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| A NEWBORN OSTRICH |
HAPPY EASTER!!!!
Most children celebrate Easter with little chicks or bunny rabbits but this little fellow is in S Sudan. A couple of young guys found two ostrich chicks in the bush and brought them to the mission to sell. Life is fragile here and one little ostrich was eaten by a dog shortly after arriving while strolling through the compound. We'll see how this one fares.
And I was able to see how S Sudan is faring. During March I made a trip to Riwoto parish north of Kapoeta where Fr. Tim Galvin, a St. Patrick priest is the Pastor. He was the Pastor of the the two parishes I worked in while in Toposaland. Those parishes are now both closed due to lack of priests to staff them. My purpose for the trip was to meet people whom I had worked with to tell them I was leaving and to say goodbye. I succeeded more than I had hoped for.
I had to fly in, rather than go by the less expensive land route in a car. Bandits were attacking vehicles and robbing them so it was not safe. I hadn't seen the airstrip since 1991. It looked the same...a gravel runway with frequent crossings of cattle and goats. There were a few trees off to the side but otherwise no structure like a shed or office.
Fr. Tim picked me up and we went to the market...a smallish room with women selling fruits and vegetables. One was from Kitale, Kenya and spoke swahili. Another was from Uganda and spoke English. Yet another was from S Sudan and spoke Juba Arabic and Toposa. I smiled at the international flavor of this simple little place. The Sudanese pound has lost much of it's value and it takes wads of bills to purchase a few things.
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| REGINA AND SUSAN |
Many of the people that I had worked with have moved to Riwoto and Regina didn't know I was coming. We had to search around a bit to find her and when she walked out of the compound she quietly said, "Susan" and fell into my arms. We just held each other for a few minutes. She was one of two women catechists when I arrived at the parish of Nyanyangacor. She was the seventh wife of Festus, who has since passed on. He allowed her to be a Christian and to be trained as a catechist. Her English is now much better than my Toposa ever was and she has been to Nairobi for catechetical training. The parish is an oasis of normality in a country which is a horrible swamp of corruption and ethnic hatred.
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| SR. RITA AND FR. TIM |
I also found my old friend Sr. Rita from Torit where we first met in 1991. She is a missionary with the Sisters of Mary Mother of the Church in Uganda. They have a school with over 500 pupils in K through primary five classes. The top class has only boys as the girls have all left. It is a challenge to keep them in school. Fr. Tim has an active child protection program in the parish through the small christian communities. He told me of a 14 year old girl who disappeared from school because she was married off. They found her living in the bush and being fed by some people from another tribe. They took her to the Commissioner for protection. The commissioner returned her to her father who then came complaining that the priests and the church shouldn't interfere with family matters. The law says that it is illegal for her to be married but implementation is obviously a problem.
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| MONICA AND SUSAN |
Health care is provided by the county government and Monica is a nurse that I had worked with before. She is a Dinka, married to a Toposa, and is not wanted in this part of S Sudan. She was demoted to caring for a medical store and fears for her safety so she moved outside of the village with her children. She wanted to return to Bor where many Dinka come from but her husband won't allow her to go. She must stay to care for his five children or leave the children with him...which she will not do. Ethnic hatred is strong and rampant throughout the country.
I asked Fr. Tim what they do when they need health care and he said that there is a lot of need and it is difficult to find treatments for more complicated problems. I did meet the lab technician we worked with in Nanyangacor too. He was working away in the government lab and had the equipment and tests he needed to do his basic work. They were also renovating his lab. In short, S Sudan is in a horrible mess and the people in this parish are doing their best to serve under very difficult conditions.
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| EUNICE AND SUSAN |
I also traveled to Kitale Kenya where I worked from 2003 to 2009. My dear friend Eunica is still in the administration office but has moved from cashier to insurance claims. She began working as a cleaner over 30 years ago. She is as honest as the day is long and so kind and compassionate. We are standing with a picture of my maternal grandparents who gave $10,000 to renovate the hospital. They now have a surgical theater and x-ray machine. It is heartening to see the service continue and improve.
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| TERESA AND SUSAN |
I had lunch at Eunice's home and her daughter Teresa is now a nurse. We, you and me through my ministry account, put her through nursing school. She has overcome several huge challenges which are private matters. But she is now happy and smiling. She is a confident young woman with a job, the ability to send her seven year old daughter to school and great compassion for those in need.
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| FAREWELL AT MARYKNOLL SOCIETY HOUSE |
I also had a farewell party in Nairobi with the Maryknoll Brothers, Fathers, and Sisters. They told stories that I had long since forgotten and I remembered some that they had never heard. Now I am back in Mombasa and beginning to turn over my ministry to the Health Coordinator and clean out the files. Kenya is peaceful at the moment but one of the opposition leaders has been deported for the second time and is stuck in Dubai. Hard to tell where this drama is going!
PEACE OF THE FULL MOON TONIGHT - REFLECT THE LIGHT!!!
