Templar Corps Diplomatic Mission to Guiné-Bissau 2024 – Diary day 5 and 6

NOVEMBER 2

The delegation began the day with a hearty breakfast, feeling energized. Or rather, Commander Herdadinha was full of energy (as always!), while Vice-Commander Amador was more focused on retrieving his luggage, expected to arrive on the 1:00 pm flight. Personally, I felt weighed down by the intense heat—today it’s around 38ºC (102ºF), making it hard to keep cool. Thankfully, my colleagues’ upbeat attitude helped lift everyone’s spirits.

Due to the airport pickup schedule, the day was split into a morning discussion on potential Templar Corps and Guinea-Bissau cooperation projects, followed by an afternoon visit to Bissau’s Fire Station to prepare for a training session planned for Monday.

The main topics of the morning discussions were divided into two major areas: Agriculture and Civil Protection.

Guinea-Bissau is an incredibly fertile country, located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. Its coastline stretches from Cabo Roxo to Ponta Cagete. It shares borders with Senegal to the north, Guinea to the east and southeast, and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, with over 80 islands and islets, forming an unparalleled natural wonder.

The continental part is formed by a coastal plain and an interior plateau zone. The interior zone is formed by low plateaus, and two transition zones can be distinguished that lead to two small plateaus – Bafatá and Gabú – and the hilly area with the highest altitudes in the country, (around 300m) in the region of Boé.

Three major products are grown in Guinea-Bissau: rice, mango and cashew nuts. But one of the things that the Delegation noticed at the end of a couple of meals is that the rice and vegetables consumed at almost all meals are not produced in Guinea. Even rice is mostly imported. Tomatoes, onions and cucumbers come from Senegal and rice from Pakistan. Mango and cashew are also destined almost 100% the export market, without any local industrial transformation.

In other words, the creation of value for these products that are highly sought after worldwide is done outside the country. For Guinea, rice, mango and cashew are commodities. They have a value by weight, as they are collected in the wild. Their industrial treatment and the value added to them by this treatment is a gain made outside the country.

The Templar Corps International, through some of its leaders in Italy, Portugal, and the OSMTHU, had been involved years ago in similar projects in Asia related to coffee. In that case, as here, the primary issue was that local communities manage commodities, but added commercial value is created outside the country, limiting local benefits. It was decided to revisit the documents from that time to explore ways of designing projects adapted to Guinea-Bissau’s specific context.

Regarding the topic of Civil Protection, Vice-Commander Amador presented several ideas, focusing on training local forces and implementing an emergency communication and coordination center. He proposed establishing an ambulance unit operated by well-trained local staff, equipped for first aid and accident response, which could greatly impact the city of Bissau. He expressed his willingness to facilitate the donation of some units through the Templar Corps International and to coordinate the necessary training, potentially using an abandoned building or constructing a new one with sustainable methods on a donated city lot.

As lunchtime approached, the Delegation split up. Vice-Commander Amador was taken to the airport to retrieve his luggage. Unfortunately, the troubles with this luggage continued to escalate. First, the flight was delayed by two hours, seriously impacting the afternoon’s work. When the luggage finally arrived, it surprisingly contained unrelated items—like chocolates, hair products, and cosmetics—while his drone had mysteriously disappeared. Customs required him to pay excess baggage fees for items he didn’t own. Despite the confusion, the commitment to the Mission prevailed, though the drone was lost for good.

Back at the hotel with the rest of the Delegation, he expressed some relief that his clothes and the training materials (aside from the drone) were intact. It appears that some airport staff check baggage weight and, if a bag doesn’t reach the 23kg limit, they open it to add contents from other bags of the same passenger to use up the allowed weight. During check-in, his bag was wrapped in pink cellophane with two others that weren’t his, leading to the confusion—including dozens of chocolate bars and women’s hair products!

There was still a preliminary visit to the Fire Station. The visit was brief and aimed solely at preparing for Monday’s training. Vice-Commander Amador familiarized himself with the firefighting equipment, noting its condition and operability. He took notes and made a few recommendations.

NOVEMBER 3

Being Sunday, the Delegation took the day to rest. An initial visit to the islands was planned; however, the delay of the luggage at the airport compromised the possibility of catching the boat on Friday.

Therefore, accompanied by local team members Gaio Gomes and Afonso Mendes, under the guidance of Secretary of State Nelson Pereira, the afternoon was spent at a typical restaurant in the port area, enjoying homemade food and Guinean music. The hospitality of the friends from Guinea-Bissau is unparalleled.

(To be continued…)

Templar Corps and OSMTHU Commander in new Mission to Guiné Bissau

OSMTHU Commander of Arraiolos, Fr+ Rui Herdadinha, has travelled this week to Guine Bissau on personal business at the invitation of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, but also on an official Templar Corps mission.

During the last year Templar Corps has been preparing an ambitious program that aims to deploy equipment, train and certify local first responders, firefighters and paramedics in Portuguese speaking African countries. In 2023 Jorge Amador, Knight Captain and Vice-National Commander Relief/Humanitarian Efforts of the Templar Corps unit from the Algarve, Portugal lead a training team in Cape Verde and in 2024 Fr+ Alberto dos Santos, KTJ, member of the OSMTHU Grand Priory of Portugal, has organized three charity events on behalf of the children of Luanda. 

The unstable political situation in Guiné-Bissau has forced the Templar Corps to further delay plans for the country. This week, however, Commander Herdadinha conducted a five day training event for senior directors of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on Leadership, Economy and Management, reviving opportunities for new actions in the near future. The video bellow [subtitles in English] was featured in the “A Voz do Povo” local channel.

The Templar Corps International (templarcorps.org) is the largest Humanitarian Organization composed of men and women with an interest in the historical Templar Order and their values of Chivalry and Altruism. It has members in over 25 countries.

Templar Corps and OSMTHU Commander in Mission to Guiné Bissau

OSMTHU Commander of Arraiolos, Fr+ Rui Herdadinha, has traveled this week to Guine Bissau on personal business but also on an official Templar Corps mission.

Following the success of the Cape Verde mission by Templar Corps Vice-National Commander Portugal Jorge Amador (see more details here and here), the Templar Corps has prepared an ambitious program that aims to deploy equipment, train and certify local first responders, firefighters and paramedics in Portuguese speaking African countries.

“It’s very important that we contribute with this knowledge transfer”, says Commander Herdadinha; “Portugal has a very long and friendly relationship with these young nations, where we find a friend on every corner. For one, the hospitality and kindness of the people of Guine Bissau is unsurpassed. We should do our best to help them develop their skills in every sector. The Templar Corps is especially interested in Humanitarian work.”

“Our training follows European standards and certifications”, explains Vice-National Commander Amador; “Our aim is to create local teams, ready to respond to crisis situations, be it urban fires, basic life support or natural disasters. The era of big international heavy NGO’s is coming to an end. We need to train smaller teams, give then good equipment and help them to be ready to cope with uncertainty and disaster, because when something extreme happens, they are the first ones on the ground. Always”.

The Templar Corps International (templarcorps.org) is the largest Humanitarian Organization composed of men and women with an interest in the historical Templar Order and their values of Chivalry and Altruism. It has members in over 25 countries.