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| South Sudan flag |
We spent the last 5 days living inside one of the SP compounds within the Doro Refugee camp. The Mabaan area has 4 refugee camps filled with 120,000 Sudanese who have fled for their lives from the Blue Nile area of N. Sudan. Many will never return to their homes until there is peace in Sudan.
This particular SP operation oversees a food distribution program for about 40,000 refugees and their families. The food consists of lentils, oil, cereal, sorgum, rice, salt,etc. The food is brought by the World Food Program in conjunction with the UN. The process is fairly orderly and requires an official ID from the families before food is given. A 30 day supply is given to 30 families to share. It take about 4 days to complete the distribution. Those are 50 kilo sacks!
The salt is measured out into individual amounts for each family. A 30 day supply for 30 families is one container of salt (that's about one cup per family). These workers are dividing the salt to be distributed.
Hundreds of people are lined up behind us to get their food. Each group of 30 families sends a small representation of people to pick up the food and take it back to their homes to share. Ten 50 kilo sacks of dry goods and five gallons of oil. It is almost all women doing the lifting and carrying.
This mother has come with her baby on her back. She is dragging a sack of lentils (110 lbs). Absolutely incredible to see!
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| OK - put 110 pounds on your head! |
Most of these women have walked quite a distance in the heat to get to the distribution center, and now must carry those sacks all the way back on their heads. We watched in awe as three people would be needed to lift one sack onto another woman's head.
This is one of many lines of families ready to receive their food. There are thousands more waiting outside the compound until they are called to line up inside. SP has workers that are stationed at each area to make sure everyone takes only their portion. There are huge tents, probably 50 x 200 that store the sacks. We watched many local workers carry bag after bag out of the tents on their backs to make the new stacks to be distributed.
Chris is talking with Grace. She runs a nutrition program inside two of the refugee camps in Mabaan, for under-nourished children. Grace and her staff weigh the children, log the results to see if the child is improving, speak with the mothers about care and feeding of their children, and send them home with food just for the child.
SP also has a medical hospital located very close to the compound where we lived. This hospital handles most all medical needs and emergencies. They have a very modest surgical room, and lab to test for malaria and other diseases. There is a newly built maternity ward, which is always full. Most women have their baby delivered and go home in a couple of hours! Many of the patients are housed in small concrete buildings or tents. When it gets really busy patients are placed in beds outside. We did not take pictures of the patients out of respect for what little privacy and dignity they had. They also have special tents for TB patients.
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| Look close at the way she carries her baby. A board with straps! |
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| Typical mode of carrying items |
This is the shower! Corrugated sides, open top, cement floor, and gravity fed water from the black tank. Late day showers will probably give you warmer water. Don't forget to wear your slippers. It is hot and dusty during the day, and you sweat a lot, so even cold water feels pretty good.
The missionary and staff housing are 12x12 army tents which come equipped with a metal bed frame with a foam mattress (blanket & sheet included). Fans are used to cool and keep the mosquitos away, when the generator is working (this is malaria country!) Some tents are placed on 18" concrete foundations to keep rain and critters out (sometimes). Dry Season has just begun so we were fine. Later will prove to be like Bullhead City, AZ in the summer minus aircon.
This is where Gary was sitting when he took the picture of Chris (above). This is our multi-purpose facility. The tables on the left are for computers, eating, and fellowship. The tables on the right are the serving tables for meals. This is the place to be if you are on the compound (unless you are taking a much needed nap).
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| This is one of the two ambulances for the hospital. |
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| Cook with staff and some guy with a banana! |
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| Sunday night church - Philippians Study |
We have much more that we can share, and will after our next trip. We hope you enjoy these updates as much as we do bringing them to you. Please pray for our return trip to Doro in the near future. Pray for health and safety, both of which have become much more important as we travel in some of these unsettled and remote areas of Kenya and Sudan. The welcome mat is always out to anyone interested in our ministry in Africa. Warning...it will be a working trip but you will never be the same again. Let us hear from you!
Well, it is time to say good-bye and "wheels up" as we leave this very special place in South Sudan.
Gary & Chris Bailey
Eagles Nest Ministry
Kenya, Africa
enmkenya@gmail.com
eaglesnestministry.blogspot.com (a missionary remembers)
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