News from Keio and Wadaba in Africa.........Please Read!

From Art…………Kieo’s brother………

I got a phone call from Keio this morning with some important news.

Keio and Wadaba are safe for now, but Guinea is in something of a
disruption. Keio cannot get to the Internet, so is unreachable by
email. Wadaba has a cellular phone, though; his number is (224)
60539004 (to explain: 224 is the country code of Guinea; you will
have to first dial 110 to get out of the US).

Keio says that tanks are in the streets and gas is impossible to get,
so no one can get anywhere.

She also said that she thinks that she may have to reschedule her
trip for an earlier departure.

That's pretty much all she had time to say (she was using someone
else's phone).

Please pass the word along as widely as you can, particularly among
the Kaweah River Drum Circle and the Fresno drum class, and please keep
Wadaba and Keio in your thoughts and prayers. Also, please give
thought to the safety and well-being of our friends in Guinea. I am
sure that they would all appreciate it very much. Art Ogawa

From Keio……………………………………………..

Wadaba and I leave for the village today this afternoon (finally) to record
our new CD. We will return to Conakry approx 10 days Wed Feb 14 or so. I
fly home the following weekend. Wadaba will stay here in Guinea until 3
weeks after I arrive in the US, and will arrive in Fresno on Tues March 13
with the same itinerary as mine except the dates changed.
For those who don't know, Guinea has been in a state of turmoil lately.
The entire country went on strike for over 3 weeks, everything shut down.
The population has demanded that the president step down. He is very ill,
very old, and unable to run the country. There were probably about 100
people killed over this time, in the streets. The official number is
lower, but I know better. I stayed at home the entire time and felt
relatively safe, but we were not able to accomplish anything during this
time. The strike is over, for now, and there are serious negotiations in
process. The president has agreed to terms that the population agrees to,
but has not officially signed, and the people threaten to go on strike
again. It seems unlikely at the moment that another strike will happen,
but God only knows. Our biggest risk in going to upper Guinea is finding
gas to get home, but it seems that things will be fine and we will find
gas. I feel confident that we are safe
doing this.
I will not be in email contact during our trip to the village, but phone
may be possible if we are near Kouroussa.
Since I have cc'd this email to several people, Wadaba and I give you all
our warmest greetings, and we miss you and are looking forward to seeing
you when we get home, to tell you our good news!


Love to you all,
Keio and Wadaba