Vidal wrote:

Kelfala, as usual has shed some light on yet another topic of

interest to me. However, it seems like a current member of

Tegloma would have more appropriate information for us, given

that you stopped being a member 16 years ago. Just maybe, the

aims and ambitions of the organization or its leadership might

have changed markedly over such a protracted period.

Vidal, in response to the above, all I can say is that I do not think that the Tegloma leadership are on Leonenet. But, subsequent to posting my piece on this issue, I had a phone conversation with a highly placed official of Tegloma (one who has served recently on the Membership and Ethics Committee) who told me that what I stated is essentially true.

Firstly, there are Tegloma members whose parents are not both Mende. (In fact, there are members whose parents are both not Mende and some who do not even understand a word of Mende.) Secondly, a spouse of a member in good standing automatically becomes a member regardless of his/her ethnic background. Hence, Shiekh’s claim that one has to prove that one’s parents are both Mende is a total fabrication.

Also, Tegloma still provides financial assistance in outright grants and/or loans to its members. It has also taken on a more social characterisitic in the sense that it hosts/sponsors affairs for members when they are marrying, naming children, etc. (Each member is expected to make a contribution, both in money and time, to these activities.) Hence, the organization must still contend with the issue of moral hazard in order to remain a viable organization that provides services to its members.

In view of the above, membership rules are essentially as I noted in my posting. Prospective members must still be nominated by a member in good standing. A Membership and Ethics Committee then considers the application and makes a recommendation to the entire membership, which votes to either approve or reject the nomination. I have been told that the nominee must provide biographical information (on a form provided by the organization) to the Membership and Ethics Committee.

On a lighter note, I thought you wanted to learn Mende in oder to marry a Mende woman. Now I hear that the motive is really to join Tegloma?

Have a merry Christmas.

Kelfala Kallon