Mango Madness

It's mango season in Sudan when big, green mangoes hang precariously from the trees like ornaments on a Christmas tree, and full, yellow mangoes fall to the ground bursting with juice and intense flavor.  When a mango lands on a tin roof it sounds like a brick has fallen from the sky and every kid within earshot of the mango will sprint to be the first one to snatch it; watching the kids clamor for them is a spectacle.  Even some of the adult staffers will chase down a mango!  After watching this happen multiple times a day for the past couple months I'm convinced that it was a mango that Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat in the Garden of Eden.   

unripe mangoes hang on thin stems 

ripe, yellow mangoes taunt us from the very tops of the trees

Mambu uses a stick to knock some mangoes out of the tree while the kids eagerly watch.

part of the latest mango harvest

Josephine slices a mango for the kids to share. 

All the kids wait for a piece of the mango that Grace is cutting. 

Q & A: America

students in my Primary 6 class

Last week as I was passing out papers to the students in my P.6 class I noticed that one of the girls has notebooks with President Obama's face on the cover.  I asked her if she likes Obama and she looked at me and said, "I don't know who that man is."  Thinking that I had simply misunderstood her I said, "the man on the cover of your notebook is President Obama, do you know who he is?"  She replied, "His name is President Obama?  He's president of what place?"  

Blink. 

Blink blink.

President Obama's face is ubiquitous in Sudan, it can been seen on notebooks, posters, newspapers, shirts, and even blue jeans in the local market, so I had assumed that most people know that he's the President of the United States.  Man was I wrong.  Not one of my 20 students from the village knew the identity of President Obama, they genuinely thought that he's simply some rich guy who makes notebooks and blue jeans and puts his face on them.

After digesting this information I decided to have a short question and answer session about America and below are some of the very sincere questions that my students asked.

1.  Is President Obama married?  How many wives does he have?  How many children does he have?  Why does he only have two children?

2.  How long will he be president?

3.  If I go to America will my skin become white?

4.  Do people in America eat wild animals?

5.  Do Americans hunt like us?

6.  Is the enemy of Spiderman living in America?

7.  Are there witch doctors in America?

8.  If I go to America will they let me come back to Africa?

9.  Are there green people in America like in the movie "Wizard of Oz?"

10. Is it cold in the dry season in America?

11. Do all the people in America have hair like yours (brown, long and curly)?

12. Are there thieves in America?

13. Do men in America have more than one wife?

14. Do people in America eat sugar cane?

15. Are there Muslims in America?

Needless to say I've added "international studies teacher" to my job description.  

Want to Help?

Many very sweet people have asked if there's any way to help me or the children at Harvesters and I want to share a perfect opportunity for anyone interested in getting involved.

As for me, well I don't need anything whatsoever.  Unless there's a way to send over a Mexican platter with a chicken enchilada smothered in cheese and sour cream surrounded by heaping piles of tortilla chips, guacamole, salsa, queso and rice on the side.  Hold the beans, please and thanks.

But I digress.  South Sudan, being a third-world country, lacks a decent infrastructure which inhibits trade, so it's very difficult to buy products here, especially at a reasonable cost.  There's also no mailing system so sending goods via post is practically impossible.

The best solution to these hindrances comes in the form of a 68,000 pound metal box, or an ISO container.  Last year a consortium of churches and organizations in the U.S. partnered to fill an ISO container for Harvesters and they're doing it again this year.

I was here in early December when the container rolled into Harvesters after a three-month journey.  It sailed from Virginia Beach, Virginia through the Atlantic around the tip of South Africa and landed in Mombasa, Kenya before traveling by road through Kenya, Uganda and the very southern part of Sudan.  It was like a mini-Wal Mart had been sent to Harvesters and the kids cheered with giddiness as it lumbered through the front gates.

  

new ladders, rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows

books for the library and school

The bottom picture especially stirs my heart.  You see, that's my mom's handwriting and inside those boxes are hundreds of my brother's and my old children's books combined with other books she bought at Goodwill.  Opening those boxes and thumbing through my own copies of "Where the Red Fern Grows" and "Little Women" was a profound moment. The stories I'd loved as a child now await the kids here, and each time one of them opens one of my old books and delves into a world I'd once visited the ties that bind us will grow a bit tighter.  

There's something powerful and binding about giving up something for another person. Whether it's a bar of soap that's used to bathe and help prevent disease, a shovel that will dig holes so food can be planted, or dolls that are given as Christmas presents and bring joy to little girls, all these things given in love have a lasting impact. 

Please visit this site for more information on how you can donate: http://www.tfsworldwide.org/SearchResults.asp?Cat=51

Or feel free to email my friend Kate with any questions at kate@taskforceshepherd.com

Winter in Africa

Y'all.  I don't know what the weather's like where you are but it's hot here.  So hot that I often find myself daydreaming about ice: cubed ice, round ice, crushed ice, chipped ice, shaved ice, icebergs, icicles, Italian flavored ice...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

These pictures were taken yesterday afternoon of two thermometers on Dennis and Lilly's house.  They rest in the shade and registered different temperatures, 108 and 94 degrees, so using my basic math skills it's safe to say that lately the average temperature has hovered around 100 degrees.  Come on rainy season!

Prepare Your Heart

Because this post is about BABIES!  Babies of Harvesters to be exact.  Smiling, dirty, jabbering, wobbly, curious babies.  Out of the nearly 150 children who live here only a handful are under the age of three, so I thought I'd introduce them.

Susan Poni

Susan Poni was born a healthy 10-pound baby on November 3, 2010, the same day her mother died from giving birth to her.  A local commissioner was attending the funeral for Susan's mother and discovered that the family was going to bury baby Sue alive with her mom.  While this practice is horrific and unfathomable, it's not uncommon because oftentimes when a mother dies from childbirth the father is unable to afford baby formula and thus can't care for the baby.  Fortunately Susan Poni was rescued by the commissioner and brought to Harvesters where she is now thriving, as you can see from her chubby cheeks and giggly smile.

James Michael

Rejoice Lilly and James Michael

Like Susan Poni, baby Jimmy was brought to Harvesters as a newborn because his mother died as a result of childbirth complications.  Jimmy will turn 1-year-old at the end of May and during my three months at Harvesters I can't remember a single time when I've seen him cry from discontent, he is that sweet natured.  He's also surprisingly strong and I don't dare leave my hair accessible when I hold him otherwise he'd make me bald. Jimmy can pull himself up onto benches and stares inquisitively at anything in front of him before crawling to chase it down.  He's just adorable.   

Benjamin Lorube

I realize it's probably unfair to have favorites, but I do and Benjamin is one of my favorites (but not by much).  He's a beautiful baby who is also at Harvesters because his mother died from bringing him into the world.  This month he'll be 15 months old and he is thisclose to walking.  If I stand him up, take a step away from him and hold out my hands he'll take one tentative step toward me before falling to his knees and crawling.  He has the most perfect, white, little teeth, which he shows often, but he also has a serious scowl when he's unhappy about something - like eating food when he'd rather be sleeping. 

Rejoice Lilly Ama 

Rejoice Lilly Ama was the only person who survived on the day of her birth; her twin and mother died from the difficult delivery.  When Rejoice was brought to Harvesters she weighed less than four pounds and was fed sugar water with an eyedropper until she could eat on her own.  Almost 16 months later she is unrecognizable from the skeletal baby she once was.  She can't quite pronounce my name and calls me "Mimi" and is a curious and brave little girl.  When the bell rings at 5:00pm she knows that it's dinner time and she'll stop whatever she's doing and will waddle quickly to wash her hands so she can eat.  She has an infectious giggle but also gives a serious stink eye when she's told to do something that's disagreeable to her. 

Ruben Mayom

Ruben and Rejoice

If sweet Ruben was given an award it would surely be for "Best Personality;" he can lift any spirit with one of his all-encompassing hugs or incessant smile.  Ruben's mother is mentally ill and neither she nor his father can adequately care for him so he's one of Harvester's kids.  He spends his days squealing on the playground, following the big kids, and making dirt piles with Rejoice.  I can't wait until he's able to talk because I can just tell that he has SO MUCH that he wants to say.  

Sikili Abraham

Sikili (pronounced sick-ee-lee) is two-and-a-half going on 12, but in the best way.  Her mother was killed by the LRA (the Lord's Resistance Army, a militant rebel group that terrorizes villages in Congo, Uganda and Sudan) leaving her father unable to raise her. Sometimes I catch her leading Rejoice somewhere or trying to carry water like the big girls.  She says "Melly" instead of Mary, but is a proficient talker and has, on more than one occasion, volunteered to say grace before dinner.  The kids were seated at their assigned tables in the dining hall, restless for their rice and beans.  Josephine asked if anyone wanted to bless the food and little 2 1/2 year old Sikili raised her hand then stood up and said a short, whispered prayer in front of 150 of her brothers and sisters.  Beyond precious.

Learn to do good. 

Seek justice.

Reprove the ruthless.  

Defend the orphan. 

Plead for the widow.  

Isaiah 1:17

Back To It

Hello again.

So my last post, when I said I'd "scrounge up a few posts while in Dubai?"  Well, sorry about that, I didn't intend to be deceptive.  It's just that after three full months in a third-world country I needed a break from everything.  A break from 100 degree heat and constantly sweating through my clothes, from the dust and dirt and smoke, from the spiders and ants and lizards, from the daily 6:00am wake-up bell, from beans and rice and potatoes, from constantly feeling the weight of all the suffering around me, and even the internet.  I promise I'm not complaining about those things (except maybe the spiders) because I was fully aware of such hardships before I moved to Sudan, but it had all become a bit much.  So I left and traveled to Dubai for 10 days and it was very, very, really, totally, wonderfully, great.  My boyfriend works there occasionally and we met up and didn't do any typical touristy things because we were too busy relaxing.  That's not entirely true, we did go to the jewelry district and we ate at the famous Burj Al Arab hotel, but shopping and eating are American past-times if there ever were any.

We ate lots of ice cream.

We went to the movies and saw "Unknown" and "True Grit" in English with Arabic subtitles.

I treated myself to an afternoon at a salon and got an unbelievable deal on a massage, facial, manicure, pedicure, haircut, hot-oil treatment, and blow-out - the works!

We hit up the beach or pool every day.

We visited the Mall of the Emirates to see the indoor ski-slope and for a bit of shopping.

We dined on Lebanese food, my favorite!

I perused the local craft vendors near the hotel.

We ate lunch on the beach at the Burj Al Arab hotel.

This holiday was the perfect escape to restore my spirits, refresh my mind, and reinvigorate my purposes for the remainder of the year.  School started this week and I'm excited to be teaching English in the P.5, P.6, and P.7 classes, resuming mentoring groups with the teenage girls, cradling babies, and playing some soccer!