starting the day in Nzara

Waking up in the morning was my favorite time in Nzara. The very first night Courtney tried to convince me that I didn't need to set my wake up alarm because there were so many roosters. I set it anyways and after tossing and turning most of the night trying to adjust my back to the bed, I found myself wide awake by 4:30-5:00am with those roosters going off and Courtney had a "I told you so" moment. We didn't have to be up till after 6am so we laid in bed trying to snooze through the roosters when suddenly we heard these drums go off from the area by the Catholic church. I'll never forget Courtney's reaction "You've got to be kidding me!" About 15 minutes later we heard the drums again coming from the Episcopal church area on the opposite direction of the tukul. Later we found out those are the prayer drums that are played every morning starting around 6am. The morning drums ended up being much appreciated because when I heard the second prayer drums start I knew it was time to actually roll out of bed.
The first thing one must do each morning before stepping out of bed in Africa is turn on the flashlight and look around for spiders and lizards on the floor or ones who may have made a home for themselves in your shoes during the night. Luckily I never did find any in my shoes but I looked just in case! There are no sinks or running water so you grab the bottled water, toothbrush, and toothpaste and head outside. During mornings in the US, neighbors all say hi to each other while going out to fetch the newspaper with their cup of coffee (mostly in the movies and before iPad news was invented). In Nzara everyone does the same except people are brushing their teeth instead of getting a paper.
Bathing in Nzara was a totally different experience than one I've ever had before, but then again I never go camping as other Oregonians do. Near our tukuls and behind the Bishop's house is a small cement building structure with two areas. One has the deep pit latrine (toilet) and the other is what they call the "bathroom" and is a simple empty space the size of a closet where you take a bucket bath. During our stay the Bishop and his wife Sentina hired a local woman named Mary to help out. She was paid 20 South Sudanese Pounds per day or about $5 USD which is a good wage as many people in this world earn less than $1 USD/day. She worked very hard taking care of Courtney and I and always made sure we had good food to eat, coffee in the mornings, and hot bathing water prepared twice a day. Each morning Mary and Gloria (Bishop's 15 year old daughter) went to fetch water from the well which they carried back on their heads... real talent! Water was heated in a giant bowl over the fire and divided up into different buckets for people to use for bathing. I felt so spoiled that every morning I would go into the bathroom and there were two buckets with cups & hot water, ready and waiting for us. The very first morning I had no idea what I was doing, but I got it once the Bishop explained the basics about using the cup and that how it was ok for water to be splashed everywhere (I was trying to keep the area clean and dry for some reason!). A few things surprised me about bucket & cup bathing in Africa..... 1) How amazing the hot water felt on cool African mornings 2) How clean I felt afterwards 3) Once I got the routine down, it took half the time it does when compared to taking a shower at home.
After covering my body in sunscreen and bug spray, I headed out for breakfast under the mango tree. On the first few mornings we were out there by 8am for the typical breakfast which meant hanging out for 45 min-an hour eating bread and drinking coffee. The coffee was from the coffee tree in the backyard. It was hand picked, roasted, and made fresh each morning. Its literally the freshest coffee one can have!
I was always excited to get to clinic because I truly never knew what kind of disease or patient I would see that day besides the standard malaria, typhoid, and worms so by the third or fourth day I had fallen into my american ways. I went out just in time to grab a bread roll, pour coffee, and take it to go then sipped on it once at clinic. At first I got all kinds of funny looks from people wondering why the white girl was carrying a cup and drinking coffee at work. I told them "its ok, its an American thing" and they smiled with a little more understanding and acceptance of my different tradition. Even though I didn't take time to sit and drink coffee under the tree, I still cherished my five minute walk to the clinic. It was almost always sunny! We took a short cut through a few compounds and I loved getting to greet the people as I walked by. Once I reached the main road which lead me to the clinic, I would hear all the children because the schools are along the same road. Not a day passed where I didn't hear a kid yelling "hello, how are you?" from the classroom window! I tried to say hello back but I don't think they knew what to say next in english.

When in Nzara, the highest level of joy and satisfaction is found in the simplicity of daily tasks which are completed as if on auto pilot for those in the US. Contrary to what American's think, I have discovered that having very little gives a richer and fuller life; everything you have or experience is appreciated like saying hello to people in the morning. You'd never hear an American say they were so happy they got to walk to work and say hi to people they don't know.

roll out of bed


bathroom on left, bathing on the right


Woman in the middle with the white skirt is Mary who helped us out


Under the mango tree where we gathered to have breakfast


coffee tree


coffee drying before the beans are pounded out and roasted


breakfast time


The American way


The road we walked along and the school children who loved saying hi to us!





My favorite glucose biscuit stand on the left side





say cheese!!

LRA Reality Check

A few days into our trip a small group of doctors from England came to stay in Bishop's compound. They were traveling by car through South Sudan and stopping to see the churches/clinics which their charity gives to. Their charity provides most of the drugs in the clinic's pharmacy so they had stopped in Nzara to see the clinic before the next shipment of drugs arrives.

The day after they arrived, they were scheduled to go visit with a Bishop in Ezo which is about 50 miles from where we were in Nzara. On their first night we were all eating together at Bishop Samuel's house when one of them got a phone call from her daughter. I heard her acknowledging her daughter on the other end "one dead... 3 seriously wounded and in hospital... a few kidnapped... several tortured..." We found out that the LRA (lords resistance army/Kony 2012) had attacked Ezo, exactly where they were supposed to be going in the morning.
Two years ago no one (myself included) had any idea what the LRA was, but in early 2012 within a period of a few weeks, it seemed like the whole world suddenly knew about the LRA and Joseph Kony from the “Kony 2012” campaign created and sponsored by the non-profit Invisible Children. While this campaign brought great awareness, most people soon forgot about it as quickly as they cared, as is typical with many Americans when it comes to anything important or devastating happening in Africa.
Although I was very aware of the past atrocities committed by Kony and his LRA before going to Africa, actually hearing what they had just done only a few hours from where I was staying was a feeling I cannot find the words to fully describe. Inisde, emotions transitioned in an oddly calm manner which was such a contrast to the adrenaline pumping thoughts that were going through my mind while I listened and processes the things I had just heard. I felt shock and fear as my thoughts raced... What if they came here next? What if they see Courtney and I, would they leave us unharmed because we are American? Probably not. Ok so what would they do to us then... kill us? kidnap us? rape? torture? horrible things I can't think of?

Then I stopped myself and took a breath because I remembered we are in one of the safest places, if not the safest, in all of South Sudan.

Nzara is home to military bases for the South Sudanese army (SPLA) and the Ugandan army (UPDF). About 5 minutes drive from where we were staying, the United States Army has a base with special forces troops stationed there who are working with the local militaries. I met several of the guys during my trip and they were incredibly kind and helpful. The first time we met, some of them they gave me their phone numbers and said "If you or any other americans run into trouble, just give us a call". I felt very safe and protected in knowing they had my back for whatever the reason. I know the Bishop would never have us come to visit if it was unsafe, nor would I be inviting friends & family to go there, but its comforting knowing if something unexpected happens our very own military is right there to help us.

Later on I went back to my hut to go to sleep. Nighttime in Africa is a good time for thinking. Its an active quiet as the night air is filled with sounds of crickets and light bugs glow flickering on and off. I lay in my bed under the net wondering how so many other families are laying in their beds right now under their nets. They probably all get in and fall asleep, but what is it like for them when they are woken up to the sound of screaming, people being killed, women/girls being raped, children being kidnapped and then turned into child soldiers? What would a parent do if they see the LRA storm into their hut and take one of their children? How on earth do they ever go to sleep and live day to day without this a constant worry? I felt a raw sickening in my gut when I thought about the kids we had fallen in love with where we were and how beautiful perfect children just like these ones were probably among the three people who had just been kidnapped in Ezo. I'll never know exactly what or how they feel, but you can’t help but trying to imagine it when you are in the same place as them. I am amazed at their strength and don’t know how any of the people in the area can walk around, living life without constantly worrying, but they do. They have to.

Apart from that one night, I never felt scared, threatened, or worried about any security situations during our time in Africa. I'm not sharing this post to scare people because Nzara truly is a safe place, but I want to try and explain how real the LRA and war conflicts still are for people. Some of the greatest weapons in a war are not a guns or tanks, it is information, knowledge, and awareness. Invisible Children did a great job making people aware that the LRA existed and what they were doing, but as I mentioned before people quickly forget or stop caring. People may watch the news and see starving emaciated children from famine in Somalia; Some think about it for 30 seconds, some might even go online and donate money, but the next day they are complaining about having the last generation iPhone instead of the new one or going into the kitchen and saying “I’m starving and there’s nothing to eat". I admit I have done this myself, but when you start opening your eyes to the issues of the world it changes your perspective. The biggest thing I learned in Nzara was things only matter if they actually matter and you don’t need to go to Africa in order to help yourself learn this. Nothing irritates me more than people who say “I don’t like watching the news because its too sad”. So I guess its better to ignore it and not pay attention to these things happening because it might make you sad for ten seconds? No! Keep that news on even though its unpleasant because you need to know whats going on and you will survive whatever uncomfortable feeling you have during the three minute news clip. The things those people are feeling every minute of every day is more than just uncomfortable, its unimaginable. Im not saying we should make ourselves feel bad just because someone else does, but we need to watch these news stories and read the articles so the issues can be talked about more. None of us can take away the trauma people have already experienced and we personally cannot go out and capture Joseph Kony or end a famine, but it doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are because ALL of us can help in some way. You have to choose to contribute and not ignore whats going on because we are all God’s children and have a responsibility to help one another. Being able to help others is a blessing!
These kinds of atrocities are happening every week, sometimes every day throughout Africa and thats not acceptable. People in the developed world have no idea its even happening, they choose not to know and those who do know choose not to talk about it. Ignoring it is almost as bad as the actual atrocity itself.

To learn more:

www.invisiblechildren.com

www.warchild.org.uk/issues/the-lords-resistance-army

NO wifi for us

The plan was to blog and post things each day during the trip to Nzara, but when we got there we discovered the wifi was not working. A few months ago their wifi router was struck by lightening and badly damaged. When they finally had the funds saved to get the repairs done, the problem was finding the parts and getting the person there to fix it all. My last weekend there the wifi got fixed, but by that time I only had three days left before leaving. Since I didn't know how long it would be till I had internet, I decided to type up my blog entries and save them on my iPad to be published later- retroactive blogging! I will be posting them one by one as I have time and hopefully for the next trip I will be able to have my daily entries posted on the actual day they are written!

Clinic solar panels

I got wonderful news from Bishop Samuel today.... the clinic has gotten enough funds to have solar panels installed!! That means having light to see, refrigeration for life saving medications and vaccines, and one major step towards growing from clinic into rural hospital. Electricity will do more good things than one can imagine!

Stomach ready

We may not have anything else packed yet, but our stomachs are good to go! I think 400 doses of loperamide (aka Imodium) and a supersize bottle of pepto should do the trick 😉👍

Of course I also have cipro in case some bug decides to make a nice new home in  my colon. Hopefully it won't be needed. Say a prayer... 

Donations 10/21

An introduction....

We are two healthcare professionals going to Nzara, South Sudan to help at a local clinic run by the Episcopal Church Diocese. Courtney is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Tristen is an OB Surgical Technologist. We both work in OB/Women's health and are excited to be working alongside the three South Sudanese midwives at the Good Samaritan Primary Health Care Center. GSPHCC is lucky to have many partnerships with NGO's and charities both locally and abroad in the US and UK. One of these partnerships is with Medical Teams International. Together they developed the Safe Motherhood Initiative which trained the midwives as well as 48 community health workers and 20 traditional birth attendants. In addition, they constructed the labor and delivery unit within the clinic so women can have a safe place to give birth in a country with the highest maternal mortality rate in the world. 
One of the goals the clinic has is to grow into a rural hospital. Currently the local hospital in Nzara has no surgical capabilities which means if a child needs an appendectomy or a woman needs a life saving c-section, they have to travel one hour by bumpy car ride to Yambio where even there, only one surgeon is on staff. 
South Sudan is the world's newest country. After more than two decades of war, the country voted to separate and be independent from Sudan. This resulted in the birth of a new nation, The Republic of South Sudan! The country lacks infrastructure and most basic things we have in the US. It is the size of Texas yet only has about 10 miles of paved road. In Nzara there is no electricity except by generator, no running water or plumbing, no paved roads, no postal services, and no sanitation. Lives are lost every day because of small things like bug bites which lead to bigger problems like malaria, as well as other chronic problems such as waterborne illness and poor hygiene. 
Although we know we cannot change all these thingsl, we believe we can make differences in certain areas. We leave for our first trip Monday, November 4, 2013! Right now we have most of our travel expenses covered, but we are in desperate need of funds to help pay for other miscellaneous things. One big thing is cost to transport extra medical supplies. Each extra bag/box of supplies will cost $200 USD. The hardest thing so far has been deciding what supplies we can and cannot take. I worry constantly, what if I can't pack that one item or enough of certain items I need to help save lives. Its a terrible place to be caught in, but you have the ability to help! If just 10 people donate $20 each, that adds up to one more box of life-saving supplies going with us! Any amount donated will be much appreciated, helpful, and put to good use. 
We will be blogging and posting photos during our time in South Sudan and encourage everyone to follow us through our facebook page: 
https://www.facebook.com/berawenzara

To donate, please visit:

www.gofundme.com/berawenzara

Thank you to everyone!
Tristen and Courtney