Pretty good sleep - nice and cool - I was under a blanket all night. Breakfast offering was slices of white bread, peanut butter, jam, coffee and tea. I made a sandwich and sat down to eat, when Mary brought a plate with two large "pancakes," and sat it in front of me. They were rolled up like crepes, thin and crisp around the edges. Unrolled each would have been the size of a dinner plate. This was a no-brainer. I put the sandwich aside and enjoyed the pancakes.
Justin arrived at 9:00 as promised, and we headed for the market. I needed clothespins and a wash cloth, neither of which Pan Dor provides. Purchases made, we drove to the school, picking up a student along the way, who made quick work of my breakfast sandwich. Even though it was Saturday ,students had gathered to start the long awaited g-nut harvest. Two teachers were there to supervise. They also showed me the vegetable garden. An okra harvest had yielded 40 South Sudanese pounds, and the next harvest was close. Pumpkins were maturing. Twelve had already been picked, each one selling for 10 pounds. Kale, tomatoes, and eggplant are doing well.
I am so pleased with the efforts of these students and teachers. They are begging for more land to cultivate. We have it, but it's got to be fenced, and that's a prohibitively expensive proposition for us right now.
It was a short drive over to Hill View hotel and compound. Justin has permission to use Internet there, but that permission doesn't apply to friends and associates. However, there is no rule against someone like me using Justin's computer, which I did. After a frustrating 1 1/2 hours, I was up and running - didn't do as much as I had planned, but Justin had been patient, and I want to stay in his good good graces.
After lunch and nap, I walked the short distance to the Sisters of Charity Pan Gnath just next door, where I was welcomed by Sister Larissa. As it stands now, I will go with her and some other Sisters to the Leper Colony on Wednesday morning.
I continued my walk to the Sign of Hope medical compound where Katarina, also a Catholic nun, has worked for years. She was winding up a workshop with community leaders - at least 75 men and women - on mitigating trauma - led by Sister Barbara Paleczay, who works through Solidarity with South Sudan. Barbara used a lot of the same methods taught by Dr. Richard Brown when we were in Juba and Northern Bahr el Ghazal in late June and early July. I have no background in mental health, but lately find myself thrown with people who do - interesting...
Tonight as Mary was putting dinner on the serving table, she said to me, "We are surviving." She regrets the lack of variety in meals, but says there is no food in the market, and the road between Juba and Rumbek has been closed due to fighting. Beans and rice, posho, and whatever vegetables she can get from local farmers is the best she can do. Tonight, in addition to beans and rice, there was chipati - always a winner - and a delicious vegetable stew with potatoes, peas, onions, and squash. Mary will hear no complaints from me.
And finally at 8:00 p.m., I connected with Father John Mathiang, who I had been trying to track down all afternoon. After getting the message that I wanted to see him, he drove to Pan Dor, even though it was late. I needed to give him $500 for supplies for the Leper Colony, donated by a friend in Virginia Beach. He said these items would be purchased and ready for delivery by the sisters and me on Wednesday morning. Thanks be to God!
Blessings!
Ellen
No comments:
Post a Comment