The Final Chapter

As I packed my bags another storm blew over Acumcum. I was sad to be leaving without experiencing the wet season. Small patches of green grass had started to grow and the pigs had returned to the compound pigsty with 10 little ones in tow. I was told it is a sign that the rains are on the way! I am sure South Sudan is a completely different place to experience in the wet. Driving through Acumcum village and Wau town for the last time was surreal. When I first arrived I found the place harsh and difficult to adjust to, but after three months I had slowly gotten used to daily life and started to build some good relationships with colleagues and other international workers. I suppose that is life in general - people and experiences coming in and out.

 

I spent one night in Juba and was surprised to find the place more multicultural than when I first arrived, with many faces from Ethiopia and Eritrea and expats driving around in UN vehicles. There was a large amount of fresh fruit and vegetables for sale at the markets and being closer to Uganda allows for a variety of goods to be imported. I relaxed at a hotel on the river Nile and enjoyed a cold smirnoff while watching the boats pass by.

 

Arriving at my five star hotel in Addis Ababa I was gobsmacked. I had not had running water, electricity or a variety of food for three months. To sleep in a king sized bed and have a hot shower was amazing! Addis is an interesting city. I went on a private city tour and experienced the big marke, traditional dinner and dancing. My guide was lovely and helped me run around town to find an ATM that was working!

 

I have spent the last three days in the ancient town of Lalibela. It is famous for its underground rock churches. The Ethiopian Orthodox religion is very much part of daily life and it was fascinating to visit the churches and witness locals coming to pray and fast. I met some lovely girls from the UK who are working in Africa so spent a couple of days touring with them. On my last day in Lalibela I decided to make the trek to a monestary in the mountains. I took a mule but the mountain was so steep and rocky at times that I fell off the mule and fell over twice. It was a scary experience but the view from the top was incredible. Ethiopia is an unusual place, very unique to the rest of Africa. It is rich in culture, religion and culinary experiences. It is safe and a place that I would recommend to travel. 

 

Getting ready to fly out I have mixed feelings. I am looking forward to arriving home to my family, friends, wonderful food, ease of life and comfort, but I am also feeling sad to be leaving the adventure and isolation that is Wau, South Sudan. Despite the  heat, challenges and frustrations I think that the country, people and culture of South Sudan has gotten under my skin and I will be back one day.

 

 

Weekend in Wau

As my last days in South Sudan have crept up on me I decided to spend the weekend in Wau. A number of colleagues had training in Wau so were also staying at a hotel. I spent a lazy Saturday by the pool at the Wau River Lodge and had the best meal I have had since being in South Sudan  for dinner - roasted lamb and chips! Although there are sheep around, it is not common to find it on the menu.

 

On Sunday morning I was meant to be taken on a tour of the largest Catholic Cathedral in Wau but the Father's motorcycle broke down! It was a hot and windy day and in the afternoon a dust storm followed by rain storm hit Wau. It was incredible to watch the red dust being blown everywhere, followed by torrential down pour. As I have not seen any rain since I arrived it was surreal to walk out on the streets and there be puddles of water. I can imagine how difficult and unpleasant it is in town in the wet season as there are no drainage, sewage or sewerage systems in place.

 

I had organised to visit my friend's mum for dinner that day and had to take a ruksha (tuk tuk) through the massive mud puddles to get to her house on the other side of town. I was paranoid that the tiny little vehicle would not make it, or worse, tip over sideways in the water. I was told that I should take some friends or colleagues with me for dinner and within the South Sudanese culture a guest is always supposed to eat first. It felt unusual to me that I was in the house with my friends eating and drinking, while my host was outside preparing the meal. Only after we finished eating did she come and sit with us.

 

The rain brought a cooler change to the temperature so the last two days have been pleasant and sleeping has not been a problem. I am sure that in a few weeks and with some more rain the landscape here will look very different to the way it is now. I would like to experience South Sudan in the wet season, only minus the mosquitoes.

This experience over the last few months has reminded me that people are adaptable and strong, no matter where they live in the world and what cards they have been dealt in life. I am looking forward to heading back to my life in Australia but I will think fondly on my times and experiences in Acumcum, Wau and South Sudan.

Visit to Nyinakok

My latest assignment has been to write a concept note for the Local County Government to help them build their headquarters. Up until December 2012 the three Counties of Western Bahr El Ghazal State have been operating out of Wau, however the Government's policy for many years has been that each County should be based within its own County's geographical location.

 

The Government made a very firm announcement in October of last year that all County headquarters should cease operating from Wau and this is what led to the violence and killings of 30 people. Unfortunately for the local County Government, there is no budget from the Government to help them build their headquarters. They have managed to receive some donations from local NGOs, but this is limited to bricks etc. So my job is to prepare a brief report to send to international donors requesting assistance for infrastructure and funding.

 

Yesterday we went for a drive from Acumcum along a back bush road to Nyinakok, the new site of Jur River County headquarters. It felt like we were on a safari, driving through isolated wood lands and tall grasses. The men from the County office and local chiefs were very helpful and provided me with all of the information I needed.

 

We then went for a walk to the local river. As it is the dry season the water level is very low. There were still plenty of monkeys around. On the way back they took me past a hyena's den. Thankfully they stayed sleeping!

 

 

Chief and Executive Chief of Nyinakok

 

Colleagues John and William near the river




At the site of the new headquarters

 

Weekend of Luxury

For many weeks I decided to have a break from Acumcum and spend the weekend at a hotel in Wau. There are two hotels that cater to the international community and I decided to stay at the one with the best pool. It is called Amarula Lodge. It is situated out of town, opposite the United Nations compound.

 

I woke up on the Friday with an awful head cold and spent the day lying in my tukul. Of course I was disappointed that I would be away for the weekend and not feeling a 100%. On Saturday morrning I got dropped into Wau and spent the day in and around the pool, enjoying cold drinks. A friend joined me for dinner at the hotel and then we went on a night motorbike tour of Wau - not much to see as there is no electricity, only a few generators here and there.

 

It was so nice to sleep on a firm bed and have a flushing toilet and hot shower. On the Sunday I was not feeling well and spent the day drinking soda water instead of enjoying the food! I met some really nice people around the pool and it is interesting to hear what they are all doing in South Sudan. In particular I had some really good conversations with two men who work for the United Nations in de-mining. They have been doing it for years, travelling through various war torn countries disabling land mines.

 

Sunday night at the hotel was very quiet. Apparently there is no money circulating in Wau, so local people have limited money to spend on food and beverages at restaurants or bars. In addition to that, there has been a curfew in place since December, after serious shootings occurred in town. That means that international personnel, particularly UN staff do not go out and about after the curfew because if something happens to them they will not be covered by insurance or be provided with UN assistance.

 

Unfortunately I woke up on the Monday morning with a stomach bug. I have never been so relieved to have a flushing toilet close by! Luckily for my health situation the work car had some problems that needed to be fixed so it was in the mechanics for most of the morning. I managed to rest, take a lot of medication and then got picked up and went to Mapel for a community meeting. The road to Mapel is the main road heading to Juba, the capital city yet the conditions are awful. It is so bumpy with huge craters everywhere.

 

Thankfully I survived the day and the community meeting went really well. The information I received will help me to write my next project proposal that is due this weekend.

Wau Town Photos

 Some photos of daily life in and around Wau Town

Locals walking in town



 



Busy Street and Markets in Wau






 

Waiting to cross the main road


 

Eastern Bank - Suburb on the other side of the river from Wau Town



 

Local Car Wash



Water boys - delivering water to the compound in town



Thoughts on Development in South Sudan

It has now been over a month I have been in South Sudan and in that time I have written as much of the report on street children in Wau that I can until I gather further information, developed and written a project proposal for increasing women's participation in public and political life at the local level and have assisted colleagues to write budget narratives for a World Food Program project and humanitarian relief project.

 

There are many challenges and frustrations faced when working within the development sector in South Sudan. From my short time in South Sudan observations are that international donors have more funding available for emergency and humanitarian projects rather than long term development and setting up vocational training. The civil war ended in 2006 and most people who fled have since returned to their homelands, yet funding is still being allocated in large quantities to returnees and internally displaced persons.  

 

It seems that it is easier to fund 'hard' projects - that is the provision of material supplies or goods, rather than investing large sums of money to  help develop the capacity of the government and indviduals. For example, there is a primary school and health clinic in Acumcum village. These buildings were built and paid for by international donors, yet the clinic has not been open one day that I have been here. It is the responsibilty of the government to staff the clinic, yet the government does not have adequate funds to pay the salaries of health workers and any health professional that would accept a low paying job at the clinic would be from outside the village and therefore living expenses would have to be paid as well.

 

It is currently school holidays so the local school is not open, but I have been told that the quality of teaching in South Sudan is getting lower. Teachers receive minimal salaries and large numbers are now changing professions. Because the quality of teaching is low, many families decide not to send their children to school and instead have them help with chores.

 

There is no easy answer to South Sudan's problems and how things may be fixed, but my view is that the international community and donor funding may be assisting in some areas but may also be creating additional problems that the Sudanese people will have to deal with in generations to come.

Bodies and Bathing

It should be noted that basic sanitation in South Sudan is very poor and people do not have toilets or running water inside their house or tuktul. If one is industrious or a little more well off, there may be a latrine pit outside, protected by bricks, grass or bamboo sheeting. Looking around the expanse of tukuls throughout the suburbs of Wau I often wonder how people find the place or privacy to relieve themselves or bathe.

 

Having spent a few weeks in South Sudan I am able answer this question based on my own observations. It is a common sight while driving along the main road into Wau, or even in the town intself, to see a man standing on the side of the road urinating without a care in the world. Although not as common, I have seen many women just squat where they are, lift up their skirt and do what they need to do.

 

The other day as I was going for a walk in the village I went past the water pump. There were some children collecting water, some animals having a drink and an older teenage boy washing his clothes and having a wash with nothing on. I think I was more embarassed than him.

 

Another day we were driving to an outer suburb of Wau. There was a small body of water by the side of the road and I saw that people were washing trucks in it. I thought to myself 'that's interesting, I will need to get a photo of that next time I come past.' As we drove back the driver slowed down so I could get a photo. As I put my camera out the window the trucks had gone but there were about six men stark naked having a wash!

 

Yesterday while waiting at our office in Wau I thought I would be adventurous and go for a walk to the corner shop to get a bottle of water on my own. It is not that I feel unsafe but I am usually with a colleague. It is also an unusual sight to see a white person walking around Wau so I do get many stares, handshakes and children yelling out 'kawaja' meaning white person.

 

An older lady stopped me in the street and we did the usual greeting in Arabic and managed to exchange names. She continued to talk to me in Arabic, saying the same thing over and over. I repeated 'No Arabic' and shrugged my shoulders. She then leant towards me and firmly touched both of my breasts. I have no idea what she was trying to say but I managed to get my bottle of water and get safely back to the office.

 

Acumcum Village Photos



Playing around with the kids

Proud Family in front of their Tukul

 

 

 



Evans digging with some local kids



Proud Family showing me their tobacco garden

 

 

Acumcum Market

Janet pumping water
 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Tukul in the village by moonlight

 

 

Friendly Faces

As the weekend came around I wondered what we would do at the compound in Acumcum. The local workers went home to their families and so it left Janet, Evans and I to do the same thing as any other day - wake up, breakfast, office, lunch, rest, office and afternoon jog / walk.

 

On the Saturday afternoon we decided to go for a jog. Janet and I managed to complete one full lap of the old airstrip while Evans did two. After our jog we started doing some stretches and noticed that we had some spectators. A group of 6 local boys gathered about 50 metres away from us and started mimicking our movements. It was a hilarious sight.

 

We later went over to greet them and they showed us their local mouse traps - dry grass woven into long tubes. Once the mouse goes in it can't back out. The boys had been successful as I noticed a few legs poking out the sides. One of the mice was even skinned ready for roasting!

 

On Sunday afternoon we went for a walk through the village. We walked past a family's hut and the women and children were very kind and showed us their small tobacco garden and let us look inside the tukul. I nearly had to get on my knees to go inside the tukul as the entrance was so low. Inside was very dark as there are no windows. The tukul consisted of a mud floor with a small fire for cooking in one corner, chickens in another and some bedding in another. About 4-6 people sleep inside on the hard floor.

 

I asked if I could take a few photos and the women were very proud to pose with their garden. As soon as the camera was out the children came running from tukuls near and far. They all wanted to be in the pictures and then look at themselves. There was a lot of giggling and sign language going on between us. Despite the weekends in a rural community being uneventful and slow to my normal life, little things have happened that make me appreciate simple things.

 

I have been trying to upload more photos onto the blog but it is not happening. Don't worry. I will keep persisting!

Lessons on Health & Safety

South Sudan is a developing country and therefore it makes sense that matters such as occupational health and safety, or actually any form of health and safety, may not be up to the standards that one expects to see in the West. I learnt this lesson over the space of a few days this week and made myself a reminder list of things to be aware of while in South Sudan.

 

1. Never operate the generator

While having dinner at the compound one night we were discussing the generator and its current mechanical problems. I heard the words "Deng, four teeth, Manut, eye, hospital." After asking more questions I discovered that in the space of one month, Deng and Manut (compound workers) sustained serious injuries while starting the generator; Deng losing four teeth and Manut seriously damaging one eye and vision. They are both back on the job with no complaints but I will stay well away from the generator.

 

2. Wear shoes in the latrine 

The compound has two pit latrines and on average there may be 10 people in the compound at any given time. For hygiene purposes it is a given that I would not go to the latrine without shoes on, but the other night this was highlighted to me even more. As I stepped into the latrine I felt something squish under my shoe. As I moved my torch over my foot to see what I had stepped on, there was a semi-squashed scorpion on the ground thrusting its tail towards me.

 

3. Carry a spare tyre - preferably one that is not threadbare

Driving along the bumpy dirt road to Wau, the vehicle suddenly swerved off the road. As we got out to see what had happened the rear tyre was completely flat. Not only was it completely flat, but it was completely bald and threadbare. As the driver opened the back door of the troopy he yelled out "No tyre." Realising that we had no spare we had to wait on the deserted road for help. Some local boys on a motorbike stopped and said that they would get a message to someone in the village. Thankfully a colleague came to the rescue soon after.

 

4. Caution should be taken when handling feral animals

While driving through Wau Town and looking at the donkeys pulling carts of water, I thought to myself "I could get a pet donkey for the compound. Not only could he help fetch water from the bore but I could have something to do on the weekend - go for walks, wash my donkey, find grass for him." While still contemplating the idea of a pet donkey, a colleague and I went for a drink at a bar on Friday afternoon. There was a stray cat and kittens wandering around the bar and the Manager of the bar was more than happy to offer me a kitten. I thought to myself 'This is a much better idea than a donkey!' When he bent down to pick up the kitten, it went completely feral, scratching and biting him to the extent that he had to release it and nurse his wounds. Perhaps when I next go to the bar to get my new pet, some gloves, food and a cardboard box are a requirement!

 

Wet Handshake

After spending a few days in a row at Acumcum compound I needed a change of scenery, so I went with some colleagues to visit a project site a few kilometres out of Wau town.

 

Janet, my work colleague and I decided that we needed to buy a water pot each for our tukuls, so we were in luck when driving into Wau a group of ladies were walking along the side of the ride carrying pots on their heads to the market. We bought one each ($6USD) and nursed them in the vehicle like babies so that they would not break.

 

As we were passing the Wau Airport I noticed that there are about 4 planes scattered close by or alongside of the tarmac - obviously planes that crashed at some stage and have remained in their 'plane graveyard'. It does not make one enthusiastic to fly here!

 

We arrived at the project site, a new suburb on the outskirts of Wau where the government has allocated land to South Sudanese people who have returned home from the North after the civil war ended in 2006. It was so hot and dusty I could barely be bothered greeting people and just wanted to lie down in the shade of a tree.

 

After shaking a number of peoples hands I then went to shake the hand of a very elderly man. He was happily shaking my hand and speaking to me in Arabic. My colleagues were trying to tell him that I do not speak Arabic but he didn't seem perplexed and continued in any event.

 

My colleagues started speaking to other people and the old man with milky eyes continued to talk to me and lifted my hand towards his face. I thought that he may kiss my hand but as it came closer to his mouth he turned it over and spat in the palm of my hand! I was shocked and looked around but no one else had witnessed this event. I sat for the next 15 minutes with my hand hanging limply beside the chair.

 

As soon as I got in the car the antibacterial gel was out and my colleagues could not stop laughing. I asked the meaning and did spitting in someone's palm have some cultural significance? One said he must be a drunk old man, while another other said it means I am promised to marry him, while another said that he is a witch doctor and telling me that I will be protected in that area. Whatever the meaning it was not an event that I want to experience again!

A Few Photos

Map of South Sudan identifying the 10 States. I am in Wau, WBG

World Map showing South Sudan



 



Row of tukuls in the compound

Water pot and broom

 









My tukul

Daily Life

After spending a week at the compound in Acumcum I have come to know the routine of daily life here.

08:00 - Breakfast consists of either boiled cassava or taro and tea or instant coffee. No fresh milk, only powdered! Twice per week there may also be some oranges.

09:00 - 13:00 - The generator comes on and if you are staying at the office you walk 100 metres next door, switch on the internet and fans and start work.

13:00 - 15:00 - Lunch consists of ugali (sorghum flour cooked with water to form a porridge) or rice or cassava and broth. Usually we have a rest in the communal building or our own tukul but it starts to become unbearably hot.

15:00 - 17:30 - The generator comes back on and it is back to work.

17:30 - 19:30 - A group usually gather under a tree and listen to the radio or talk.

I find that by 18:30 it is cool enough to go for a walk, occasionally others come but I may go on my own. This is a nice time to see the villagers going about their daily life - women and children collecting water from the pump, boys herding cattle and men coming back from farming or groups gathering for a drink of the local brew. Whenever you cross paths with someone there is always a polite exchange of greetings - always a hand shake followed by the Arabic saying 'kheif' (how are you?) and reply 'tamam' (well).

It becomes dark by 19:30 and it is nice to sit outside and watch the stars and moon emerge. As it is dry season there is never a cloud in the sky. You can hear drumming from the village. This is to call the stray cattle home.

20:00 - The generator comes back on and the TV is brought outside. As it is currently the African Cup and lead up to elections in Kenya the program consists of the news, soccer, Kenyan politics or cheesy Nigerian soap operas. Dinner is eaten outside in front of the TV. Some form of bread, ugali or rice and stock will be served - with home grown and slaughtered chicken or dried meat or dried fish.

Sometime throughout the evening it is shower time - also known as a small bucket of water and wash time! As the days are so hot and dusty it is such a nice feeling to put clean clothes onto a clean body.

23:00 - The generator is turned off and the peaceful sound of rural life takes over while everyone heads to bed.

Occasionally throughout the night I hear cattle, but it is usually the sound of rats running through the tukul roof that wakes me up.

Tukul for One

As I put my bags on the scales to board the UN flight from Juba to Wau I was told my luggage was over limit and therefore I could not travel. I had not been told that this leg of the trip would be limited to all baggage being under 20kgs. I quickly started packing all of my heavy toiletries into my back pack to leave for 'someone' to bring in a weeks time when a nice gentleman offered to 'take' some of my luggage kilos as part of his.

After landing at Wau and driving through the streets of Wau town I started to feel very isolated and out of my comfort zone. I observed many 'street kids' the ones whom I am supposed to be helping while here, but in saying that there are probably also many people who are not on the street but are so poor that they have limited clothing and appear very dishevelled. Donkeys pull carts of water through the streets alongside armed soldiers walking the streets with large guns.

I was asked if there was anything I needed to buy before we head to Acumcum - the village where I will be based and and I wasn't sure what they meant as I did not know what was available. In any event I bought some bottled water, instant coffee, powdered milk and six cans of beer.

It took 40 minutes to drive to Acumcum via 4WD, along unsealed and dusty roads, passing people herding long horned cattle and goats. It is so dry and arid here it is difficult to know how anyone or anything survives, yet I am told it is the dry season and when it rains, grasses can grow up to three metres tall. We then passed the Acumcum market but all I could see for sale were wooden poles for building huts.

Turning off the road into a wire fenced in area, I could tell by the sign at the front that this would be my new home. Inside the compound there are three rows of tukuls - mud huts with straw roofs and a cement rendered building next door. The building is the HARD office where we have access to internet when the generator is on. I was shown to "my" tukul. Inside consists of a double bed with a mosquito net, a TV (that doesn't work) and a single bed. There is also lock on the tin door!

The toilet is a mud brick out house with a hole in the ground. Next door is the bathroom - comprising of another mud brick hut with a cement floor and a big container full of water. No running water, no flushing toilet and no toilet paper. I have brought significant amounts of toiletries with me from Australia and now think - will I actually be able to use any? I started to think "What have I got myself into? Can I survive this? What happens when I get sick?"

Despite the excrutiating heat, rats running through the roof and trying to attack my packet of tim tam biscuits, I survived the first night in my tukul in Acumcum.

Touchdown

My interest in South Sudan developed after I found myself representing many refugees and migrants from the Sudan through my employment as a Solicitor with Legal Aid. A colleague and friend from South Sudan linked me with a grassroots not for proft community development organisation in Western Bahr El Gahzal state in South Sudan and so I have now put my money where my mouth is and the journey begins.

 

I will spend the next two and a half months in South Sudan, helping the organisation - Hope Agency for Relief and Development "HARD" to assess the needs of street children in Wau city and develop a plan of action.

 

My first thoughts when flying into South Sudan were that the landscape and isolation is similar to that of Cape York, Australia in the dry season - dusty and red with rivers snaking through the country side, however as we flew lower I could see paths linking huts together and women walking between them in traditional dress.

 

The first round of culture shock hit me when I walked into the airport - one very small, hot and sweat infused room that combines immigration, customs, baggage collection and arrivals. There was a shove of people trying to get a visa and luckily I had John, a local from the organisation to help me. I was told I could only get a visa for one month and then write to the government for an extension.

 

Of course it was my luck that after 30 hours of travel my bag did not arrive. I was told by the baggage handler to come back when the next flight arrives. I asked John if the airline would arrange for the bag to be delivered to my hotel - he looked at me and then let out the biggest laugh as though I had told him the funniest joke. After the second treck to the airport my bag did arrive on the next flight and I managed to stay my first two nights in South Sudan in comfort.

 

Thankfully I brought US Dollars with me to change into South Sudanese pounds as no where accepts credit cards and you can't withdraw money from the bank unless you have a local account!