Many of you have requested for stories and not just bland updates and we agree.
This new page titled *STORIES* will be a spot for us to tell you about the people we meet, our misadventures, and other casual stuff.
Bravery and Vision 
I’ve met brave people before. We all have I
suppose. But in a recent trip into Sudan I met 4 young women whose
bravery was of such substance and vision that I can’t ever forget it. Not that
I won’t forget it because it made an indelible impression on me, which it
certainly did, but because I can’t forget it for the sake of my own character
and for the recognition of their sacrifice, which is ongoing. So your reading
this serves my purpose of bearing witness to their lives and struggle.
Rhoda, Marsa, Rebecca, and Elizabeth are
the only female students at Werkok
Secondary School. This
makes them standouts already in two ways: 1. It means that they are Sudanese
females who have earned a primary school education. Recent reports show that
females in Sudan
are more likely to die giving birth to a child than they are to get a primary
education. 2. It means that they are part, along with the male students, of an extraordinary
group of people. All the students at Werkok went to primary school while in
residence in one or more of the refugee camps in a neighbouring country. The Werkok School
itself was supposed to open next year, but the students could not wait. Most of
them are the first members of their families to have come back. They have come solely
for the chance to get a high school education. The students sleep in their
classroom while the dorms are being built, and in fact they spend their days off
shovelling sand to make bricks for the construction. They all eat a cup full of
World Food Program porridge 3 times a day and study every night until the sun
goes down, when there isn’t any light to read by.
My encounter with Rhoda, Marsa, Rebecca,
and Elizabeth began with my first meeting with Church and Development (the
relief and development wing of the Episcopal Diocese of Bor). C&D is CEAS’s
(Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan)
partner in the region, and among many things they do in the area, they run 16
primary schools and 1 secondary school, which is the only secondary school in
the whole state, ever.
I was ushered into the meeting right after
arriving in Werkok, a small village outside of Bor Town.
We were to go over all the programs that were going on so I could get updates
for CEAS and figure out where we might be able to help.
After the introductions it came time to
discuss the current programs. The supervisor of the education program said that
2 of the 4 girls at the high school wanted to leave and that he had personally
convinced them to stay just the day before.
He said that they had complained that there
was no female staff member to look after them. I asked about their living conditions
and if they were being harassed by their male classmates or the community. The
response was interesting. All the men present said no they were not being
harassed, per se, but when I pushed they said it was “polite” harassment by the
classmates.
You see, all the students and the people
from the surrounding area are from the Dinka tribe. Most Dinka women in their
teens like Rhoda, Marsa, Rebecca, and Elizabeth are already getting married and
having children. Everyone these women know constantly tell them that because
they have chosen to go to school they will never be married. You have to
understand that not marrying and having children is beyond shame for a woman in
the Dinka culture, it is like not being human.
Later, after the meeting, I went to the
school and talked with the school’s headmaster (a Kenyan and an incredible
human being, by the way) and the other faculty (great in their own right, mostly
working for free). The headmaster was stressing the need for community awareness
about the need for female education. We
discussed that it began with the male teachers acting as advocates for the
girls in the classroom where the male students are not used to contributing
females.
I was then honoured to meet all 52 students
in their classroom. They sang me a welcome song, a tradition in Sudanese
society, and we all got a chance to talk. I asked the class why they were
there. They all had compelling stories. The girls were reluctant, but after
encouragement from the headmaster two of them spoke about how it will take
every Sudanese person, male, female, young and old and all their combined
knowledge and skills to build their country. No one person, group or tribe
could do it alone. I led all the men in the room in a round of applause.
After I left the classroom I asked the
headmaster if I could talk to the girls. He said absolutely and went to get
them. When came back he said they had only agreed to meet with me if the five
of us could be alone. When we sat down they were all very nervous and formal at
first. They stood up one by one and gave me an account of their experiences.
They were all very homesick for their families, especially their mothers, aunts
and sisters, who would be able to give them advice and help them with
day-to-day problems. When the third girl stood up her jaw and hands were
shaking, but she was determined. She told me how they don’t have adequate
accommodation to meet their female hygiene needs and it is a source of tremendous
anxiety because if they had an accident, they would never be able to show their
face in the school again and that they would have to go home.
Anywhere you go in Sudan you hear
stories about heroes. I imagine that’s to be expected in a society that has
only known war for the better part of 50 years. Knowing that, when the young
women were done speaking I began by telling them that they were true Sudanese
heroes, as much as any soldier because of what they were willing to risk to
better themselves and their country. When I said that they all sighed at the
same time, smiled and one of them started clapping. I told them that my wife
was an educated woman and that I knew the power and importance of education in
her life.
The same girl started clapping again. I
told them that my wife wanted very badly to be there that day and that if she
was would give them all a big hug. They all looked at each other and looked
very happy.
I gingerly brought up the marriage issue, to
see if it was indeed a concern to them. THEY WERE DEFIANT! They boldly told me
that they would most certainly be getting married, but that it would have to
wait until they finished UNIVERSITY! We talked a while longer about their
ambitions and plans and then I asked them if I could take a picture of them
(see the gallery). They were very
excited about it; they had recently had a lesson on how a digital camera
worked, though they had only seen one or two with the kawajas (white folk). I took the picture and showed it to them with
many laughs.
The honour of meeting these students has so
far been the highlight of my experience here. Everyday we get discouraging
information about the peace process and how things are going in general in South Sudan. One of the things I tell myself is that no one
can be an optimist here if she or he thinks in the short term. But there is
hope in the long term, especially if Rhoda, Marsa, Rebecca, and Elizabeth have
anything to say about it. John
To kick things off, I (Julia) have something to write that isn't a story at all. In fact it would probably fit into the "misadventures" section. I wrote it today May 23,2006 just to make me feel better. So it's hot of the press! (This is dedicated to my favorate mission trip/misadventure story featuring Brandon. That's a compliment from someone that doesn't like potty humor.)
( Loud telemarketing voice comes in: )
I have a weight loss program that is even better than Body by John!
Whereas the Body by John program takes 3 months and involves expensive and uncomfortable treatments, i.e. traveling into S.Sudan, sitting in 130+ temperatures, eating only a scoop of rice each day.
My program can get you the same visible results OVERNIGHT and it’s ALL NATURAL!
My program can be summed up in two words: amebic dysintary.
Parasites can be hard to find in everyday food products in America, especially with such unnecessarily high health codes at restaurants, but they can be easy to make in your own home. After creating your very own parasites, ingest the food and wait. In no time you will begin the Amebic dystinary way to a better you.
And it gets even better! With the Amebic dystinary program the more you eat the more you loose weight. Here’s how it works:
- After ingesting your parasite explosive diarrhea will occur
- Due to Amebic dysentery’s quick action your body won’t have time to properly digest your meal; therefore, you won’t have to worry about calories, carbs, or fat!
- After this cycle has begun Amebic Dysentery will handle the rest,
- So the more you eat, the more explosive diarrhea, the more visible shedding of pudge around your belly!
Amebic Dysentery: Natures answer!
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