Abukloi School: We Can South Sudan!

Last night and today we had two new experiences that I wanted to share with you. Yesterday evening Justin, our driver, took us around to some cattle camps. It was fascinating! We saw them before the cows returned and as they were returning. There are little boys, elementary age, teen boys and girls, and a few adults who live and work on these cattle camps. Early in the morning the young boys untie each cow and then drive them all out to the bush where they graze all day. The water is also in the bush, mostly streams. The camp consists of shelters than can be moved when grass lands are consumed. The cow dung becomes critical in these camps. It is the fuel for their fires. Certain people spread the dung around to allow it to dry in the sun. Then it is gathered up in a pile and set on fire. The smell is almost sweet, not something I would expect. The teens then use the ash from these dung fires to color their hair and "paint" their faces and bodies - almost like war paint. The workers at the cattle camps dress different. It is more like what we might imagine shepherds would wear, long dresses or wraps, with a long walking stick (staff). They tend to be very independent and fearless. Some of the children at the camps are able to go to school but many do not either because they do not have time or because there is no school even within walking distance. They tend to be a bit bulkier than the people in town because they drink milk and eat beef. However, bulkier simply means they have shoulder and chest muscles. I have to say that standing and watching these hundreds of cattle walking into the camp, going to the stake they are always tied to, mooing, content...there was a sense of peace and comfort that comes from order and predictability. So while these cattle camps create some violence with cattle stealing, etc. and means many children do not receive an education, I could understand why people choose to be part of them. We took some great pictures and I will send one to Mary who will post it for us. They loved having their pictures taken. One girl kept posing like she was getting her senior photos done. She must have seen some magazines. There were so many cows. I would guess one camp had thousands of cattle - probably $1,000,000 worth of beef! However, in South Sudan it is all about the dowry, not feeding the masses. In between visits to cattle camps Justin took us to Freedom Square (big open space in the "heart" of Rumbek) to see traditional dancing. Ok, that was yesterday. This morning we got a call from Justin that the car was at the mechanic and could we ride a boda boda. We had to get to school and there was no way we could make it before all the students left if we tried to walk the 5 miles so I said, "Sure!" A boda boda (which means border to border) is a motor bike. Here the women always ride side saddle so Bev and I climbed on one of the two boda bodas and hung on for dear life. I was riding behind Bev. One big bump lifted her a couple inches off the seat! By the time we got to school we were so gripped to the bike (and me to the shoulder of the poor guy driving)that we struggeled to get off. A number of students were already there and laughed hard when we arrived. Ellen Cummings had encouraged us to ride a boda boda. Well, Ellen we did! Fortunately, the car was repaired by the time school was over. We were so dusty/dirty from the dirt roads, all of it sticking to our sweating faces and arms. Just another day in South Sudan! Marg