The Republic of South Sudan

We have a new name! This is a nice article from the New York Times about the logistics of transitioning into a new country.

Art therapy course in Bolsena for German speakers

For the German speakers...

This is an art therapy course that is taught every summer in Bolsena. I can vouch for the beauty of the convent as well as the good hospitality.

Click here to see a description of the class

Women of Sudan Part 2

The Women of Sudan- Part 1

I've had the opportunity to conduct focus groups with several women over the past few weeks and they have been gracious enough to let me photograph them. I have never felt my "woman-ness" as strongly as when I am with these women. There is something about the way that the women of Africa relate to each other that celebrates their femininity and strength. These women all refer to each other, and to me, as "sister". Certainly, there is very little in my life's experiences that is comparable to theirs. Yet, we are all part of the sisterhood.

I hope you agree that their inner and outer beauty and strength is inspiring.

Here are some images of the women of Sudan:

Wild West Sudan

I took this picture in Tambura, a town on the border of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Does it remind anyone else of the Wild West? Replace horses with motorcycles and you’re there. (anyway, there aren’t any horses here because Tse tse flies carry a disease that will kill them. Tse tse flies are the same insects that transmit sleeping sickness)

The Referendum

For those of you who have been wondering how the referendum went in Sudan… all I can say is that I’m glad I don’t have anything exciting to report.
Things in Western Equatoria (and by all accounts in all of Southern Sudan) were very calm and orderly.
Because much of the population is illiterate, people made their choice by checking a box next to a drawing of a single hand (indicating separation) or a drawing of two clasped hands (indicating a vote for unity). When they were finished voting, they had their index finger dipped in indelible black ink. This prevented any one person from voting multiple times over the course of the several day vote.
The official results will be announced in about a month, however no one really doubts that the results will be. Here is a photo of some preliminary results posted in a town in Western Equatoria, (yes, that’s 116 for Unity, 18,195 for separation)


Now, the hard work starts. Southern Sudan will gain its independence in July of this year. In the meantime they have to write a constitution, choose a name and a flag, open embassies, figure out how to hold elections, raise taxes and defend itself, get its own domain name and international dialing code, design and produce passports, register citizens, set up a postal system, make trade agreements with other countries, issue drivers licenses, set up a health care system, an educational system, a police force, basic infrastructure. There are thousands of returnees coming home after decades of exile who will need to be reintegrated. This new country will be one of the poorest in the world, with some of the worst health outcomes, the least basic services and the weirdest diseases… It is an exciting time to be in Sudan.

little boys and helicopters

This airstrip in Tambura went from abandoned to packed in about 42 seconds. What is it about little boys and helicopters? And the more puzzling question: where the heck did these kids come from so fast?

TED talk about women in the C-suite

I really like this video. It's not related to Sudan. Its just about gender and living in our modern world. The statistics are uncomfortable to hear. (thanks Jyn Wright for posting posting this on facebook!)

Rumbeck, Ruebeck, Rambach?? tire change

Click HERE to see a video that I made of my aeronautic adventures!

*note, I updated the link, hope it works now!

An Op-Ed by WV Canada's CEO

Aeronautic mishaps

I wrote this several weeks ago, before the Christmas holiday, but am just getting around to posting it:

__________________________________________________________________

Traveling from Juba to Yambio today was one of my favorite travel adventures, surely a story that will be re-told many times over dinner.

First, I checked out of the lovely Paradise hotel. Having a kindred relationship with all hotel employees, Pauline, the desk clerk and I exchanged phone numbers and promises to hang out next time I’m in Juba. So, I’ve made my first local friend. A+ in the sociability department.
My driver picked me up, and told me that we had to go pick up my ticket. We drove through a really cool part of town. I managed to take some pictures out the window of the car. (sorry for the quality of some of them…)

The United Nations operates a Humanitarian Air Charter Service. Basically, the UN has an airline to fly people like me around the world to places that normal airlines might not go. The driver hopped out to get my ticket and I watched goats eating the
foliage and part of the World Food Program (WFP) sign.

Tickets on humanitarian flights consist of a half sheet of paper, torn on the bottom, with your name and flight time handwritten on it.

Then we were off the the Juba airport...

The Juba airport deserves its own blog post... so I won't do it the injustice of fitting it in here. Let me just say, it's an experience.

I presented my ticket, an official letter from my organization, my travel permit (yes, the one that says I am a 6’4” tall African man), and my passport to the guy at the counter and I made it through and was off.

The planes were smallish, with 2 propellers, seating around 30 people. (since I wrote this initially, I was flown in an even smaller plane, seating 6. I was about 2 feet away from the cockpit and the very cute South African pilot... that story might also warrant a separate blog post)

We had to make a stop in Rumbek to let some people off the plane. Everywhere in South Sudan, except Juba, you land on a dirt runway. Now, this is Sudanese dirt. Red. Dusty. Dirt. We landed and some passengers disembarked. I was looking out the window when I see this guy inspecting the tire and the landing gear, then he calls the stewardess out, and she starts inspecting the landing gear, then the pilot gets involved. At this point, most of the passengers are on my side of the plane, peering out of the windows, checking out the action below.

Next thing you know, I see a airplane sized jack and a spare tire being rolled out from the cargo hold. Yes, really, this happened.

The stewardess and the pilot changed our tire while we waited under a tree.

I got to experience my second Sudanese airport of the day, Rumbek. Think: dirt landing strip, tree, lean-to with a refridgerator selling cokes. That's about it...

And, in case you don't believe me... I made a video, which you can watch on my next post...

NPR tells a story

I love you NPR. This is a great (short) history/ background information about South Sudan, how it became what it is, and where it might be going.



This is a story about Juba University. I was at this college a few weeks ago, and students were sitting in a field littered with trash, under a street light, studying. It was the only place with light in the evening, that's dedication. There's also a bit in here about the quality of the roads, and how they wash out in the rainy season. "It's be like not being able to drive from New York to Chicago 5 months out of the year."