Sudan Update 7

Patrolling. Now let me be clear, when I say we patrol to a village and stop and talk with the local Chief, I am really saying that we drive and stop by a nondescript tree on the side of the road, follow a small path into an area with a few tukuls, and sit under a mango tree with makeshift chairs to conduct our mtg.

There are kids running around and women going about their daily routines. Men walk by pushing bikes and business is interrupted to deal with daily issues or simply to greet newcomers and invite them to join our discussion.

Our hope is to meet with the Boma/Payam Chief or Administrator, but there is often no way to get hold of them in advance, so we speak to whomever we find in the village or return when possible (the schedule depends on the distance to the village).




I am finally out patrolling and it has been fabulous! My first SDP (short distance patrol) was on 24 March 2011 to DIABIO, 80km away and a two hour drive each way. I was driver of vehicle two. It was beautiful and fun driving – challenging with all the bicycles, narrow roads, obstacles, speed bumps, random people walking, and periodic large truck!

The countryside is stunning: lush and littered with villages and people seemingly in the middle of nowhere!








Not the same school, but this is one of the nicer ones
that we have come across!







We even passed one school; I'll describe it in another mass update.









The Chief we met today was very angry for a few reasons. Apparently, an NGO hired Ugandans to refurbish the local clinic, which is a good thing, but the payam (county) administration hadn't gotten the word out to the boma (village), so they were unaware that these people were coming. Also, they didn't appear to hire any local workers. He was upset because we haven't helped with their bore hole issues -- they have one but it's not enough (the same concern as everywhere in South Sudan). The women have to go get water at night, which can be dangerous. He showed us a sample of his water; it was disgusting. One of our patrol members asked if they knew how to filter it, the Chief answered that they did. And yet they are drinking very dirty water …

25 March 2011 SDP was to NABIAPAI. I was added at the last minute because it is on the border of Congo and the Congolese troops speak only French. They had a member on the team that spoke French, but not English, so I fulfilled both roles.

It was only 30 km away but can take up to 2.5 hours to reach due to poor road conditions. In fact, the road is impassable during the rainy season, so it was very important that we reached our destination that day.







We left with a five vehicle convoy, as we had Bangladeshi force protection and one UNPOL (UN police) vehicle accompany us.

Unfortunately, we were stopped at a roadblock in GANGURA due to alleged LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army – Ugandan rebel group) activity in the area and were unable to negotiate passage to NABIAPAI.

They built the road through the middle of an SPLA (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) camp in GANGURA and serious negotiations and extra paperwork have been required to attain passage since the referendum this past January.

26 March 2011 SDP was to a boma about 3 km away called DUDUMA. I was driver of vehicle one. After a half hour meeting with the local acting sub chief and some members of the community, we found out that we were in the wrong boma! We were actually in YABONGO!

I have to admit that I was quite distracted during the interview. I was taking notes and only asked a few questions, so I had time to look around and assess the security of the area as well. Well, all was calm and peaceful.

I didn’t see much on that front but I did find the cutest little boy, half dressed in trousers, and unbelievably dirty, peeking shyly out at me!

I smiled and waved and his face broke out into an immense grin! The next time I looked back he had disappeared, but I couldn’t help myself – I kept checking to see if he had come back.

Well he did, this time carrying his baby sister who was about 1/3 his size with tight little curls in her hair.

She had the most precious smile, which was intermixed with little sad faces and the occasional cry. I was so taken with them that I asked our camera guy to take a picture. I had nothing to give them; I think that if I had, I would have given it all. But where do you even start?

We concluded our mtg and headed out to find DUDUMA, which was actually back off the road in the middle of a forest. There are no street signs here, or really noticeable landmarks, so it is quite easy to get turned around!

As we approached, I noticed hundreds of kids and locals dancing and singing. We had come upon a large celebration! It turned out to be the start of Saturday mass.

They danced and sang and were dressed so vibrantly. The air was thick with a positive, festive energy; it was hard not to be swept up in the beauty of the moment!

Luckily, we were left to observe and enjoy for a few minutes before meeting the town clergy and leadership. 

Everyone wanted to shake our hands and genuinely welcome us.

This act was even more touching as we discussed the village’s issues with their sub chief and began to understand their day to day struggles.

30 March 2011 SDP was to LI RANGU, approximately 37 km from YAMBIO.  I was responsible for communications and navigation for the patrol.

We took five cars, two force protection, two UNMO, and one UNPOL.

It took an hour of driving, through the most beautiful countryside ever, to reach our destination.

I bought a few cassette tapes at the market, so we actually had music for the drive – it was fabulous! It was one of those mornings where you can’t help but smile and feel thankful for being alive and in such a gorgeous, heavenly place.

My favourite part of being communicator is that I can look out the window and wave to all the children and locals. I can’t begin to describe how happy it makes me to see their bright smiles, or how unbelievably sad it is to see them begging for food. Whether they have become dependent on aid or they have had to leave their crops due to LRA attacks, the result is the same …

In LI RANGU, the payam Chief and his deputy were both out, so we met with the clinical officer of the health center instead. 

She spoke English and was very helpful. She described the aid which NGOs are providing and the daily trials and tribulations that her community faces.

At the end of our discussion she graciously gave us a tour of the medical facilities. They are building a new health center, a large concrete building to service the payam; it will be a step in the right direction.

There are currently 11,500 people who are serviced by two nurses with limited medicines, one microscope, and no equipment.

The current facility has two rooms, no beds, and two plastic chairs. I have never seen such desolate medical facilities; and yet these are the lucky ones that actually have something at least. 

Police in front of the police station in Li Rangu



They also have a motorcycle ambulance that can carry one patient; it is new, and they are very proud of it.

I saw a child playing with the most heartbreaking toy. Most children here play in the dirt, on the trees, around the piles of garbage.

Today I saw a small boy, perhaps four or five years old with a “real” toy. It was a makeshift car, on a string, that had only two wheels and a feeble metal body.

He patiently pulled the string around and the car wheels turned and the decrepit toy followed him in the dirt between the tukuls. It was heart wrenching, and I found it difficult to concentrate fully on the conversation while these kids were playing around us in such a simple way.

They truly have nothing; it is impossible to imagine, to believe, when our reality is such a world apart and our children have so much.

It makes me unbelievably sad, and yet, these kids are happy and curious and full of energy -- just like ours. But what type of life awaits them? What opportunities will they have? What type of world will they grow up in? The answers to these questions are both hopeful and sobering.