The Boring Day

Today was boring. We were suppose to go to Keyala but didnt end up getting there because the convoy was delayed. So we are going tomorrow. Because of that, we spent today sitting around, being on the internet, searching for things and finding things and being frustrated and hating ed. Oh wait. That last one was just me.

BUT some exciting news. On Tuesday, George and I are going on a trip to Lafon for two days. Lafon is this remote village that even Ed hasnt been to north of Torit. It is apparently "fly heaven" which is not only disgusting but dangerous-these flies can cause you to go blind and frequently do. Its a couple hours away from Torit. Let me see if i can find a map.
....OK i dont know if i have a map or not. I will look later.

The point is, this is really cool. I am going with the Director of Eastern Equatoria State for SSRRC, Mr. Olum, who is the one taking us to Keyala. A team is going up to study the success of the repatriation of IDP's (Internally Displaced Peoples) who had to leave Lafon during the civil war. Lafon was one of the main centers of the war because it was strategically located between Torit and Ethiopia (Gambela, how cool is that word?). But because a large portion of the young men joined the SPLA, they were labeld rebels. The Pari people live in Lafon, and all six of their villages were burned during a fight between two factions of the SPLA. They have relocated, but there is very little infrastructure.

Some facts: the child mortality rate is one of the worst in the world. Southern Sudan has an average of 250 child deaths for every 1000 births. Lafon's WAS 300-400 per 1,000, but that was before the collapse of it's health care system. It has probably risen since. To put that in context for you, the overall rate for developing countries is 79 per 1,000, and the US rate is 7 per 1000. That is an astonishing and devestating statistic.
In addition to that mortality rate, there is no health care in the region to speak of. No hospitals, no doctors, no nurses, no clincs. A clinic may be being built by MERLIN, a British NGO, but it only started construction in 2007 and it is difficult to find out information on it's progress. There are no radios or newspapers so communication relies on word of mouth. Transportation is mainly walking, as for a long time the roads were too dangerous to use. There are nine schools, all "bush schools" or schools held under trees, but education is very limited there. Food is also scarce and recently they have had a bad crop of sorghum (the staple crop) resulting in "hunger years". As of 2007 there was one store in the town center. One. And none in the villages.
Because of this, and other reasons, many people are unwilling or unable to go back, and therefore repatriation is difficult. Its also necessary, because without people who have been educated outside the region, or even people in the age range typically lost to SPLA fighting, Lafon will have difficulty growing.
We are going to inspect the results. SSRRC is writing up a report on it and making suggestions. George and I are going to take special care to note the situation of homes and beds, to get a better understanding of the feasibility of mosquito nets (where to hang them, who needs to be covered, how scattered people are, what the town square is like, etc). We are also going to look at the living situations of people, and hopefully ask them about their health, their knowledge of malaria and what causes it, and their understanding of prevention methods. This is going to be incredibly helpful because Lafon is one of the most remote areas in Eastern Equatoria, and if we can prove that we have the ability to distribute to some of the most difficult areas, we will be in a much stronger position for our proposal.

Additionally, I'm trying to learn some languages. Particularly I"m trying to learn Pari-the language spoken by the Pari people in Lafon. Only about 2500 people speak it in the world. I have a copy that was lent to me of the New Testement in Pari (which i have to tell you is pure gold because almost nothing is published in Pari's language). Unfortunately I need to find a copy of the New Testement in English (shouldnt be hard, I'm living in a mission) so that I can teach myself because I've checked, and there is no Pari to English dictionary in the world.
So far, I'm relying on people. I've learned some words that are helpful.
Mah-di: Hello
Ina-bhutto/Ana-bhutto: Good morning and the response
Ina-Rio/Ana-Rio: Good evening and response
Nidi: How are you?
Bbear: Good
Anapoach-oh: Thank you
Nning-gay-nah: What is your name?
Nning-gah Emma: My name is Emma
Lipul: Hill

I'm also learning Lotuko for when we go to Keyala:
Mong: Hello, how are you?
Ohyou-beybey: Good
Oh-go-lo: Fine
Ong-ai: How are you?
Or-roho: Not good
Eh-pal-ne: Sorry
Humo (pronounced homo): Thanks

Also i got to practice my kiswihili today with these men from Western Kenya who had huge holes in their earlobes and long swaths of colorful checked cloth wrapped around their waists and thrown over their shoulders.

I'm going to conduct some interviews with both Mr. Olum and Father Andrew, who are both from Lafon, and hopefully some people while we are there. Later, we are hoping to get Father Hector to come and take us to Chigadoum (spelled wrong) so I can interview people there. This is going to be so incredibly helpful in my classes when I get back, and I might do one of my proposals for Kahn institute on the epidemic of guns, the infection of AK-47's and the intensification of tribal warfare and it's impact on efforts of peace and development.
oh AND i'm going to visit the local branch of BRAC which is a bangladeshi bank that gives out microloans to women in developing nations to help them get on their feet and become economically self-sufficent.

Its really exciting.
Ps. A mouse just ran by. Did you know there were mice in Sudan? I guess there has to be something for the snakes to eat besides people.