Blissful Wanderlust: Balancing act

I have a goal while I am in Sudan.

I want to learn to carry things on my head.

Seriously.

I’m not kidding. I’ve been practicing. I can balance a water bottle on my head for about 4 or 5 minutes before it falls. I’m not yet brave enough to progress to something heavier, but give me time…

I’ve been inspired to do this by the ever-amazing women of Sudan. In Africa, this is a very practical mode of transporting objects. If you’ve got a child on your back and maybe another one to look after, carting your market purchases around on your head is a hands-free way to deal. Its so normal here that so my colleagues think its funny that every time a woman walks by with a sack of grain on her head I get really excited and whip out my camera.

Consequently, I have lots of photos to share…

This was taken in Yambio, near the market, about a 10 minute walk from my office. The banner in the background is celebrating the recent separation referendum and its success.

I don't know what is in these bags, but they sure looked heavy! This was taken on the road to Tambura, those plants on the side of the road are not naturally orange, they are just covered in dust.

This was at a food distribution in Tambura. Beneficiaries receive grains, pulses and some oil. This food is donated by the US government (sometimes others), the UN's World Food Program, and then NGO's are contracted to do the actual distribution. Look at this amazing woman carrying an entire box of food on her head!


These basins are used to carry/ store just about everything.

Everyone in South Sudan has one of these T-shirts, they were distributed before the referendum, I'm trying to get my hands on one.

It's not only women who carry things on their heads. I'm pretty sure that this barrel was empty...

More donations from the USA... how does she keep that box balanced?

it starts early...

I loved this photo. On the left is a woman carrying the day's firewood on her head. Next to her is a bicycle loaded with grasses that will eventually become someone's roof. On the right, are some boys hanging out after school.

That yellow container is FULL of water. It must have weighted 20 pounds. If you look closely, you see that the women roll some cloth to put on top of their heads as a kind of padding. I saw this woman fill the jerry can at the hand pump, lift it onto her head, realize she'd forgetton the cloth, bend down, roll it, and slide it under the container... all without spilling and while making it look easy!