Poverty

South Sudan is considered the second poorest country in the world. In most countries there are the haves and the have nots, even in 3rd world countries. But here it is the "have little" and "have nothing". The house we are staying in is considered one of the best. It is of good construction with tile floors and roof. It has good secruity with locked doors, concrete fence and razor wire, plumbing, wiring, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, sitting area and kitchen. But because there is no electricity in the nation and no water system the plumbing and wiring are nearly useless except for when the generator is running which is for most places, including our compound, from 7-11 at night. This is just enough to give you light to go to bed and recharge your technology. Only very few homes have a generator. Angelo described his uncle's house this way, "Mom, don't worry, it is just like the homes here in the US." He forgot to mention no electricity or water. Now those are game changers! Our plumbing is all connected and the leak repaired but we still can't figure out how to get water in the tank. In Juba there were water tank trucks everywhere but we are not aware of any in Rumbek. The only system we know costs $2,000. This would pump water directly from the well but it would not allow it to be pumped. There are many families who come into the compound to get their water so we cannot use that system for oney reasons and simply human issues.