Monday, November 9, 2009

Stirring the Pot



If you are a woman, be glad you were not born in South Sudan, where your lot in life would be one continuous uphill struggle to stay alive and provide for your family. In fact, if you are female in Sudan, your chances of dying in childbirth are much greater than your chances of ever attending a school. Mercy Beyond Borders is working to change that dismal statistic because, of course, it is not statistics we are talking about but real human beings with the same dreams and desires as you and I.

Sr Kathleen has been teaching health and hygiene workshops to Toposa women in the villages. The big "draw" (aside from Kathleen's sparkling personality and fine teaching techniques!) is the fact that Kathleen brings with her sacks of sorghum flour and heads of cabbage. As you can see in the above photo, at the end of the workshop the women cook the flour into "ugali" porridge to enjoy with stewed cabbage beneath the shade trees. For these village women this is a marvelous feast, made all the more wonderful and welcome because the rains have not come and there is much hunger at this time of year. The women express their gratitude by singing and dancing spontaneously.

As we in the U.S. approach our national holiday of Thanksgiving, let us be grateful for the abundant blessings we have--and eager to share our resources with our sisters and mothers and daughters in Sudan.