses. One can walk around the old town and get to see picturesque views of the Tauber valley. The houses and buildings in the town look like fairytale houses. A covered walkway surrounds the town of Rothenburg. These were built in medieval ages to protect the town. You can take a leisurely walk on these walls and get beautiful views of the town below. Make sure you visit the Burggarten when in Rothenberg. These are beautiful gardens and worth spending around half an hour of your time. The shops here sell hand-crafted Christmas gifts and souvenirs all around the year.
Do take the Night Watchman's tour when in Rothenburg because it is the highlight of the trip. It is an amazing experience. It starts around 8 in the night and the guide of the tour called the watchman gives an interesting historical information about the town with a homorous touch.
Miltenberg
Miltenberg is a small town situated in a narrow valley of the Main river. Walking along the vineyards and seeing the native winemakers making the wine, is a beautiful experience. Timber framed and gabled houses in the town just look beautiful. Miltenberg Christmas Market is the most romantic and colorful markets in north Bavaria. Do visit this market if you are in Miltenberg before Christmas.
The famous attraction of Miltenberg is its oldest guesthouse called "Tavern for Giants" which is also the oldest in Germany.
Amorbach
Amorbach is a small town in Miltenberg. Wandering through the streets of this small town and getting a view of timber framed houses decorated with flower boxes on their facades is an amazing experience. The main attraction of Amorbach is Abteikirche of St. Maria. The entry to this church is free but one can take a guided tour inside to know more about its history.
Bad Mergentheim
Bad Mergentheim is a spa resort in Germany. During the medieval times, this town was a home to medieval knights and was basically a medical center for the wounded soldiers. The main attraction of this town is the "Castle of the Teutonic Order", which is a part of the Romantic Road Tour iternary. The castle has now been converted to a museum. This museum displays 800 years old history of the German Teutonic Order with various works of art and models. The main attraction of this castle is the church which has been amazingly matched with the castle.
Weikersheim
Weikersheim is a town situated on the Tauber river and is around 9 Kms from the town of Bad Mergentheim. Main tourist attraction of this town is the "Schloss Weikersheim castle". This castle was built around 16th century. Opera and classical concerts are held in this castle in the months of July and August. In the castle, you will find a 20 feet high mechanical clock. There is a huge banquet hall which depicts the paintings of all the famous buildings of Europe. A guided tour here is a good experience as you will get to know in detail about the history of the palace.
Do visit the formal castle garden having various statues of Greek and Roman Gods. You will also get an incredible view of the Tauber valley from the garden.
Creglingen
Creglingen is a small town set amidst the Tauber valley. It is the next big town after Rothernberg on the Romantic Road Tour. Beautiful villages and vineyards surround this town. Main tourist attraction in the town is the Herrgottskirche also called the "Church of Our Lord", famous for its altar carved with extensive woodwork. One can also visit the Thimble Craft museum which offers the best collection of thimble craft and thimbles all around the world.
Augsburg
Augsburg is the third largest town in Bavaria and is also known as the University town. It is also one of the prettiest cities in Germany with a historical significance. This city was the major financial center during the medieval times and shaped the history of Germany. Most of the Silver and Goldsmiths settled in this town. Various museums in the city display the handworks of these gold and silver smiths. Tourist attraction in Augsburg includes the "Augsburger Puppenkiste" which is a beautiful puppet theater is a must visit for kids.
Other site to be visited in Augsburg is the famous Church of St. Ulrich and St. Afra. The church is famous for its intricate woodwork.
Fussen
Fussen is the most enchanting town of Bavaria and the world famous fairy tale castle, "Neuschwanstein Castle" is situated few kilometers from this beautiful town. Town of Fussen, set against the backdrops of the Alps, is situated on the Forggensee lake and can be explored on foot. River Lech flows through the center of the town. One can even easily walk to the Neuschwanstein Castle from Fussen. The walk only takes around 30 minutes and is the best way to explore the surroundings. Another famous castle in the surroundings of Fussen is the "Hohenschwangau Castle", where King Ludwig II used to stay during his childhood.
The tour of the Romantic Road stops at this town.
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The category focusses on festivals followed at different places of the world.
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