Return to Narus

Yes...it has been many months since I blogged with you all.

This past June and July I spent 6 weeks in Africa: both in Nairobi and in Narus. It was wonderful to get together with my friends and co-workers and to see the girls I had taught - some of whom had graduated and were in the secondary school next to St. Bahkita's Elementary School.

Sister Ann Rooney, R.S.M. came with me and I took her on a "walkabout" with Anna Mijji whom I had trained to teach the Toposa women. We visited five of the seven bomas that make up the village of Nacipo. Anna showed us the large tukul the women had built with your donation monies to Mercy Beyond Borders. The women use this building made of posts, sticks and thatch when they meet with Anna for their classes in hygiene and nutrition and health. It keeps the sun and rain off them and also houses some goats at night. Many of women remembered me and I them. Sister Ann was impressed with how well the women did with so little and with how simply they lived. It rained while we were walking and we had to go into one of the larger tukuls (huts) until it stopped. It rained steadily for one hour and we slogged our way back to compound in muck up to our ankles.

My job in returning was to staighten out a money matter with a new bank that is located closer to South Sudan and just inside the Kenya border (Lokichoggio). I thought I had accomplish this only to find out that the bank did had not send both the ATM card and the bank book to Brother Mike Foley who graciously agreed to administer the funds while I was gone. Brother Mike has been in Africa for almost 40years. He teaches Chemistry and math at the high schoo. He was also the one who put in solar panels so we could collect solar power into the batteries stored on the compound so we could use our laptops.

While staying overnight in Loki, just inside the Kenyan border, I went for too-long-a-walk and found myself very far from the hotel in which I was staying. A man was taking his obviously intoxicated wife home from town. She could not stand and he would not carry her so he hit her with a switch from a tree near-by so she would get up. Obviously this did not work. Some other tribes men (Turkana) passed by and looked me over as I watched from a distance. I did not go to her aid as I may well have been injured for medddling in what was a "cultural" thing.

I waited several months before I told anyone about this and was told it was the correct thing to do. I had felt powerless to help another woman in a culture where wife abuse is not uncommon. I can only imagine how she and other women must feel when they are treated with less respect than is paid to the cattle. This does not lessen my love for the people of South Sudan but it does reinforce my commintment to help educate women and girls in regard to their dignity and basic human rights.

Keep this country in your prayer as they get ready to vote in January, 2011. Schools were closed in mid November so the older students could be trained in polling as they are the ones who can read and write.

I have decided not to return to South Sudan to live among the people as it took a toll on my health. Hopefully, someone will take my place - even if it is for just a few months. Let us continue to pray for each other.

The Beat Goes On

Yes, it has been three months since my last blog. During the interim St. Bakhita's School has been educating over 800 girls. At present, the girls are on their spring break. They had to leave school early due to the fact that the organizations that have brought food to the several schools in the area in the past have not been able to do so. The school footed the cost of beans for 800 girls at $70 per day, a princely sum in South Sudan. Thus, they could not keep up with the cost and school let out early. It is also time for the elections in mid April and some of the girls are old enough to vote. Others are not sure of their exact ages and may vote anyway.

While I was in Sudan I hired two Sudanese women, Christine Aserwa and Anna Mijji to teach the Toposa women in regard to health, hygiene and nutritional topics. They have continued to teach in three villages (Nacipo, Narus, and Loolim) since I left South Sudan after Thanksgiving. Christine teaches the women about the tropical diseases which can be contracted by the tribes people because of poor hygiene habits; she teaches the local foods the women can prepare for their families which will give them the nutrients, vitamins and such, to improve their health. Christine also works for the Diocese of Torit with women's groups in the various parishes.

Anna Mijji teaches the tribes women to cook foods they rarely if ever eat, namely greens, cabbage, beans, rice, and so forth. She gets the women into the act by having them prepare the meal for the group after Christine finishes teaching a lesson. The first time I taught a class I asked the women why they did not eat greens and they told me that only goats eat greens, people do not! Then I asked why they did not buy cabbage or share one cabbage with another family and they said it was too expensive. I said that one load of fire wood sells for 5 Sudanese Pounds and that is the cost of one cabbage. They said they could not afford it was too expensive and I responded that they treat themselves to beer in town on occasion and that they could get half a cabbage once a week or so. I could tell by the look on their faces after the translation into Toposa that this was not going to fly. We still have a lot of work to do to not only give them the information and the experience of different foods but also have them see the long term benefits of balanced diets.

Anna has a grown son and a son and a daughter in primary school and another daughter in St. Bakhita Secondary School. Her younger son lives with her while her daughters board at the school. Christine's children are mostly grown and she and Anna live in Narus. Both are considered to be "doing well" as compared to most folks in the area, they still live in what would be considered substandard housing in first world countries. Christine's home is made out of tin and is quite hot during the day. She cooks on a small charcoal stove outdoors.

Anna's home is made from adobe with an dirt floor. She has a room for her and her daughters to sleep when they are home and a separate room for her son. There is also a very small room on her compound used for cooking. Both women have outdoor latrines. Life can be harsh in regard to how hard one has to work in order to get water, cook meals, wash clothes and keep one's rooms free from toxic critters. It is an never ending cycle. If you have a little more than the next family you are expected to share what you have and these women do just that.

Although I have completed my year in Sudan I am confident that these two women will carry on the health promotion work in the villages and that over time we will see improvement in general health and hygiene.

I expect to return to South Sudan in June to close out the first phase of this project for Mercy Beyond Borders and work with them in their planning for year two.

Your prayerful support sustained me all last year. I hope you will continue to support Mercy Beyond Borders so that Anna and Crissy can build on the work they have already begun.