Maintaining Sanity Part 2

Solution #6: Arthropod Photography. Ok, this one is my own personal, slightly obscure hobby. But my camera does take lovely micro shots, and there are so many fascinating bugs here. And I WAS after all a “naturalist” for two summers. A few of my specimens:

This is a truly amazing spider. It sews this white zig-zag
down it's web, and with it's stripy legs and solid silver back,
it's quite striking. And by the way, it's huge, and a bit
camera shy. I tried not to anger it.

This is one of my absolute favourites. Reminds me of something
you might win at a carnival - or like a furry crab.

This one is just pretty.

This one was a major photography challenge. I had to
risk my life to get this close to this spider which is about the
size of the palm of my hand. My colleages were squealing through
the window of the office. If you look close, you can see one concerned
head through the window. One morning when we came into the
office she was no longer on her web. Thankfully she has not appeared
under anyone's chair. I don't think she's friendly.

Amazing camoflauge.

Way cool.

Solution #7: Find the Funniest Signage Photo Scavenger Hunts. I’ll let the signs of Juba speak for themselves.

"Welcome to Juba, the Land of Peace and Love. "
Wow - where else in the world could I possibly desire to live?

Complicated. Might I suggest: "Please Flush"

Now this one is clear and simple: "Armed Conflict is a
Health Risk" - I love it!

Solution #8: Go out for Dinner. This one is obvious and lacks creativity, but I’d just like to point out that Juba now has Indian, Ethiopian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian and Sudanese restaurant options. This is a great evolution from the meager “hanging goat-leg restaurant” that we frequented but one year ago. (we’re hoping HQ doesn’t confiscate our R&R upon learning of this – at such points I like to remind them that I bathed in a pitiful splash of river water today, worked 13-16 hours most days this week, and had to remove a frog from my bedroom before going to bed last night).

Solution #9: Spa Night. This one has produced very satisfying results. Deep-cleansing facials, removing weeks of dirt from our feet, listening to mellow music in a candle-lit room, eating delicious pumpkin curry and watching Pride & Prejudice. Need I mention that this was a “girls night”?

Solution #10: Market Excursion. Immerse oneself in bright colours, interesting and at times offensive smells, blaring gospel music from lousy sound systems, and sweaty bodies to see what’s newly available on the market and if you can find an apple for less than the Sudanese Pound equivalent of a dollar.

When you see a big huddle of women like this you know
someone has just brought in a new bale of used clothing.
Get there quick for the best finds.

Solution #11: Find Someone Richer & Better-Equipped than Yourself to Mooch off of. We happen to have a friend who works for the Norwegian Consulate, which happens to have a new residential compound, which happens to have a big, beautiful swimming pool, which our generous Norwegian friend happened to invite us over to enjoy one day. It was like a dream…

Solution #12: Make the effort to actually be social with people you don’t work or live with and go out for a real actual “Social Event”. Ok…I say this tongue in cheek, because I’ve discovered I’m a bit lazy when it comes to being socially outgoing. But there are now options in Juba if one wanted to be on the “social scene”. Options includ salsa dancing on Wednesday nights, the weekly “Hash” (a walk/run event), Rugby night, Volleyball tournaments and the occasional big party.

This is me as a cat. It was a Halloween Party.

Solution #13: Gardening. It’s a delightful place to watch things grow when seeds literally sprout over night, and your compost accidentally turns into a mango tree or a massive pumpkin plant that you utilize at Thanksgiving. Did you notice my little avocado tree featured in the "Art Afternoon" photos? His name is Alvin. But don’t place too much hope in a spec in the soil. Life is also cruel in Sudan – drought, flood, plagues of pests and scorching sunlight can all strike your little plantlets dead with little warning – even if you lovingly coddle them in a pot on your window sill.

Solution #14: Be anti-social. I have a lot of interaction with a lot of people, all day long. I live with the same people I work with. It’s a multicultural group, and we face a great number of challenges and frustrations together, and things are not always rosy. At times, one simply needs a chance to be alone. Go home. Read your book. Watch a DVD alone. Cook yourself a meal.

Solution #15: Take a nap. See Toby knows best.

Maintaining Sanity

I’ve endeavored to provide you with something of a glimpse into the frustration, complexities and hardships I face in living and working here – as well as a taste of the adventure and excitement. It is fun, and I do enjoy it, but simply put, it’s darn difficult, and I work myself ragged most days. There are days I can physically sense the stress (and certainly the weariness) in my body. To offset this, we have R&R: a chance to escape every 8 weeks and fully relax, recover & rest. But one does need a little R&R in each day and week to refresh the spirit, and maintain one’s sanity.

So…how does one have a little fun in Juba? Well, it takes a bit of effort, requiring 2 steps: Step 1) Pulling oneself away from the office and one’s computer (my problem), and Step 2) Finding something fun to do (Juba’s problem).

Here, are a few solutions we have found:

Solution # 1: Community potlucks. For maximal creativity and enjoyment, these should be theme dinners to inspire the cooks and tantalize the palate.

Mmm...Indian food potluck, in honour of my place of birth on my b-day
(an occasion at which I made an appearance, and did my best to not
appear to be deathly ill, or having spent the former part of the day under
3 blankets shivering with a thermometer in my mouth despite it being
30C outside!)

Cooking in our teeny tiny new kitchen for our family of 16.

Solution # 2: Movie night. The old stand-by which never fails to please. Don’t forget to bring the office projector home and locate a white sheet. Choosing the film to please all is no simple task with a multi-ethnic crowd. Best bets are comedies and action.

Yes, that would be me with a blazing pan of fire.
I'm making flambed bananas for an "in-house" movie
night with my old roommates in our old house. Mmm.

Solution # 3: Drinks by the Nile. This is a historical favourite, started by the early pioneers of Juba at a time when there was nothing. Come at sunset to enjoy the views on the river, let the beverage be very cold, let the breeze play with the leaves of the mango trees, and let the conversation be stimulating.

Solution #4: Nile Cruise. For an exorbitant, but somehow justifiable fee, one can rent a boat for an hour or two for a cruise down the Nile. On my latest of such outings, I spotted some crocodiles – shall we rename this activity “Nile Safaris”? – though not the 3-meter long crocodiles who allegedly reside in the area. The latest development in Nile cruises is that one of the camp hotels has set up on an island nearby, with comfy chairs and cold drinks for a break along the cruise. (One can hardly justify R&R’s when you have this sort of luxury now available in Juba! – for a price)

Solution #5: Art Afternoons. This one is a new invention, and has proved to be entirely successful and greatly satisfying. My left brain can shut up about work and data processing and cargo calculations for a while my right brain roams freely, playing with colours and slowly slowly creating something new and – hopefully – beautiful on a blank piece of paper. Very therapeutic.




To be continued....

The Field, Part 4: Surprises

One of the other things I’ve been able to experience while in the field is something that keeps us on our toes and reminds us of just what kind of place we’re living in: a lovely little thing called insecurity. On my first field visit, there was a vehicle ambush on a road outside of the town, about 4 hours after I had passed along the same road. Apparently, it was an act of revenge over a boy that was murdered and found in the river the week before. In response, two men were arrested by the Southern Army, and in response to that, two men on camels were found getting weapons from the Northern Army barracks, and were thus detained. This was followed by rampant rumours that their friends would soon be coming to attack the town. Nice. We got some extra security for our place and slept lightly that night. Oh dear…are my grandmas reading this? The end of the story is that nothing came of it and I’m fine.

On my second trip (a different place), there was this wing-nut former military commander who took it upon himself to be the watch dog of all health services in the area. Prior to my arrival, he had been raising a raucous, saying that our organization hasn’t been providing services, were neglecting people during a cholera outbreak, and accused our staff of being murderers, responsible for deaths in the community. While I was there, he marched into the compound demanding a home visit for his wife who he was sure had cholera, and making all sorts of loud accusations and claims, making our staff feel very uncomfortable. That night, at 1 am, a woman giving birth was brought to the clinic. Our staff were called in due to complications and who should happen to be there (in the middle of the night, for the delivery of some woman completely unrelated to him), but the crazy commander. Very disconcerting for our staff as they tried to cope with a very difficult delivery. It turns out the baby could not be delivered, and the only hope for the mother and child was surgery, which cannot be done at our clinic. Without transport or enough time to get her to a hospital, there was nothing our staff could do for her. In the morning, the crazy commander made a terrible fuss about the situation, and in the end, the local authorities decided that a local “doctor” would be called in. This man proceeded to remove the now dead baby from its mother in pieces, using the crudest of tools and the crudest of technique. I won’t repeat any of the details. Amazingly, the woman lived, though we expected her to suffer from serious infection, if not from severe internal damage (I never did hear the end of the story). The next day, as our staff were contemplating whether it was safe for us to stay in the area with the threats of the crazy commander, a UN flight dropped in, and removed the threat himself. Apparently, they had some discussion with his superiors in Juba, and he wasn’t even supposed to be in this location anymore as he was re-assigned. Our staff were visibly relieved.

On this trip, all is calm thus far, though they had issues last week with a drunken wife-beater abusing one of the camp cooks and threatening the safety of the camp.

We’re in an area inhabited by cattle-keeping warrior tribes, and everyone has a spear if not a gun. The day before yesterday, I saw groups of long-legged, spear wielding young men with funny hats, leaping, running and singing on the road past our compound. Our staff tell me they’re off to war with another clan. There are long traditions of who fights with who here. If it’s not civil war and the South is fighting the North, then its inter-tribal warfare, and most likely the Nuer and Dinka raiding one-another’s cattle (back and forth and back again). And if that activity is quiet, then you turn within your tribe and war with other clans. Makes good sense right? Sigh….Sudan. A little love, a little forgiveness…is there hope? We cling to it.

The Field, Part 3: We’re Actually Doing Something Good!

Being in the field has also given me a chance to see first-hand what it is we actually do in South Sudan – who it is we’re serving, and what we provide them with.

I’ve been able to spend some time in our clinics, following our staff around.

I got to see a brand-new, soft, clean Sudanese baby - skin smooth and silky like chocolate milk.

I observed as a group of patients waiting under a tree listened to a health education message about STIs and engaged in some lively discussion on the topic.

I saw a man the day before he died from a gunshot wound from an ambush on the road just outside the town I was in and a woman with a gunshot wound in her hand, the consequences of a roudy dispute where a gun was too close at hand.

I watched as one of our staff dressed the severe burn on the entire back of a woman who fell on a fire during an epileptic seizure.

I got to see a very beautiful, but nasty schistosomiasis parasite under the microscope in the lab. I met some giggling girls splashing in the stagnant river/swamp water and watched as one of our staff explained about the dangers of getting schistosomiasis.

I got to listen with a stethoscope to a baby's raspy breathing due to pneumonia, and played with babies waiting in queue for their vaccinations so that we don't see them later in their lives as victims of polio or a measles outbreak.

And I stood in on a children’s club under a tree as they sang songs about peace and loving each other, after learning about hand washing.

It’s encouraging to see on this end that some things are indeed working, and the services are being delivered. It’s easy to get all tied up in politics and donor reports and emails and meetings in Juba, and not realize what’s coming out of it all in the end.

The Field, Part 2: My Little Project

My field trips thus far have been primarily for one purpose: to train our field health staff in basic computer skills so they can enter the statistical data from the clinics we support directly onto the computer themselves. On the side I’ve done some inventory-taking, re-organizing drugs store-rooms and attempting to solve, or at least lending a sympathetic ear to all the many problems faced by our field staff.

The computer training has been going excellently. It’s a very rewarding little project as most of these guys have never touched a computer before. They’re all very eager to learn, and frequently express how happy they are to “learn computers”. Thankfully, it’s pretty cool to know how to use a computer, so I have a zealous audience of students with big smiles on their faces, even though I spend most of the time teaching them the very mundane task of copying numbers from a piece of paper to a box on a screen. It’s simple stuff, but they love it. Yesterday I even got an applause when I finished the lesson! :)

I’m certainly not going to point out that it might be dull. Each set of reports that I receive electronically, is one less tedious stack of reports that I have thus far been entering myself from all 7 of our locations. My new favourite field site is the one which perfectly grasped what I taught them and now sends one tiny flash disk with 12 beautifully neat and clear electronic reports on it, rather than a torn envelope stuffed with a stack of illegible, tattered, dirt-smeared paper reports that look as if they’ve traveled for several years to get to me (the “Sudan Effect”). They’ve also been sending me little notes on the flash disk – it’s almost like getting email from the field. I return the stick with my replies and new files. I’m liking the new system. One more field site and I’ll have them all trained.

The Field: An Introduction

"The field.” Whenever I use this term – everyday lingo in the NGO World, used to refer to the places one works that are not your headquarters – it brings to mind images of skipping through a field of tall waving grasses and perhaps a few happy daisies. The reality? …A little different. Shall we replace that image with one of being scorched by the sun while trekking across a crusted plain of parched, barren soil? Or if it’s rainy season, make that plodding through ankle-deep muddy water and foot-sucking mud as tadpoles flee your giant “gum-boots” (as we call them here) and male frogs sing out their love songs all around you.

I’m in the field as I type this. It’s rainy season now. When I woke up this morning and stepped outside into ankle deep water, I discovered that the rain plummeting down most of the previous night had not gone anywhere, but stayed right where it dropped, making a giant muddy puddle of our compound.

The daunting trip from my room to the WC

Sudan excels at extremes: unbearable dryness, heat and inescapable dust most of the year, then suddenly, torrential rains, a miraculous appearance of green life, flooding everywhere, inescapable mud, mosquitoes and plagues of frogs, and why not throw in an outbreak of cholera or a profusion of malaria cases to boot?

Before
(I took this photo at our compound in this field site in May)

After
(Taken of the same tree on this trip)

Being in “the field” is a good thing: an escape from vehicles, internet, electricity, the demands of a busy office. And this week I needed it. I’ve been catching up on sleep and limiting my computer time due to solar power restrictions. It’s a blessing. It’s not easy though. Liken it to camping: it’s relaxing, and a refreshing escape from the norm, but it’s also a considerable amount of work, it’s uncomfortable, there are challenges to bathing effectively, the food is not always the greatest, your clothes are always dirty, and you have to use your flashlight and mosquito repellant frequently. But you embrace the rustic-ness, and thoroughly enjoy the unique bonding moments you have with your fellow “field-dwellers” under starry skies as you sing songs together during evening devotions, or tell long stories over dinner time.

Sharing a meal under a tree at the home of one of our staff
who lives in the area.

The conversation is always interesting. Today after lunch under the big tree I learned all the step by step process of getting a wife from the Kakua tribe, if you’re a man from the Madi tribe (involving sitting cross-legged for 3 hours, paying in goats, chickens, bows and arrows, kerosene and matchboxes, and throwing a lot of cash around in an arduous detailed ceremony. I also learned how one of our staff recently “stole” his wife-to-be from her family, flying her half-way across the country without paying the necessary dowry. Apparently this is an acceptable move if you’re Nuer and want to marry a Dinka woman. You pay the cows later and it’s all fine, but if you had gone through the usual process, you would have been instantly refused. And some good news for the girls: I also found out that if you’re a Dinka girl, and you have bids from 5 different men, you can choose to marry the guy you like who’s only offering a few cows, rather than the creep who’s offering a hundred cows (if you have a kind and considerate family who are not desperately poor or exceedingly greedy and are thus willing to let you make the choice). Since I’m still in the bidding process myself, I’ll keep this useful caveat in mind. ;)

One of the handsome Nuer cows exchanged in dowry transactions,
and someone's good wife milking it for her family's daily
sustenance of milk and sorghum.

Eligible young ladies

Nuer lady with impressive facial scarification.