Mercy Beyond Borders Blog

Lunch for 500, anyone?

2012-02-08T01:09:00.000-08:00

Not being very adept in the kitchen, I can attest to the anxiety that grips me whenever we host a houseful of guests for a meal here in California. 12 friends coming for Christmas dinner? How ever will I manage?

The women who cook for the girls at St Bakhita's have my complete admiration. They prepare a meal every day for the school's 500 girls. They don't do it by hopping in a car and driving to the nearest grocery store. They don't do it with a microwave or a self-cleaning oven. They don't do it with electricity or any of the other conveniences that I take for granted and that make my feeble cooking complaints pitifully hollow.

They do it by winnowing the grain, then sorting it by hand to toss out stones or bugs. They haul the water, prepare the firewood, cook in huge pots that need to be scrubbed and re-scrubbed. They do it bent over from the waist for hours; they tend the fire that fills their eyes with dangerous smoke. And they do it singing, happy to have a paying job. Lunch for 500, anyone? Step right up!

Rebuilding in Haiti

2012-02-01T01:52:00.000-08:00

St.Gabriel Primary School, the only all-girls school in Gros Morne, Haiti, is getting a new look. Thanks to a $5,000 grant from Mercy Beyond Borders, it has begun some reconstruction of its campus. The outhouses, which were literally tilting at a dangerous angle, ready to collapse, are being replaced. The main building, over 100 years old, also has considerable "deferred maintenance," as all available funding had been going toward education of the 500 girls rather than upkeep on the facility. Mercy Beyond Borders rejoices that we can play a small part in the rebuilding of Haiti's educational options for girls! By funding this construction, we provide jobs for Haitians as well as more safe and sanitary bathrooms for the girls.

Santa Barbara Film Festival

2012-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

This 20-minute documentary about Mercy Beyond Borders' work in South Sudan will be showing at the Santa Barbara, California, Film Festival at the end of this month. If you live in the area, please come on Jan 31 or Feb 4. The film's director and producer, Chris Jenkins, will be there in person and would love to meet you and talk with you about the people of Sudan and the projects of Mercy Beyond Borders. Details at top of poster above.

Fraud Attack on Mercy Beyond Borders

2012-01-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

I am Sr Marilyn Lacey writing this blog with some upsetting news: This week we experienced Mercy Beyond Borders' "15 min of fraud." Perhaps it was inevitable that someone in cyberspace would try to hijack our good reputation and fundraising base; well, it happened on Monday. An impostor set up a fake FaceBook site using my name and photo and pretending to represent Mercy Beyond Borders, asking readers to send money via Western Union to a man in Kampala. Anyone who responded was then sent an email purporting to be from me, giving details on sending the money. FaceBook quickly shut down the false page, but not before several good-hearted MBB supporters sent money. Aaargh.

The impostor may try again, so beware. I would NEVER ask you to send money to an individual. All of our fundraising is directly to Mercy Beyond Borders.

Here is the FALSE info used by the impostor:
www.facebook.com/mariylnlacey [note the misspelling of my name]
marilynlaceysr@gmail.com [we've asked Google to shut this down, but are not sure it will be done]

Here is the CORRECT info:
www.FaceBook.com/MercyBeyondBorders
mercybeyondborders@yahoo.com

Please write me (mercybeyondborders@yahoo.com) if you notice any further suspicious activity. Thanks!

Investing in Haiti's Future

2012-01-11T03:17:00.000-08:00

Haiti is rebuilding. Streets are busy, commerce is underway, day laborers pound fallen concrete walls into small pebbles suitable for repaving the streets. All the major NGOs from the Clinton Foundation to the United Nations, are active in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Mercy Beyond Borders is also investing in the future of Haiti--but not in bricks and mortar, and not in the capital city. We're investing in Haiti's human capital and we are doing so in the rural mountains north of Port-au-Prince. To be more specific, we're investing in young Haitian women by giving them academic scholarships. These young women, we believe, will become Haiti's future teachers, medical personnel, law-makers, and business owners. They will value education for their families. They will help Haiti heal.

New Year: New Library

2012-01-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

Assistant teacher Alex Akuer chats with Julie Lynch, the American librarian who worked with Mercy Beyond Borders to bring a library to St Bakhita Girls Primary School in Narus, South Sudan. To see the spontaneous eruption of JOY among the girls at the arrival of the bookshelves and brand new story books, check out the 1-min video on our website main page: www.mercybeyondborders.org.

Natural Wonders

2011-12-28T02:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it seems to me that everything in Africa is a bit larger than life. The skies are more expansive; the sunsets more spectacular; the colors more vivid; the wildlife more, well, wild. A recent National Geographic flyover of eastern Sudan revealed huge herds of wildebeest, elephants, giraffes, and antelope that survived the long civil war. Sudan also hosts a tremendous variety of birds. This large bird lives in the tree behind the outhouses of the compound where I stay in Narus when I visit St Bakhita School. Not being a “birder,” I am ignorant about its species—maybe a toucan? or a spoonbill? – but it is beautiful to behold and captivating to listen to. May it always soar free.

Street ART in HAITI

2011-12-21T02:47:00.000-08:00

Though Port-au-Prince was leveled by the massive quake of 2010, the resilience of the human spirit is evident even amid the rubble that remains. This outdoor wall of original Haitian art practically shimmers with colors that jump and dazzle. Tourists to buy these paintings, however, have long disappeared—replaced by the UN and other nonprofit organizations working to repair the capital.

"What Lies Beneath"

2011-12-14T02:44:00.000-08:00

A few years ago Hollywood released a scary movie entitled “What Lies Beneath.” Though I didn’t see the film (ever since being traumatized by “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers” as a youngster, I don’t do scary), the reality of “what lies beneath” is never far from my awareness in South Sudan. What do I mean? Take a look at this termite mound outside St Bakhita School. These tall pillars rise everywhere in South Sudan…. Built up over the years by layer upon layer of poop deposited by termite swarms [what should one call a termite population: a swarm? a pod? a herd? a tribe?], they give ominous testimony to the nonstop activity going on constantly and invisibly beneath our feet. But not only below the ground! Termites also eat the thick wooden branches that shore up mud huts. They gnaw through the precious books in schools. They munch. They poop. They build their skyscrapers. What a life!

From Ammunition to Art

2011-12-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

If there's one thing that South Sudan has toooo much of, it's bullets. In remote areas where money is not yet common, people use bullets as a form of payment.
At the medical clinic in Kuron, for example, patients will pay for services by handing over a handful of bullets. The clinic director, Sr Angela, is quite happy to accept them and lock them into a cabinet, taking them out of circulation.
Women have now begun to melt down bullet casings to make jewelry such as the anklets shown in this picture. In a small but significant way, it's a swords-into-plowshares moment.

Standing Up for Peace

2011-11-29T02:00:00.000-08:00

One of the heroes of South Sudan is a quiet man named Paride Taban. He happens to be the Catholic Bishop through whose diocese trekked hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and refugees during the long civil war. After being on BBC speaking out for reconciliation and peace, his home was bombed by Khartoum. He was imprisoned underground for 100 days by the rebels. He stayed with the people throughout the conflict. When the war finally ended, he "retired" in order to found a Peace Village in the remote Kuron Valley, not far from the Sudan-Ethiopia border.
Bishop Taban is the person who first invited me to Sudan in 1992, during the war. "Come and see," he said. I did, and it changed my life.

Gone with the Wind

2011-11-22T01:00:00.000-08:00

Aid workers in South Sudan wryly admit that "whatever can go wrong usually will go wrong." To wit, look at this photo: fierce winds ripped the roof from a newly built primary school in Yirol--crumpling the corrugated iron as if it were paper--even before the school had officially opened. The accompanying rains flooded the storage room, ruining the books and the food supplies.

Educators in Sudanese must cope with more than their share of challenges: roads that are impassable much of the year, fellow teachers who are not yet trained, termites that eat the books, bandits who steal the stores, mosquitoes that bring malaria, scorpions that sting the unwary, weather that is either too hot or too wet (or both).... And yet the thirst for learning remains incredibly strong among girls and women in South Sudan, and Mercy Beyond Borders considers it a privilege to support efforts that provide for their formal education.

Lining up for Education in Haiti

2011-11-15T11:41:00.000-08:00

Scholarship winners in Haiti--each of them the top academic girl in her respective school on the 6th grade national exams-- line up in crisp new uniforms for their first day of class at their new junior-high in the town of Gros Morne. The anxiety and importance of moving up to this next level of education shows on the solemn expressions on their young faces. Mercy Beyond Borders intends to support this cohort of girls through secondary school, and to add a new cohort of graduating 6th graders each year as well.

Telling My Story

2011-11-08T05:26:00.000-08:00

Radio Reporter interviews Susan Nunu at her home in South Sudan

What's it like to be 27 yrs old, the over-worked mother of 3 young children and not yet a school graduate? Just ask Susan Nunu. She juggles the never-ending chores of a busy household (without, of course, any running water or electric appliances or local grocery store or place to study or light to study by). Family obligations sometimes keep her away from class for days at a time, but she always returns. She has told her story on Good News Radio in Rumbek, South Sudan, urging other families to permit their daughters to go to school and encouraging all young women who have the chance for formal education to persevere no matter what the obstacles.

For All the Saints

2011-11-01T02:25:00.000-07:00

Throughout the world, Christian denominations celebrate November 1st as the Feast of All Saints. [In fact, this was the origin of Halloween, literally the "eve of the hallowed," when children dressed as various holy men and women.] Today I salute all the holy and hardworking women and girls of Haiti and South Sudan who, despite great burdens of poverty and oppression, press ahead with their lives and dream of better futures for their own children.

Most will never see this blog, for they cannot read--or, if they can read, lack access to the internet--but they should know that their lives, like the saints of old, inspire us to live in the present moment, to share generously whatever little we have, and to be grateful for all of life's blessings, from the greatest to the smallest.

Not a toy

2011-10-25T04:47:00.000-07:00

Land Mines are one of the more insidious and long-lasting legacies of war. Ridiculously cheap to purchase and plant; horrifically expensive and dangerous to remove, they render many parts of South Sudan uninhabitable because of their lingering presence. Children are often the victims because the mines are small, plastic, and look very much like toys. The UN brings highly-specialized landmine removal teams from places like South Africa, using trained dogs to sniff them out, but their work is painstakingly slow. It could literally take hundreds of years to clear the fertile farmlands of South Sudan.

Here a warning, looking a bit like a pirate flag, is affixed above the license plate of a UN vehicle in Rumbek, South Sudan.

Braided Fish, anyone?

2011-10-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

Though I have been in and out of South Sudan many times over the past decade, I've learned to expect something new and different every time. On a recent trip to Rumbek in Lakes State, for example, I spied something in the central outdoor market that made me stop and stare: long, elegant BRAIDS of FISH. Why use a plastic carry bag when you can weave them into long strands? Simple, ingenious, and quite practical!

Wearable Art

2011-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Continuing our blog posts highlighting beauty in South Sudan:

Just look at the bright patterns in the beaded goatskin skirt worn by this mom, her colorful vest and bracelets, and the necklaces and earrings on her young daughter. The jewelry is painstakingly hand-made, of course, by women sitting on the ground next to their thatched huts, taking respite in the heat of the day from the harder daily tasks of cooking and washing and hauling firewood or farming.... All the while the women are telling stories and laughing and teaching their daughters, too, how to create beauty from almost nothing--wherever they are, from whatever is at hand.

Simple Beauty in Sudan's Villages

2011-10-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

As every architect knows, simplicity is fundamental to elegant design. Though I am willing to bet there are no trained architects among the Toposa tribe in South Sudan, just look at the inherent beauty in their simple, beehive-shaped dwellings and storage huts.

Building these huts from thatch and tree branch is hard work and it is always done by the women. Truly, the women of Sudan are artists--and perhaps would become fine architects if they ever had the chance to go to school!

Natural wonders

2011-09-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

When Sudan makes the news, it is usually because of some conflict or famine or other disaster. While it's true that this part of the planet endures more than its share of sorrows, year after year, I can assure you that Sudan is also a place of breathtaking beauty: in nature and in its people. In the next few posts, I will highlight a few of its many natural wonders.

Here we see a banyan tree (well, not being a botanist, I am guessing it is a banyan tree--you readers can set me straight!). It's growing in a semi-arid part of South Sudan, in the town of Nimule, within the compound where I lodge when visiting. As you can see, it's a magnificent, towering tangle of roots and trunk and branches and foliage. Almost a whole community of trees wrapped into one vital pillar of strength and provider of shade and shelter! Doesn't it help you understand why people become huggers of trees?

Rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

2011-09-20T04:06:00.000-07:00

As of this month, Mercy Beyond Borders is now active in 2 countries where women and girls remain mired in extreme poverty: Haiti and S.Sudan.

This photo was taken in Port-au-Prince 18 months after the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake that leveled the capital city and sent thousands of families to the more rural regions of Haiti to seek shelter with distant relatives. The city is still full of rubble from collapsed buildings. Here a furniture maker has set up shop literally in the "cave" formed by the concrete slabs of what was once a 3-story apartment. The carpenter enjoys respite from the heat--but risks death daily if the concrete should shift or settle further.

Mercy Beyond Borders works in a mountainous region about 4 hours north of Port-au-Prince. Though the quake did not destroy too much there, the area has been heavily impacted by tens of thousands of families fleeing from the capital. We provide hope to the displaced families by awarding high school scholarships to the top academic female achiever in each of 16 primary schools there.

Precious Oil. Dangerous Oil

2011-09-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Nile River, broad and swift-moving, cuts a wide swath through South Sudan's capital city of Juba. Barges move upriver (i.e. southward) from Khartoum, bringing passengers and all manner of cargo--except oil. The northern Sudan government in Khartoum stopped the delivery of petrol to the South in June, causing the price of petrol to skyrocket. One gallon of gas now costs the equivalent of $8 US dollars, an impossibly high price for most of the population. It is but one sign of worsening relations between the two halves of old Sudan. Much more worrisome: the recent bombing and military occupation by the north of South Sudan's oil regions, displacing tens of thousands of southerners. Where will it end? Will the international community stand by and do nothing?

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

2011-09-06T04:38:00.000-07:00

Women's work never ends. In Sudan, the work can be hazardous to your health. Many women suffer from eye diseases. Watching the women cook over smoky charcoal fires several times daily, I wonder about the damage done to their eyes by the smoke.
Also, it is rare to see anyone wearing glasses in the villages. No one checks their eyesight. No one supplies corrective lenses.

Mercy Beyond Borders at UN Film Festival

2011-08-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to announce that a 20-minute documentary on the work of Mercy Beyond Borders in South Sudan will be featured at the 14th annual United Nations Film Festival, Oct 21-30, 2011 at Stanford University and other venues in Palo Alto, E. Palo Alto and San Francisco. The theme for this year's festival, "Education is a human right," fits well with Mercy Beyond Borders' conviction that "where women learn, women matter." The film was filmed and produced by Christopher Jenkins, who teaches documentary film-making at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The public is welcome at the festival! When the date gets closer, check for details at http://www.unaff.org/2011/index.html

Chris Jenkins and friend on location in Kuron, S.Sudan

Troubling inflation hits S.Sudan

2011-08-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

The people of S. Sudan do not lack for enthusiasm at becoming an independent nation. However, serious problems grip the young country. Since July 9th, when South Sudan split from the North, the Khartoum government has actively worked to de-stabilize the region. There is evidence that Khartoum is supplying dissident groups in the South with weapons, ammunition, and other goods (or should we say "bads").

Khartoum has also stripped all Southerners residing in the north of their Sudanese citizenship and rights, causing massive movements of internally displaced to the South. To make matters worse, the North has blocked the transport of needed food, fuel and other materials to the South, sparking huge jumps in prices for everyday commodities. In the town of Narus, where Mercy Beyond Borders supports a girls' boarding school, a bag of maize is up 300% in 2 months; a drum of petrol has risen 62%, a bag of sugar now costs 6,000 Kenyan shillings--about $75 USD, an impossible sum where the average person's income is less than $1/day.

As challenges mount, so does the determination of the people to make their newfound freedom work. Mercy Beyond Borders stands with them.

What is she thinking?

2011-08-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

What is she thinking, this lone Sudanese woman sitting in the dust in front of her mud-and-stick home in the outskirts of Mapuordit? Is she content with her gray striped blanket and blue plastic bucket and the fly whisk in her hand? Is she having health problems? Is she worrying how she will find food for her children? Does she wish she had had the chance to go to school? Does she ever wonder about the world beyond her village?

I do not know what this woman is thinking, but I know what I am thinking: my life is tied to hers. We are kin. Now that we are connected I can make a difference in her life, as she is making a difference in mine. She is helping me to think globally. She is helping me to stretch my own heart to broader horizons. She is helping me to extend mercy beyond borders.

Mercy Beyond Borders goes to Haiti

2011-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

As you know, Mercy Beyond Borders partners with displaced women and girls in ways that alleviate their extreme poverty. To date, all of our projects have been in South Sudan, home to 1/4 of the world's displaced people. Now we are expanding to Haiti, where the 2010 earthquake displaced tens of thousands. Even now, 18 months later, many people still live in flimsy tent encampments in Port-au-Prince; thousands more fled to the rural areas to stay with relatives (who themselves cannot afford to host the influx).

One week in Haiti was more than enough to convince me that Haitian women are resilient and resourceful (as you can see in this photo), and that scholarships for Haitian girls will provide hope as well as education to the many who would otherwise drop out for lack of school fees. Mercy Beyond Borders will focus its efforts in the Gros Morne (i.e., "big mountain") area, about 4 hours by car north of Port-au-Prince. We begin this summer by offering high school scholarships to the top academic achiever in each of 16 primary schools in the region. Stay tuned on our website for details and photos in coming months: www.mercybeyondborders.org.

Online Partnering for Sudan

2011-08-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Two nonprofits -- Dining for Women, and Global Giving -- are highlighting Mercy Beyond Borders this month. If MBB can raise $4,000 from at least 50 different donors during the month of August, Dining for Women will earn a permanent spot on the Global Giving website, giving Mercy Beyond Borders’ Micro-Enterprise Project more online visibility with new audiences - and that will be great for the women and girls of South Sudan! If you feel inspired to help, here's how:

1) During August, go to GlobalGiving.org

2) Search for Dining for Women and select the project “Micro-Enterprise Loans Improve Life for 45 Women in South Sudan.”

3) Click the "Give Now" button. Please consider a $40 gift, or whatever you can afford. And ask a friend to do the same!

Thank You for participating! Deadline for reaching our goal is August 31.

Weary for a Reason

2011-07-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

When I am in Sudan there are some days when I honestly wonder, “Why am I doing this? Why am I traipsing along these dusty paths, squinting into the equatorial sun, swatting mosquitoes and dodging scorpions? Why am I eating ugali (gruel made from ground maize) at every meal? Dousing myself in cold bucket showers? Traveling in dilapidated public buses and on the backs of motorcycles over miserable roads? Why?”

And then I visit the modest mud huts of the women with whom Mercy Beyond Borders partners. I see the incredible resilience of the women, their determination to rebuild after years of loss and war. I see the small businesses they have launched with MBB micro-loans. I listen to their stories. I hear the pride in their voices as they say, “Imagine! I am now a successful business woman netting $3 profit every day!”

So I have my answer: this is why I go to Sudan. This is why Mercy Beyond Borders links with displaced women and girls. We see their lives improve. We share their joy. It is more than enough.

Almost Urban

2011-07-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Juba, capital of the now-independent Republic of South Sudan, squats on the banks of the Nile River. For the moment, it is a blend of hectic urban activity--nonstop construction, busy government offices, street vendors hawking their wares--and deep-seated, slow-moving rural roots. Here we see cattle plodding down one of Juba's main streets. Soon such scenes will give way to traffic jams and neon signs, but for now one has the impression that Juba is much more country than city. Most roads remain unpaved; most streets have no signs. Public transport is via motorcycle only. There are no public libraries or parks, no museums or "destinations." All of that will change, of course, in the coming years. For now, it's a snapshot of Sudan's uncertain emergence into the world after so many years of isolation due to war.

Eyewitness Account of South Sudan's Independence Day

2011-07-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

This email from Sr Maureen Limer, describes the excitement in Rumbek, S. Sudan, on July 9th. The photo was taken of celebrations in Narus, S.Sudan, by Bro Mike Foley:

Sudanese Youth Jump for Joy on Independence Day

A dramatic birth! On the stroke of midnight, some of us on our beds beginning to sleep, Independence ERUPTED!

Drums and whistles, trumpets (buvuzelas), any available noisemakers but, above all, GUNS: AK 47s, rifles, revolvers, I'm no expert but they were ALL there adding to the cacophony and quite impressive after a two year disarmament campaign! Women shrieked with joy, their traditional ululating, children cried and EVERYONE knew the moment had come and the noise did not subside for hours and hours. It was frightening and exciting and REAL.

Just a few hours later, on the way to Mass, you could read it in the eyes of the mamas and children, their fathers, sons and brothers. The liturgical 'Sign of Peace' was so special this morning. I appreciated a special hug from a mama who shared a hollow in the Rumbek ground with me in 2003 during Bashir's last bombing raid on the town.

We spare a thought for Abyei, South Kordofan and Darfur where the attacks continue as we celebrate. It is understandable that Bashir has excused himself from the Juba eremonies today. Last night, concluding the nine days of prayer for the new nation, we gathered with the Bishop and parishioners for a candlelight vigil at the scene of the killing forty six years ago of Rumbek priest, Fr. Archangelo Ali. We concluded with the first public singing of the new anthem, "O God, we praise and glorify you for your grace on South Sudan, land of great abundance; uphold us united in peace and harmony."

It is only 9.15 a.m. as I write but the marching and processions have been in full swing since daybreak and look set for the day. In fact, judging by the numbers, people have walked from far and wide through the night to take part. It is very evident that the teachers marshalling the thousands of schoolchildren are well-practiced in the art… I am typing to the rhythm of "Left, left, left....." And in Freedom Square, scene of 1997 successful rout of the northern soldiers by the SPLA, everyone will want their turn on the podium; a day for remembering and savoring and full of expectation. There'll be some sore heads and
feet tomorrow but I'm sure there won't be many complaints.

Anticipating PEACE, girding for WAR

2011-07-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

July 9th is INDEPENDENCE DAY for the new Republic of South Sudan! Across the land, there will be drums accompanying the singing of their new national anthem, many long speeches, days of dancing and festive meals. The people of S. Sudan are surely ready for REJOICING!

Behind the celebrations, however, lurks the awful threat of a return to war. Omar al-Bashir (President of the North, who is under international indictment for war crimes in Darfur), last week reversed his June agreement to a cessation of hostilities. His army has already invaded the internal border regions, allegedly bombing villages, executing civilians, and claiming the land. This Northern aggression has caused over 160,000 Southerners to flee from their villages since mid-May.

Why not hold a birthday party wherever you are today and light a candle for PEACE in all of Sudan?

"Sometimes I can even afford fruit!"

2011-07-01T05:15:00.000-07:00

While in the Sudanese town of Nimule during June, I visited and talked with the women who had received micro-loans from Mercy Beyond Borders. Here is Vicky's story. She is living with AIDS:

I sell these tiny fish in the market stall. Before getting my loan from Mercy Beyond Borders, I sold only cooking oil. It was hard. Purchase at 65,000 Uganda Shillings (about $26) and sell, if lucky, at 90,000 Uganda Shillings (about $36). This was barely enough for normal living expenses. I never had any savings. Since the MBB loan I have been able to buy fish, groundnuts (peanuts) and beans. As you see here, these sell quickly. My life has come up! My profit has tripled! My day-to-day life is improving, truly. There is still more for me to do, of course, but already my diet has improved and my strength is good. Sometimes I can even afford fruit! I have completely repaid the original loan with interest (12%). I feel so good about that. If I had a chance for a second loan, I would build my own tukul (hut) and buy more provisions in Gulu and sell them in Juba. As for the people in America who made the loan to me, I say to you: “I cannot express my joy. You have pulled me out of darkness. Now I live in the light. I can never speak my thanks enough to you.”

Need a Doctor?

2011-06-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

This sign from an enterprising Tanzanian healer caught my eye as I walked along the main street in the Sudanese town of Nimule, just north of the Ugandan border. He didn't seem to have too many customers lining up outside his door--but then, you never know when you might need a cure for bad luck or a swollen body or a court case.... I made a mental note of the location for future reference!

Feeling young again

2011-06-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

En route to Sudan at the end of May, I flew Ethiopian Air and had a layover in Addis Ababa. While there I learned that Ethiopia still uses the Julian calendar, which means that right now it is the year 2003. Immediately I felt 8 yrs younger! Not a bad way to start a trip.... I also learned that in Ethiopia, the day begins not at midnight but at dawn. When the sun rises, it is considered to be 1:00 a.m.; high noon is 6:00 a.m. Makes sense to me, though it could wreak havoc with airline schedules! The flights posted in Amharic use Ethiopian time; the flights posted in English use standard Western time. Who knew?

Passport Beauty

2011-06-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

You know the old saying, "If you look like your passport picture, you're not well enough to travel!"

That is certainly true of me. Somehow the camera manages, long before I have boarded an airplane, to capture the dragged-through-a-knothole visage, the telltale vacant stare and stiff-necked posture that come over me after 26 or 30 hours of flight from San Francisco to either Nairobi or Kampala (and we're not even in Sudan yet--that will take many more hours on airplanes and dirt roads). How does the camera know that this is how I am going to look when I arrive in East Africa? In Calif, friends look at my passport and say, "Whoa, that's a horrible picture of you!" In Africa, the immigration official looks at the same picture, glances up at me, and nods. Yup. That's her!

By the time you read this I will be in South Sudan visiting our women's Micro-Enterprise projects in Nimule and interviewing candidates in Torit for our Scholarship Coordinator role. I'll be even more bleary-eyed by the time I get back in San Francisco in mid-June, but it's all more than worth it for the sake of the women and girls in Sudan!

2011-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

The hospital built and operated by Brother Rosario, MD, in Mapuordit, South Sudan, boasts a well deserved reputation for excellent care. It is located in a rural area reachable only by rough roads. Despite its isolation, the hospital has an operating room, a nursing school and a diverse, dedicated staff.

Shown here with Bro Rosario are Sr Marilyn Lacey and Shirley Tamoria, MD (a member of Mercy Beyond Borders' Board of Directors), during a 2010 visit. Doctor Tamoria was thoroughly impressed by the professional medical treatments and staff training that Bro Rosario provides and oversees.

Hand-washing, Health-raising

2011-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you visit the village of Nacipo, in South Sudan, you will see the women with whom Mercy Beyond Borders partners in promoting basic health. Anna Mijji, MBB's health promoter, works with families like this one. They live in thatch huts that the women build with their own hands. They spend hours every morning securing firewood for cooking and hauling water for daily use. The women are tremendously resilient and intelligent, but most have never been schooled, so they remain unaware of the connections between hand-washing and disease, or the benefits of keeping flies off food. MBB hosts weekly workshops to encourage simple changes that can dramatically improve health. It's working. We are already seeing changes!

Imagining what C-O-L-D feels like

2011-05-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you've grown up in rural S. Sudan, you may have no concept whatsoever of c-o-l-d, as the weather there is equatorially hot year-round (either hot and dusty dry, or hot and rainy wet). The electricity needed to produce refrigeration would be extremely rare. In fact, in the brief workshop that refugees from Sudan have before being resettled out of refugee camps to begin a new life in Europe or America, the teachers sometimes pass a large chunk of ice around the classroom. "This is cold," they say. "You may live in a place that feels like this."

Sr Edvine, Principal of St Bakhita Primary School, spent an overnight in Lake Tahoe while visiting California during March. The area had already recorded 59 feet of winter snow (yes, feet!). Edvine sat bundled inside the house, close to a roaring fireplace. Now she'll be able to describe c-o-l-d to her students in South Sudan!

Look Sharp! Feel Sharp!

2011-05-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Thorns! Thorns! THORNS! Growing seemingly everywhere in the scrub brush of S. Sudan, these spikes can be 3-4 inches in length and are the bane of all unwary walkers and of children playing soccer. They easily pierce skin and are more than sharp enough to puncture tires or walking shoes (if you're lucky enough to have shoes).

Mercy Beyond Borders has sent an allegedly puncture-proof soccer ball (at least, that is the claim of the manufacturer) to St Bakhita Primary School in Narus, Sudan. If it survives the thorn bushes on their rough playing field, it will indeed be a miracle. Stay tuned!

2011-04-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sr.Edvine, Principal of St Bakhita Girls' Primary School in Narus, Sudan, recently spent 3 weeks in California. Since it was her first trip outside of East Africa, all of it was new to her. She participated in a workshop with 35,000 others at the Anaheim Convention Center, she saw the vast farms of the California's Central Valley, she enjoyed Mexican food, she visited local elementary schools, she toured a teacher resource center, she met with donors, she even saw SNOW at Lake Tahoe. When I asked her what the most amazing part of her visit had been, however, she immediately replied, "The roads." Never had she traveled on such smooth roads. Never had she been able to cover a distance of hundreds of miles in a few short hours. "Oh," she said, "if only Sudan had such roads!"

Being Displaced

2011-04-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Displacement remains a sad fact for many Southern Sudanese. Though the civil war ended several years ago, internal fighting between ethnic groups is still a huge problem. In this photo we see a young mother and her two children whose village was burned during tribal clashes in April in Mapuordit. She fled and is now camping out with the few possessions she could carry away: a mattress, a cooking pot, a goatskin, a plastic chair. She received mosquito netting and blankets from Sr Philippa, Principal of the Mapuordit secondary school where Mercy Beyond Borders supports the all of the female students.

"Camping Out" on the School Grounds

2011-04-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

"Camping out" connotes happy summer vacations to many American youth. It carries a very different meaning in most parts of Africa.
Several months ago, Mercy Beyond Borders displayed this photo of Sr. Philippa Murphy, Principal of the only high school in Mapuordit. She has been working hard to increase the number of girls at her school. What she certainly did NOT have in mind was a sudden influx of women and children last month coming as IDPs (internally displaced persons) seeking refuge on her campus from a fierce upsurge in fighting between the Jur and Dinka tribes in the area that left at least 38 dead, many villages razed, and thousands of villagers fleeing for safe haven. Now Philippa must cope with trying to begin school in order to provide some sense of normalcy for the students while hundreds of uprooted families are camping out on her grounds, lacking proper shelter, sufficient food, and not knowing what lies ahead for them. Local authorities have been slow to bring emergency help.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

2011-04-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back. No, it's not a new dance craze, it's a description of the uphill struggle to make any kind of substantive progress in Sudan. Take a look, for example, at this picture of the brand-new primary school in Yirol, where a recent wind storm ripped off the metal roof and the ensuing rains flooded the food storage and school supply rooms, ruining everything. It's hard not to get discouraged when so much hard effort can be undone overnight by weather, by bandits, or by plans that go awry. Those who work in Sudan have to be long on patience, sticking to their goals despite frequent setbacks.

Since most of us live in places where water comes on at the twist of a tap, where electricity is constant, where roads washed out by bad weather get repaired in good time, and where food is merely a short hop to a nearby grocery store, it's hard to grasp the remoteness and challenges of S. Sudan. Trucking in replacement metal roofing for this school (from Uganda or Kenya) could take another 6 months....Meanwhile, where will the children learn?

Wouldn't That Be Wild?

2011-03-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

A recent National Geographic aerial survey of the eastern regions of South Sudan discovered vast herds of wild animals. The researchers were stunned by what they saw. Nearly everyone had assumed that wildlife was nearly eliminated in S. Sudan during the four decades of war. Since 1983 displaced peoples and soldiers, hungry and on the move, regularly killed and ate elephant, giraffe, buffalo and other animals simply to stay alive. "We had thought all the large herds were gone." To the contrary, their photos prove that the wildlife remaining in Sudan will rival the fabled herds of the Serengeti. We can only hope that the new government of South Sudan will soon establish extensive game preserves to give sanctuary to these animals and to enable a tourism industry to develop as well. As Henry David Thoreau once wrote, "I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness...."

From huts to classrooms to careers

2011-03-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I say that living in Sudan is "sort of like camping, only with more spiders and scorpions," I mean it. Nearly all of South Sudan's people live in rural settings, usually with only the barest necessities for survival. For girls, the leap from such a place to an elementary school is huge; to stay in school long enough to attend high school is rare. And the odds against being able to enroll in a university are astronomical. Mercy Beyond Borders is trying to change those odds through the promotion of girls' education and the provision of scholarships to the best female students.

The village shown in this photo, for example, produced a young woman who is now an MBB scholar in a Nursing College. Three cheers for Debora! She was pulled out of 9th grade by her family to be married to an older man; they subsequently had two children, but Debora never relinquished her dream of finishing school. Finally, at age 21 she returned to high school and later graduated (the only female in her class of 70). MBB then provided a full scholarship so that Debora could pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. We salute you for your courage, Debora!

The Power of Radio

2011-03-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

In South Sudan, where such a high percentage of the population is not yet literate, radio is a particularly effective means of communication. During December 2010, Mercy Beyond Borders visited Good News Radio station in Rumbek. With a broadcast radius of 100 miles, it has become a powerful tool for reaching people in rural villages.

MBB now underwrites a weekly radio program promoting girls' education. The show utilizes taped interviews with girls, mothers, teachers and government leaders, and also has a live call-in component. We see it as a very useful, cost-effective way of spreading the word about the significance of girls' education. It also gives women and girls a voice!

Sr Edvine Comes to California

2011-02-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Mercy Beyond Borders looks forward to welcoming Sister Edvine Tumwesigye, Principal of St Bakhita Girls Primary School in Sudan, to California in mid-March. Edvine will be attending an education conference and then spending time with MBB staff and Board members in the Bay Area. We also hope to fit in some good ol' rest and relaxation.

Through friends, Mercy Beyond Borders has gotten free tickets to the Monterey Aquarium and to Disneyland, sites guaranteed to surprise and delight anyone coming from Sudan. The trip is MBB's way of thanking Edvine for all she does on behalf of girls' education in Sudan. At the same time, it gives MBB supporters in Calif a chance to get to know her.

Which Way Now?

2011-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

The people of S. Sudan surprised the world with their peaceful, well-organized, and successful Referendum vote in January. In fact, their enthusiastic first taste of democracy puts most Western democracies to shame: over 99% of registered voters (millions) turned up at the polls to cast their historic votes--and over 99% of the voters chose secession.

Now the question looms: what's next? On July 9 their country will be born. It is expected that the longterm ruler in the North, Omar al-Bashir, will allow the separation to occur, in exchange for lifting of economic sanctions against the North.

However, on the horizon is the ongoing dispute over the oil-rich region of Abyei. It will vote whether to become part of the North or part of the new country in the South. The vote to determine its fate has been indefinitely delayed by the North, while they send thousands of northerners into Abyei as new settlers. This is reminiscent of how the Chinese gov't moved huge numbers of Chinese into Tibet to weaken the Tibetan culture and independence.

Seen here is a picture of downtown Rumbek, in Southern Sudan. There is no traffic light, but rather a painted sign of one, showing the newly-graded roads toward Wau and Juba. (S. Sudan, which is the size of France, has only 30 miles of paved road.) Let's hope the leadership in the South will also show its people a way toward stability and development in the months ahead.

Braided Fish?

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yup, braided fish! It was new to me, too: thin fish from a nearby river artfully woven into long braids and sold in the outdoor marketplace in Rumbek town. Take a look:

This market also sold fruit imported from Uganda and Kenya. Despite Sudan's tropical climate, it is hard to find fresh fruit in the South. Perhaps that is the legacy of war, or simply the difficulty of transport. At any rate, vendors in Rumbek town were charging $7.00 US dollars (an impossible amount for local residents) for a travel-bruised pineapple. No one was buying. At least the dried fish would not spoil!

Teaching about Soap

2011-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Anna Mijji, seen here in the orange t-shirt and white cap, is a Sudanese woman with a mission: she loves being with the Toposa women and children in the villages surrounding Narus, sharing with them simple ways to improve their health. In this picture, Anna is teaching children about the marvels of soap and how its use can ward off many illnesses. Anna continues the weekend HEALTH AND HYGIENE workshops begun in 2009 by Sr Kathleen. She quickly draws a crowd wherever she goes. Yes, handing out bars of soap gets people's attention, but then Anna uses the opportunity to pass on her knowledge about disease prevention. She explains to the women why it's important to cover their food against fly droppings. She demonstrates how boiling one's water before drinking it or cooking with it can eliminate most water-borne parasites. She makes concrete the connection between hand-washing and the reduction of child mortality. Mercy Beyond Borders gives Anna a modest stipend to do this work. Everyone benefits!

Long Road Ahead

2011-02-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

I took this pix in 1992, when making my very first trip into S. Sudan. At the time, civil war was raging. We drove for 11 hours north by northwest over the border from Kenya to Torit. Our Land Rover was stopped every hour or so at checkpoints by barefoot boys carrying AK-47s, guarding the dusty, rutted road. We saw burned-out military tanks now and then, but not much else, until we stayed overnight in Kapoeta, the rebel stronghold, where hundreds of tall recruits marched at dawn to the orders of their commander. I'll never forget their strong voices singing in unison as their bare feet thumped the ground outside our tent.
In some ways, not much has changed in S. Sudan since 1992. The land is still undeveloped. The roads are not yet paved. The people are still poor. In other ways, everything has changed! The war is over; the rebels have formed a legitimate government; a peaceful referendum vote signals independence on the near horizon. Hope is in the air!
For another first-hand perspective on S.Sudan, check out the new blog from MBB volunteer Alison Staab: www.southsudanreflections.blogspot.com.

Introducing another Sudan blogger

2011-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Starting in February, you can read the Sudan reflections of Alison Staab, MBB volunteer and supporter. Here's a sample of her views from a recent trip to Sudan:

"In November and early December of 2010 I went to South Sudan with Sr. Marilyn Lacey, founder of Mercy Beyond Borders, an organization which partners with Sudanese displaced women and girls in ways that alleviate their extreme poverty. We spent three weeks traveling around to visit some of the projects the organization funds, including schools, literacy classes for women, and small businesses that have benefitted by receiving micro loans provided by MBB.

Since returning to the U.S. a month ago, I have been thinking a lot about Sudan. I’ve been noticing the contrast between lifestyle in the two places: the availability and abundance of food here, compared to the scarcity of food in Sudan. Clean water on tap in they typical American home, compared to a walk to the pump for the Sudanese woman or child - then a return walk home carrying a jerry can full of water on the head. Quality medical care here, versus scarce, understaffed and poorly supplied clinics in South Sudan. Free public school for every American child through age 18, contrasted with South Sudan, where less than 1.9 percent complete 8^th grade.

I’ve been remembering other things about Sudan as well: the openness and friendliness of the people you meet while walking down the street. The ubiquitous smiling faces, even when shadowed by those heavy jerry cans full of water. The pleasure in being together, and cooperation as they work around their homes, shown by Sudanese mothers, daughters, and younger sons. The responsibility demonstrated by older sons – by “older” here I mean 8 or 10 – as they move their cows around in search of grazing land.

These are the two images of the Sudanese people I came away with that touched me most: their poverty, and their spirit. During the upcoming months I’ll be posting more about my experiences in Sudan and reflections on them in a new blog at www.southsudanreflections.blogspot.com/. If you are interested in learning about South Sudan, take a look at my blog periodically! Welcome and Enjoy!"

200 years in 4 minutes!

2011-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

By nearly every global poverty metric, Sudan ranks at or near the bottom when compared to other countries--and Southern Sudan is considerably less developed than northern Sudan. There is hope that development may begin in earnest after S. Sudan becomes independent in mid-2011. For a visual, visceral sense of the gap between rich countries and poor ones in terms of both wealth and health, take a look at this fascinating 4-min video which dramatizes in layman's language the "global standing" shifts of 200 countries over the past 200 years. Copy and paste this into your web browser:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/12/200_years_in_4_minutes.php/

David and the Hyena

2011-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

You’ve heard of David and Goliath. Let me tell you the story of David and the Hyena. David lives in Mapuordit, S.Sudan. When he was a young man tending cattle—as all young men do in S.Sudan--he was sleeping one night on the ground in the cattle camp at the edge of his cattle herd. He was wakened by a hyena that pounced on him while a ring of other hyenas watched from a short distance. David wrestled the vicious attacker and managed to chase it off.

The very next day at around 7 a.m. David was milking the cattle, as he did every morning. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see who it was. It was the same hyena! It clawed at his face and gouged out both of David's eyes.

At the time, there was no clinic or hospital in the area. The villagers tended his wounds and so David lived to tell this story. But he is completely blind and has thick scars where his eyes used to be. He is now one of the leaders living in a separate compound for the disabled outside Mapuordit, S. Sudan. Though he cannot see, he smiles easily and says that his life is good.

Jubilant Referendum Voting

2011-01-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

Though I am in California now, not Southern Sudan, it seems that nearly all the news about the Referendum taking place this week in Sudan (and in 8 other countries around the world where substantial numbers of Sudanese live) is positive. More than positive, it's been downright jubilant: long lines of eager voters, people dancing in the street, war widows saying that those who died fighting for independence will "feel" this victory even though they did not live to see the day. Surely the soil has been seeded for a new beginning. May peace take root and grow!

Can we learn to be peaceful?

2011-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

During December, while we were staying in the town of Rumbek in Southern Sudan, the compound near us was raided by men with AK-47s looking for (and getting) cash from the ex-patriates living there. This was, I’m told, the fifth such armed robbery in the neighborhood over the past month. Anxiety fills the air regarding the January Referendum . Some Southerners are already moving their women and children down to Kenya’s Kakuma Ref camp again for safety. NGO’s and the UN are mobilizing for the influx of half a million Southerners who’ve been living near Khartoum for many years.

President Bashir has declared that all Southerners will be instantly unwelcome if the vote results in secession, as expected. So throughout the South there is significant unrest mixed with hope for an independent future. Sadly, violence remains the norm in Sudan: wife-beating, cattle-raiding, family feuding, drunken shootings, ethnic rivalries, school riots. The Bishop of Rumbek, Cesar Mazzolari, pulled most of his personnel out of the town of Marial Lou—where MBB had a thriving micro-enterprise project with a group of women—after rioters attacked the Principal (a nun) of the local school over alleged injustices regarding teacher salaries and student resources.

Violence has become the default response to any problem, real or perceived. It’s understandable in view of decades of war, but tragic nonetheless. The human heart needs to be taught how to wage peace.

War or Peace?

2011-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

The January 9th, 2011 Referendum is on everyone’s mind. Secession is the clear choice for southerners, but no one trusts the government of Khartoum to let it happen peacefully. Already the UN and the various NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in S.Sudan are strategizing ways to accommodate the expected influx of a million Southerners who currently live in northern Sudan. After the Referendum, they will immediately become unwanted in the North, instant refugees or displaced persons as they trek southward. Meanwhile, both North and South are actively beefing up their military along the dividing line between North and South. Twice during November, Antonov planes from Khartoum dropped bombs on the town of Aweil, which just happens to be in the oil-producing region of S.Sudan. “Sorry,” said Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum in an unusually candid moment, “We meant to drop it on Darfur.” Obviously the North is trying to depopulate the area so that there will be no southerners there to vote for secession.

This photo shows a bridge outside the town of Rumbek that cracked under the weight of tanks rumbling across it as they headed northward to fortify the internal border. We had to exit our vehicle and walk across, while the car carefully inched its way over the section bent by the tanks. We made it across safely—twice!

2010-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the main towns of S.Sudan (which are few and far between) it is possible to purchase fruit and vegetables and basic supplies—soap and salt, batteries and brooms, cooking oil and toilet paper, and the ever present Coca Cola. But once you travel out into the rural areas, one’s choices become much more limited. For the most part, people eat ugali (maize which has been ground to a polenta-like substance akin to mashed potatoes), augmented at times by beans and okra and milk from goats or cattle. No See’s candy, that’s for sure! The food is, however, satisfying and healthy except when the rains fail and the cattle die and the crops do not grow. Shown here is the market in S. Sudan's 2nd largest city, Rumbek, where Mercy Beyond Borders supports women's literacy classes.

Christmas Chickens?

2010-12-22T06:00:00.001-08:00

The 30 chickens at the medical clinic compound in the remote Kuron Peace Village in Southern Sudan had grown fat and healthy. One night all 30 mysteriously disappeared. The Sisters presumed, rightly so, that they had been “lifted” by someone from the local Toposa people.

The next morning they visited the chief. Sure enough: 30 plump chickens were strutting around his hut.

“Ah,” said Sr Angela, after greeting the chief politely and inquiring after his health and his several wives. “It seems that you have our chickens.”

The chief feigned surprise and countered with the argument that these were undeniably HIS chickens: “Look, these are Toposa chickens! See for yourself!”

And as Angela looked more closely, she noticed that each chicken now sported a tiny and quite colorful beaded anklet, Toposa-style, above its right foot! She had a good laugh about that, and then convinced the chief to return all 30, complete with decorative anklets. They are now the best-dressed chickens in Kuron!

Transporting the sick

2010-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

It would be hard to find a place more remote than Kuron. (It isn’t even on any Google maps!) But there is a Peace Village there, founded in the hope that someday all tribes and ethnic groups may learn to live cooperatively. That day has not yet come. Cattle-raiding remains a time-honored tradition whereby the men prove their worth as warriors. Now that AK-47s have replaced spears these skirmishes are often deadly. While in Kuron in mid-November, we saw this man whose pelvis was shattered by a bullet. Since the medical clinic has no surgery, he was stabilized and then carried on a makeshift stretcher (poles and a blanket) to the back of a pickup truck for a 5-hour grueling ride on a rough dirt track to Boma, the nearest hospital. Along with him went 3 other patients, including an infant with a huge abdominal tumor. 2 days later, we learned that the truck never made it to Boma; it was stuck on the road. The rains that had cooled our evening in Kuron had made the road impassable to the east. So on the 3^rd day the clinic at Kuron sent another vehicle off to rescue the stranded patients, who had been without food or shelter all that while. Nothing is easy in Sudan.

Everyone Lost Something

2010-12-16T06:05:00.000-08:00

While meeting with the women in the village of Nacipo, I noticed one person who had only one arm. She was painstakingly sewing beads onto a goatskin skirt, using her one arm and her teeth to thread the needle and pull it through the tough skin. I asked the project leader, Anna Mijji, about this woman's story and was told that during the civil war, soldiers had come and shot her husband dead. She grabbed the gun and killed six of the men before being shot herself. That is how she lost her arm. “War,” she shrugged. “Everyone lost something.”

Visiting Nacipo Village in S. Sudan

2010-12-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday morning we clambored into the back of a pickup truck with Anna Mijji, the Sudanese woman trained by Sr Kathleen Connolly earlier this year to carry on the Womens’ Health Promotion Workshops in the villages surrounding Narus. After a bouncy 15 minute drive that produced billows of red dust behind us, we pulled up to the first cluster of thatched huts.

As we arrived, so did a group of young women walking on foot. Some were carrying jerry cans of water, and two had metal pans on their heads. Sticking up garishly from both pans were half a dozen legs of goats—no doubt destined for sale at the local market. Anna showed the women a photo sent by Sr Kathleen that had been taken at one of the earlier workshops. They passed the photo from one to another, examining it with great seriousness, fascinated at seeing themselves in the picture. Then the women resumed their long walk to register for the upcoming Referendum in January that will determine the fate of S.Sudan.

Headed to S. Sudan

2010-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

In just 10 days I will be boarding a KLM flight from San Francisco with two colleagues, en rte 26 hrs by air to Nairobi where we will catch an East Africa flight up to Lokichokkio in northernmost Kenya near the border with S. Sudan. From there we proceed in a Land Rover, escorted by military vehicles for several hours through a stretch of road prone to bandit attacks. Once we pass immigration at Nadapal, we shall be inside Southern Sudan. Then for a few weeks we will travel to Narus, Kuron, Rumbek, and Mapuordit to visit our Mercy Beyond Borders projects with displaced women and girls.

By decree of the government, all schools in S. Sudan will shut down in mid-Nov for 2 months so that the teachers and students can return to their home villages to assist with registration and voter education for the referendum slated for January 9th, 2011. The outcome will determine whether S. Sudan secedes to become its own country.

Juba

2010-10-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

Juba, the provisional capital of S. Sudan, is a hub of activity for the fledgling government of S. Sudan as it prepares for the Jan 9th referendum that may lead to independence as a new state. The city itself, situated on the Nile, is now home to a veritable beehive of nonprofits, UN offices, and government functionaries. It's probably similar to the way San Francisco looked in the Gold Rush days of 1849--more bars than houses; squatter camps burgeoning everywhere; only 1 paved street; no sanitation facilities. But the dream of "making it big" and getting in on the ground floor as the area develops attracts people from throughout the world. This photo, taken by me in April 2010, shows the city-center market with a large kite (bird) overhead.

Juba is the first part of S. Sudan to have mobile phones and banking. Many nonprofits operate there, but few of them venture out into the vast rural areas, where Mercy Beyond Borders has its projects with women and girls.

Living--really living--with HIV/AIDS

2010-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

One of the occupational hazards of being a female refugee is that you have little or no protection from sexually-transmitted diseases. Vulnerable to rape, infected by a spouse, or drawn into prostitution as the only way to feed their children, many displaced women suffer from HIV/AIDS. In recent years, western countries (led by the US) have stepped up to provide anti-retroviral medicines to infected individuals in post-conflict zones. These meds, however, are effective only when taken with sufficient nutrition. Without adequate food, the meds actually cause the women to become sicker. Women in Sudan who are displaced by war and afflicted with AIDS rarely have sufficient food.

MBB’s very first micro-enterprise project benefited 14 such women living in the town of Nimule, S. Sudan. Besides creating income that transformed their economic situation, the project had a noticeable (and sometimes dramatic) impact on the physical health of the women. A successful micro-enterprise effort = more monthly income = more ability to purchase food = greater effectiveness of the anti-retroviral drugs = improved personal health. And when the women are feeling better, they can work harder, and earn even more income the following month. Micro-enterprise loans (ranging from $74 - $300, based on the women’s business plans) from Mercy Beyond Borders are quite literally giving new life to these women and their children.

Pictured here is Aryemu with the charcoal-making business she started in Nimule, Sudan, with funding from your donations to Mercy Beyond Borders..

On the Road Again

2010-10-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 months I have been on the road almost constantly, traipsing around the US, giving presentations to various schools, book clubs, parishes, and civic groups about the mission and work of Mercy Beyond Borders. You might have spotted me in Kansas City, Red Bluff, Sacramento, Sunnyvale, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco, Joplin, San Jose or Baltimore. Much as we all like to grouch about airport security lines, cramped airplane seating and those pitiful bags of peanuts, I actually have no complaints! Here are 3 reasons why:

1. I am meeting wonderful people and making new friends for MBB.

2. I am upping my chances of actually bumping into someone who knows Oprah and can get me onto her show (imagine the visibility that would give to MBB!).

3. Finally, I am very aware that traveling in the US—no matter how congested or hassled—cannot begin to compare with the difficulties, dangers, and inevitable delays that come with traveling anywhere inside Southern Sudan! As the photo here (taken on the road from Rumbek to Yirol on September 1) shows, Sudanese weather and geography usually trump the travel plans of mere mortals.

From Sesame Seeds to Charcoal

2010-09-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

Virginia Kide selling charcoal

The first Micro-Enterprise loans made by Mercy Beyond Borders-- to 14 women of the HIV/AIDS support group in Nimule, South Sudan--have begun to improve the lives of the women, though not without struggles. Here is Virginia's story:

"When I received the loan I invested in raw cassava to be taken to Juba; unfortunately, on my way to market the truck broke down and all was ruined. But being in a group is so important: the other members raised for me an internal loan that enabled me to go back into business. I bought a sack of simsim (sesame) and sorghum which added to my capital. In a short time, however, I fell sick and the doctor warned me not to work so hard, so I resolved to buy charcoal from the people who burn it and then sell it retail. I am a widow with 5 sons; two are now high school age. The loan I got was $250 and so far I have repaid $167. In the beginning, I had only $30 savings; now I have $50! Thank you, Mercy Beyond Borders!

Vacationing in Wilderness

2010-08-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

No, this isn't Southern Sudan--it's beautiful Cody Lake in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake Tahoe, where I spent a restful 4-day vacation last week. Hiking into canyons, along trails and waterfalls, enjoying breathtaking views... I wondered how long it will be before Sudan reaches a place of sustained peace, so that development there can occur without fear of violence.

Along the eastern areas of S. Sudan there are vast herds of elephants, wildebeest, giraffes, etc., rivaling the immense herds that range through Kenya and Tanzania. This was recently documented by National Geographic aerial photos. If the region can be protected as a wildlife preserve, Southern Sudan will some day become a magnificent tourist destination rather than a conflict zone. I look forward to that day in the future when visitors will choose to vacation in Sudan!

Micro-Enterprise Marvels

2010-08-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

My name is Margaret Daru. I live in Nimule, S.Sudan, and this is my story:

Since I got a Mercy Beyond Borders micro-loan my business is shooting very rapidly upward! Already I have repaid my first installment on time. I received $125 dollars and have so far paid $82.20 and I hope to clear the remaining amount before the time elapses. My setback was due to an accident which happened to my husband: he was knocked down by a motorcycle when crossing the road, so for the past two month I'm not constant in my stall. Even at the time of this photo I'm on and off because his condition is not good and there is nobody to care for him in the hospital, so I must be with him every day. But I have enough stock in my kiosk to repay my loan and I am also very happy to tell you that we appreciate all the support MBB has given us. Even if this amount of money is small, still it was a great blessing. Now my business has increased and what I have realized is the spirit of group and working together is very important for us as sick people it’s an achievement [editor's note: Margaret has HIV/AIDS, and the anti-retroviral medications she is on are not effective unless taken with proper nutrition]. I was weighing 50 Kg but now I have increased to 64kg body weight so feeding is no longer a problem even I have not fallen sick during this course. I thank the Lord for that. My beginning saving was 119 Sudanese pounds (about $44) and now I have topped to 305 Sudanese pounds ($113) in the saving box. This is good for my life!

Kokopelli in Sudan

2010-07-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last week I spent several days in the American Southwest, visiting the pueblos of the Navajo and Anasazi peoples who first lived here 700 years ago, long before the United States existed. Though their adobe houses and traditions were unique to them, there was much about the place that reminded me of Southern Sudan today. One of the oft-pictured pueblo symbols is Kokopelli, the flute-player. His playful form survives in stories and on ancient petroglyphs near Albuquerque.

After hiking in the Petroglyph National Park in the blazing 100 degree sunshine to snap photos of Kokopelli drawings on the volcanic rocks, I recalled this photo of a boy making music from a flute fashioned from an old pipe. I took the picture in Kuron, Sudan, two years ago. Though 10,000 miles separate Albuquerque from Kuron, this young boy's name could be Kokopelli. The spirit is the same.

Ground Travel in S. Sudan

2010-06-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

The semi-dry riverbed shown in this snapshot gives a feel for the rigors of ground travel in Sudan, which is at its best challenging and at its worst downright life-threatening. Yes, we crossed this riverbed in a Land Rover while on our way from Narus to Kuron, easing down the mucky bank on the right, splashing through the water, and then hanging on for the near-vertical climb up the left bank. For a moment I worried that our vehicle was literally going to topple over backwards in an Olympic-style backflip! Our intrepid Sudanese driver, however, didn't even blink; I couldn't tell whether his furrowed brow and maniacal grin signaled intense concentration or a sudden death wish.

Most of Southern Sudan lacks roads of any kind. Paved roads remain only a distant future dream (except in Juba, the provisional capital, which now has exactly 2 paved streets). Most rivers have no bridges. Travelers are often stranded for hours (or days) on one bank of a river, waiting for the water level to drop so that they can slog across to the other bank. Even bone-dry riverbeds are deceptively dangerous: Bishop Paride Taban nearly drowned once while crossing a dry wadi when a flash flood suddenly engulfed his vehicle. He escaped only because he was able to squeeze out through an open window and somehow swim to safety amid the muddied water and uprooted trees. The vehicle was never found.

Bush planes are actually the safest form of travel in S. Sudan, but chartering them is prohibitively expensive. For now, Mercy Beyond Borders travels by vehicle. The lack of rest stops or roadside eateries (hard to have a roadside restaurant when there are no roads!) doesn't worry me, but the likelihood of mechanical breakdown, armed ambush, or flash floods is enough to keep anyone awake. I'm always a bit surprised--and more than a bit grateful-- to arrive safely at any Sudanese destination. And I have tremendous respect for all who live and work there, day in and day out.

Taking Away the Kalashnikovs

2010-06-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Disarmament is a good thing, right? Yes, but in Sudan, where nearly every male has a gun, it can actually escalate violence.

Prior to the April elections, the military in Southern Sudan began entering villages to force the people to turn in their AK-47s. Surely this is a good thing. However, some people feared being defenseless: "If I give up my rifle, but the men in the neighboring village do not, I will not be able to protect myself or my family..."

When any family failed to surrender their weapons, the soldiers summarily grabbed the family's young children and beat them severely until the parents complied. Some fathers instead attacked the soldiers. People were killed. All of this added to the general unrest that pervaded Sudan at election time. Thankfully, the violence did not spread and the elections were completed without major disruption. But the people remain distrustful that peace can endure. They cling to their weapons for safety. It is the terrible legacy of four decades of civil war.

Anna Mijji, Sudanese Workshop Leader

2010-06-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

This photo shows Anna Mijji and two friends heading to "the mall" in Narus, on their way to purchase food supplies for the weekend health promotion workshops which they conduct in the rural villages. They are crossing the wadi (dry riverbed) to get to the Dinka Market stalls on the far side of Narus town. In the market they may find butchered goat shanks hanging from a large hook, fresh onions, pounded maize, not-so-fresh tomatoes or cabbage trucked in from Kenya, as well as staples such as soap, salt, and cooking oil imported from neighboring countries. Sr. Kathleen Connolly, the California Mercy Sister who started the health promotion project and trained Anna, will return to S. Sudan in July to formally transition the project to the Sudanese women to continue through 2011. CONGRATS to Anna for her local leadership of this effort to improve maternal/child health among the Toposa women.

When is a speaker not a speaker?

2010-05-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

Q. When is a speaker not a speaker?
A. When she fails to show up for the event!

Such was my situation on Friday, May 14th, when I was trying to fly to Omaha for a Mercy Beyond Borders fundraiser. Bad weather shut down the Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport for 4 hours, stranding 50,000 travelers, myself included. By the time I reached Omaha in the wee hours of Saturday morning, the event was long over. Its organizers, Mercy Sisters Johanna Burnell and Jeanne O'Rourke and Mercy Associate JoMarie Guastello, had nonetheless graciously hosted 35 people in my absence, showed the guests the 5-minute MBB video, told them about our work in S. Sudan, and elicited over $3,500 in donations for our projects. So, who needs me as a speaker???? Thank you, Johanna, Jeanne and JoMarie!

New Friends

2010-05-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

While in Africa during April, I had the good fortune to meet Ingrid Reneau, who works with the nonprofit, ACROSS. We are pictured here enjoying lunch in Nairobi and sharing ideas for promoting the education of women in Sudan. Ingrid is originally from Belize, has a doctorate in women's studies, and was seconded by the Presbyterians' national office (PC-USA) to work with ACROSS in Sudan. She loves it!

Mercy Beyond Borders hopes to work with ACROSS in the future to support its women's adult education project in the remote Southern Sudanese town of Boma, near the Ethiopian border. The peoples in that area are primarily nomadic, and they have been hit hard by the lack of rain, the subsequent famine, and the inter-tribal conflicts that flare up when differing groups compete for scarce grazing land for their cattle. ACROSS is working to attract more teens and young women into their accelerated primary school equivalency program (which condenses the 8 yrs of primary instruction into 4 years). It's very important to open up such possibilities for females. As 15-yr old Sira, one of the students, said, "My mother promised that she will not allow anyone to book me for marriage until I finish my studies...I would like to become a doctor."

Hope Snatched Away by Forty Cows

2010-04-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Theresa (not her real name) counted herself among the luckiest of girls in Sudan. A bright, energetic and inquisitive 10th grader, she loved school and had her heart set on becoming a doctor. At the end of March she went home to her village for the Easter holiday. Several days later she reappeared at the school's front gate, utterly distraught. "I've been married off to an old man for 40 cows," she wailed. "My life is finished." She could not be comforted.

Early marriages. Dowries of cattle. Wedding promises sealed when girls are still infants. Complex arrangements involving parents and uncles and the needs of extended family to gain cows or pay off debts. All of this leaves young Sudanese girls extremely vulnerable. The dominant "cattle culture" that deems females to be worth less than livestock will change only when more and more girls become educated, recognize their human dignity, claim their voice, and assume their rightful place in civil society.

eReaders for Sudanese Girls

2010-04-18T08:02:00.000-07:00

Sister Edvine, Principal of St Bakhita Primary School in Narus, Sudan, holds in her lap one of the 6 Kindle eReaders delivered to her in Nairobi by Sister Marilyn in April 2010. These electronic marvels were purchased with donations to Mercy Beyond Borders from the Junior Class at Mercy High School in Burlingame, CA. Each Kindle is stocked with over 280 books, effectively creating an instant library for the 800 girls at St Bakhita, where paper books are scarce--and in any event, do not last long under the ravages of the extreme heat and humidity, not to mention the insatiable appetites of termites!

Sr Edvine sends a huge THANK YOU to the students at Mercy for their wonderful gifts!

Election Excitement in Sudan

2010-04-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hanging on fences and store fronts, nailed to tree trunks and plastered on walls, the signs are everywhere: Come and Vote! For the first time in a quarter century, after 21 years of civil war, the peoples of Southern Sudan are able to vote. Over a span of 4 days in mid-April they cast their votes.

Whereas foreigners living in S. Sudan were uneasy about the potential for violence erupting, the resident Sudanese showed nothing but enthusiasm for the election. They view it as a significant prelude to the 2011 vote for secession to become their own country. They are ready!

Involving Nursing Students at USF

2010-03-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

Shirley Tamoria, a medical doctor in San Francisco and a member of the Mercy Beyond Borders board of directors, cares passionately about improving primary health care in Sudan. She is pictured here at a rural clinic near the town of Rumbek in S. Sudan. Recently Shirley spoke to several classes of nursing students at the University of San Francisco. Many of the students subsequently expressed their desire to volunteer locally in ways that would support Mercy Beyond Borders' work. Shirley plans to meet regularly with them after her April trip to Sudan, to share ideas with them and encourage their efforts.

A Rare Chance

2010-03-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

The girls and women of Sudan cherish the rare chance to go to school. Fewer than 1 in 7 girls in S. Sudan get more than 5 yrs of schooling, but all approach their studies with serious determination. Their opportunity for ongoing education recently got a bit brighter: Mercy Beyond Borders has launched a scholarship program for 8th graders who qualify for high school, and for 12th graders who qualify for nurses' training or teacher colleges.

MBB now has 29 Sudanese girls and young women on full scholarships at schools in Sudan and Kenya. These scholarships will continue annually through the girls' matriculation, so long as their academic marks remain high.

If you are able to contribute to the MBB scholarship fund, please donate to Mercy Beyond Borders, 1885 De La Cruz Blvd #101, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Or, go to the DONATE button on our website: www.mercybeyondborders.org

Bullets to Bracelets

2010-02-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

In Southern Sudan everyday necessities like clean water, medicines, or schoolbooks are in short supply. But in this post-war country there is an abundance of one thing: BULLETS. Bullets are everywhere. Men use them as a form of currency; they will pay for a clinic visit, for example, by handing over a bullet or two. (And the nurse will accept them, happy to take any ammunition out of circulation.) Bullets have entered the local language as an informal measure of value. If something is "worth three bullets," it's precious.

The Sudanese women, however, know there is a better way. Women collect the empty shell casings and fashion them into jewelry. Bullets become anklets and bracelets. Power melts into art. Beauty emerges, even in the midst of violence. It's the Sudanese women's version of swords into plowshares.

Close to the earth. Close to one another.

2009-12-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

The strong, dusty feet of women in Sudan remind me of how close to the earth these women live. They have no closets full of shoes; in fact, they have neither closets nor shoes!

There is much that we in the West, nicely shod in our Nikes and Easy Spirits and Birkenstocks, no longer feel. The sharpness of parched, cracked clay earth. The intense heat that rocks hold from sun. The slip of dew on morning grass. The welcome squish of mud between toes when the rains finally come. The rhythmic thudding of bare feet packing down the soil when women gather to dance. The cool water that drips 'round the bore hole before dawn after it has been hand-pumped to the surface to fill a jerry-can. The scratch of thorns and branches in the bush while walking, yes, walking hours and hours and hours to haul water or collect firewood or lead goats to pasture or visit a friend in a distant village.

Not feeling those simple things, we are perhaps also impaired in feeling our connectedness with these women in ways that matter even more. Knowing that these are truly our sisters and mothers and daughters. Choosing to share our resources with them. Realizing that our kinship can be a source of joy for us all. This is what Mercy Beyond Borders is all about--helping us partner, spreading the joy. THANK YOU for being a part of this wonderful work in 2009.

A child is born!

2009-12-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

In less than 2 weeks, Christians around the world will celebrate the feast of Christmas, a reminder that God is always coming into our lives in quiet, surprising ways--as humble as the birth of a child, as surprising as the miracle of surviving great adversity.

For women in Southern Sudan , the very act of giving birth is fraught with danger. Those lucky enough to get to a medical clinic (by walking long distances) may find it lacks staff or medicines. The woman pictured here had walked several days to reach the clinic at Kuron Peace Village. She birthed her child on a dirt floor with nothing stronger than Tylenol but in the company of caring friends. A few hours later, she was up and walking back to her home village with her newborn!

So we reflect on the mystery and gift of life during this Holy Season, and we rejoice that Mercy Beyond Borders connects us all. In this time of year, the three great Abrahamic faith traditions celebrate Eid, Hannukah and Christmas. Setting aside whatever divides us, let us this year together remember our blessings and thank God for the immense privilege of sharing our resources with women and girls in Sudan.

Blessings abound!

Stirring the Pot

2009-11-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

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.

Wonderful Volunteers

2009-10-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

The work of Mercy Beyond Borders depends on all of YOU, the people who support our efforts with your time, talents, connections and donations. I am so impressed by your creativity and commitment--I only wish there were a way for me to profile EACH of you individually!

Mercy Beyond Borders relies on its wonderful volunteers across the United States. You have collected pledges for running a marathon, organized a pennies competition at your primary school, set up monthly contributions via the PayPal button on our website, hosted dinners and brunches at your homes and donated the money that would have been spent at restaurants, designed original jewelry to sell and then given all the proceeds to MBB, invited friends and family to honor your birthday or jubilee or anniversary by donating to MBB instead of giving you a gift, convinced your local parish or Rotary Club or book group to fund MBB, studied about Sudan at your high school or college and raised thousands of dollars for your displaced sisters and mothers and daughters in Sudan. The result? MBB is able to channel more and more funding into its projects on the ground in Southern Sudan.

We also have several brave volunteers who travel into S. Sudan with their expertise. One is pictured here with a Sudanese health worker: Shirley Tamoria, MD, a medical doctor and member of the MBB Board.

As the intermediary for all this energy and kindness and generosity, I am the one privileged to say, "THANK YOU as I stand amazed and grateful for all that you are doing for women and girls in Southern Sudan!"

Why is she smiling?

2009-09-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

If you read the news, you'd think that there isn't much to smile about in Southern Sudan these days. It's true that there has been a resurgence of violence, and that during 2009 there have been more people killed in Southern Sudan than in Darfur.... It's true that the rains failed again this year, such that each passing month spreads the scourge of hunger... It's true that two of the faculty at St Bakhita School in Narus fell ill in September: Sister Agnes was hospitalized with severe malaria, and Sister Kathleen was bitten by a scorpion in her tukul.

Despite all the hardship, this young girl is smiling. Why? Because she is lucky enough to be a student at St Bakhita School. Because she's learning and growing, and receiving two meals each day from the school. And because she has just learned about Mercy Beyond Borders' new scholarship program for girls graduating from 8th grade! MBB will provide full scholarships for secondary school to the top academic achiever each year and also to the girl who has displayed the best leadership and service at the school. MBB scholarships motivate the girls to study well, and enable the best and brightest to continue their education through college. It is one concrete was to ease the severe "education gap" that exists in the country, where fewer than 10% of girls have any formal schooling.

Check out our website next month (http://www.mercybeyondborders.org/) for details on how you can particpate in the MBB scholarship program in Sudan.

Skyscraper, Sudanese style

2009-09-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have a distinct memory of browsing through a copy of National Geographic when I was about 9 years old and being riveted by a photo of a termite mound in Brazil that appeared to be taller than the buildings in the new capital city, Brasilia, then under construction. The photo made a serious impression on me. I studied and studied that picture, convincing myself in the end that it must have been the clever angle of the photographer that made the work of mere termites look mightier than the work of construction crews with bulldozers, carving their new city out of the jungle.

Since traveling and working in Sudan, I now realize that my childhood conclusion was wrong--frightfully wrong. Indeed, termites do create mounds that rise 15 or 20 feet in the air, vertical dung heaps more imposing and in some ways more solid than their surroundings. Nothing stands in their way. Terminix wouldn't stand a chance! The termites go about their work, unseen and unhurried but unstoppable.

My colleague and friend, Sister Maureen Limer, told me that she once returned to her mud and thatch hut in Sudan after having been away for a week. The painted wooden posts that framed the doorway looked somehow different, so she put her hand onto the frame to take a closer look. The paint was still there, a thin layer of color in the shape of the doorframe, but it encased only air. The wooden branches beneath had been entirely eaten away. When she touched the paint, it crumbled to dust. What could she do but laugh?

Good Morning!

2009-08-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

When I flip on the stovetop burner in my California kitchen each morning to boil water and then --just a few short minutes later--enjoy a fresh cup of coffee, I marvel at what I do NOT have to do to begin my day.

I do NOT leave home long before dawn. I do NOT walk several hours in the predawn darkness to find and cut firewood. I do NOT bundle it into a heavy load. I do NOT carry that load on my head for hours. I do NOT break some of those branches into smaller twigs and carefully coax a flame from flint on the dirt floor by using bits of leaf and dry bark. I do NOT tend that flame in a mud hut til it becomes a steady fire. I do NOT boil the water (hauled during yesterday's chores) for a good long while to kill the parasites. I do NOT develop an eye infection from the smoky interior of the hut. I do NOT worry about infants falling into the fire. I do NOT go without breakfast myself in order to save the precious grain for the children.

In short, I do NOT start my day as the displaced women of Southern Sudan do.

Mercy Beyond Borders works with the displaced women and girls of Southern Sudan in ways that alleviate their extreme poverty. Thank you for partnering with us to make their lives a bit easier.

When there is no water

2009-08-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

The rains have failed for two years now in the southeastern part of Sudan, adding to the difficulties of daily life. The villagers must now walk farther and farther each day so that their animals can drink and they themselves can survive.

In neighboring Kenya, ongoing drought has meant a crippling loss of hydroelectric power, with consequent sporadic blackouts of electricity throughout the country, including in its capital, Nairobi. But in Southern Sudan, there are no rolling blackouts--there is a constant blackout. Electricity is rare--and where it exists, it's usually limited to a few hours per day. Fuel to run the generators is prohibitively expensive to purchase and also to transport into Sudan.

The plentiful oil that originates in South Sudan is piped only to the North (where it is sold for wealth and weapons by the government in Khartoum) and has not yet "trickled down" to the villages that still lack the basics for survival.

The Daily Grind (not the coffee kind)

2009-08-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

This young girl in Sudan is grinding sorghum by hand, rolling a heavy rock over and over another rock. The picture was taken, not in some past century, but this summer in a typical southern Sudanese village. If you've ever been tempted to think of your own life as a "daily grind," take a long look at this picture and realize just how lucky you are.

This girl is about 10 years old. She does not attend school. She does not belong to a soccer team. She has no toys or books or bicycle. From daylight until darkness, every day is filled entirely with tasks related to survival: hauling water, washing, finding firewood, growing food, preparing food, cooking meals, taking care of younger siblings, making (goatskin) clothing, etc.

Mercy Beyond Borders encourages families to allow their daughters to attend school, and we support the education of 830 girls at St Bakhita Primary School in Narus, Sudan. We know that on average, a girl who completes 7 or more years of education will marry later and will have 2.2 fewer children, and that those children will themselves be healthier and better educated. Education is the key. Help us make it a reality for more girls in Sudan!

No Supermarket on the Corner

2009-07-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

It isn't easy to describe how remote and isolated

the villages in Southern Sudan are. Even those places that are nearest the Sudanese border with Kenya require long trekking on bone-jarring roads to reach the nearest town for supplies. One section of the road, along which bandits are particularly active, requires military escort for all vehicles.

When staff at St Bakhita School need to purchase fresh produce, for example, they drive more than 2 hours each way, often with maddening waits at the immigration and customs offices along the way, to do their shopping in the town of Lokichokkio, an outpost in northern Kenya that served for several decades during the civil war as the logistical staging area for the U.N. emergency food airlifts into Sudan. In "Loki" (as it is affectionately known), you can buy fresh eggs and bananas and canned goods and staples like cornmeal and rice and sugar and cooking oil. And you can visit the local butcher shop, pictured here. Without refrigeration, of course, it's difficult to stock up on perishables that might spoil before you get them back across the border, past the inspectors, and into Sudan. But I am living witness that it is indeed possible to juggle a flat cardboard tray of eggs while riding in a bouncing vehicle through clouds of dust en route to Narus!

Think of the staff and girls of St Bakhita School the next time you stop by your local supermarket or convenience store.

Where Bullets Are Welcome

2009-07-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

Ask any medical worker in Sudan, and s/he will tell you that the most common cause of injuries they deal with are gunshot wounds. Sadly, firearms have replaced fists as the way that men settle arguments; as a result, violence still plagues postwar Southern Sudan.

In Kuron Peace Village, where Catholic Sister Angela Limiyo runs the only health clinic in the region, it is not unusual for several gunshot victims to arrive each day. Angela herself was shot several months ago when the large truck she was riding in was randomly ambushed by bandits on the road near Narus. She had to be transported to Nairobi, Kenya, for treatment and skin grafts, and subsequently spent 3 months recuperating there before returning to her post in Sudan.

Every male in Sudan, it seems, carries a Kalashnikov (AK-47) rifle. Relics from the long civil war, these weapons are likely to be held together with twine or missing a handle, but still lethal. Guns are so commonplace that bullets have become a kind of local currency in the area: patients at the clinic pay Sister Angela with live bullets for their treatment. She gladly accepts ammunition in lieu of cash, figuring that it takes a few bullets out of circulation. Strange as it may sound, her clinic is a place where bullets are welcome!

On my way...

2009-06-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Jambo! Early in July I will be flying from San Francisco to Chicago to Brussels to Nairobi to Lokichokkio (on the border between Kenya and Sudan) and then will travel northward by Land Rover into Sudan. If all goes as planned -- which is rarely if ever the case in Africa -- in Nairobi I shall be able to meet with contact persons from local agencies which also work with displaced persons: Mapendo, the Jesuit Refugee Services, and the Sudanese Women's Voice for Peace. The highlight of the trip, of course, will be in spending time with the girls whose education MERCY BEYOND BORDERS supports at St Bakhita School in Narus, Sudan, and the village women whom we are assisting with various income-generating projects. I especially want to explore options for the continuing education of St Bakhita graduates who want to pursue nursing or teaching careers.

'Tis the rainy season in Southern Sudan, so travel will be more challenging than usual, esp for this sun-loving Californian! I am bringing with me an electronic book reader, the Amazon "Kindle 2," to verify whether it can function in the extreme humidity and heat and dust, and whether it can successfully be recharged using a solar device. If the Kindle passes the "Sudan reality test" and also proves less appealing to termites than regular books, MERCY BEYOND BORDERS will seek ways in the coming year to supply our projects in Sudan with instant libraries. Each Kindle can hold over 1,000 complete books. What a boost that could be to schools in the bush!

At the moment I am stocking up on DEET spray, protein bars, and malaria pills. I will have stories and pix to share upon my return.

Women Hold Up the Sky

2009-06-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

We all know the proverb, "Women hold up half the sky." In Africa, I believe that women hold up far more than that!

From what I have witnessed in Southern Sudan, it is the women who do all the heavy labor--not just the dangers of bearing children (Sudan has the world's highest death rate from childbirth), but also the risks of foraging for firewood and carrying water over long distances every day, the backbreaking work of growing vegetables on small plots of land, the manual pounding of maize, the constant worry of providing enough food for their children, the tending of the sick and elderly--the list goes on and on. Yet the women display remarkable strength in the face of adversities daunting enough to make most of us want to crawl into a fetal position. They liven the villages with song and dance. They dream dreams for their children's future. They pass on their values of hospitality and hope.

Mercy Beyond Borders is pleased to introduce Teody Achilo Lotto, who despite being a refugee for nearly 20 years has found innovative ways to hold up the sky. She and several colleagues founded the Sudanese Women's Voice for Peace and sponsored workshops for other refugee women in the camps: human rights, trauma healing, leadership skills, peace and reconciliation. Teody serves as liaison for MBB with groups of refugee women now leaving the camps and returning to their home villages. MBB values Teody's wisdom and experience and is honored to partner with her in lifting displaced women up from extreme poverty.

Getting Around in Sudan

2009-05-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

I don't complain any more about potholes in my home state of California. Not after traveling in Southern Sudan, where paved roads are almost nonexistent, where bridges often have been washed away completely by flash floods, and where Land Rovers must routinely negotiate riverbeds like the one in this photo. (Yes, in case you are wondering: our car crossed this river and made it up the steep bank on the left without toppling over.)

Besides being downright difficult, travel in Sudan is also dangerous. Too many soldiers from the long civil war kept their AK-47s after the peace agreement was signed. No longer employed as soldiers, and lacking other skills, they have resorted to ambushing vehicles to commandeer their contents. One of the 3 Ugandan Sisters with whom Mercy Beyond Borders works in this area was riding in a lorry that was attacked in March; Sr Angela was shot in the leg by the random gunfire and is still undergoing skin grafts at the hospital in Kenya to which she was evacuated.

Women, of course, are most at risk, as they must walk long distances on foot to collect water and firewood every single day. Eventually the country will build roads and bridges and provide safe passage for its people, but until that day, Mercy Beyond Borders is actively seeking ways to ease the dangers that women face. Mercy Beyond Borders has responded to a request from returning refugee women to provide bicycles for women in 10 villages. You can participate by donating to Mercy Beyond Borders, 1885 De La Cruz Blvd #101, Santa Clara, CA 95050, or using the PayPal button on our website: www.mercybeyondborders.org

Thank you!
Sr Marilyn, Exec Director
Mercy Beyond Borders

Peace opens the window for improvements

2009-05-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

For several years, the faculty of St Bakhita School in Narus, Southern Sudan, lived in pup-tents on the school compound. No water, no electricity, no modern conveniences--yet somehow the men emerged from those tents each morning in crisp long-sleeved white shirts and the women in pristine long skirts and blouses. I still marvel at how they managed to do that, as I always looked like a dishrag wilted from the heat! Lodging was even more challenging for the students, whose dorms were actually corrugated iron shipping containers, stiflingly hot in the tropical sun and stacked with bunk beds. When I visited the school in 2004 and took this photo, the North-South civil war was still raging and the school had not escaped aerial bombings. Conditions were, to put it mildly, difficult for all.

Happily, the Peace Agreement signed between North and South in 2005 has opened the way for major improvements at the school. Now there are tukuls (round huts) for the teachers, hand-made brick dorms and cinder block classrooms for the students. There is a bore well for water to be manually pumped, electricity from a generator for two hours on most evenings, and the miracle of internet connectivity when the satellite link can be accessed for a few precious hours.

Funding from Mercy Beyond Borders has reduced faculty turnover by ensuring decent teacher salaries, provided tuition, room and board for hundreds of students, and enabled the school to expand its small herd of goats for the girls' better nutrition. Mercy Beyond Borders is just beginning. We look forward to increasing our support of St Bakhita Primary School and providing scholarships to higher education for girls who graduate from its Secondary School.

Approximately $1,000/year will support girls who have shown the ability and motivation to go on for professional training (e.g., in education or the medical field).

If you'd like to partner with us in helping these young women--the first generation of Sudanese girls ever to receive formal education--send your donation to Mercy Beyond Borders, 1885 De La Cruz Blvd #101, Santa Clara, CA 95050-3000. Or use the PayPal option at our website: www.mercybeyondborders.org. You'll be glad you did!

You may hold the key

2009-04-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

When I snapped this photo in S. Sudan last year, I was focused on the peacefulness of the scene, the bright stripes of the blanket draped on the young man walking along the dusty path and the colorful gourd he was carrying in his left hand. Only later did I notice the head of a small girl popping up from the basket on the donkey.

Now as I look at this picture, I wonder, "What will be the future of this young girl?" Will she end up --like so many girls in S. Sudan today--hauling water and firewood all her days, toiling by hand to grow a patch of vegetables, mothering a family, perhaps dying in childbirth? (Sudan has the highest mortality rate in the world during labor and delivery.)

Or will this girl be given the chance to enroll in formal education? If she does go to school, her options will be vastly expanded beyond her village hut. And her own children will be fewer in number, healthier, and better educated. Your gift to Mercy Beyond Borders raises her chances.
You may hold the key to her future!

Creature Discomfort

2009-04-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

In the book THIS FLOWING TOWARD ME, my recently-published memoir, I devote an entire chapter to my mortal fear of spiders. My rather tame suburban upbringing had not prepared me for the frightful range of creepy crawlers that greatly outnumber us bipeds on the planet. Southern Sudan has more than its share!

During my 2008 trip to Narus, I nervously shared an outhouse with a disturbingly large black spider that eyed me from the wooden wall about 12" from my bared bottom. He stayed there all week, menacing but motionless. I, on the other hand, made my daily visits as short as possible, all the while praying that this hairy thing was not from any species that hopped.... I never did learn if that spider was poisonous. No matter: if it had edged any closer to me, I would have died from sheer panic long before venom had a chance!

The Southern Sudanese are puzzled by this phobia of mine. They have fears far more real and more deadly: malaria, cholera, meningitis; land mines, attacks by bandits, tribal conflicts, and the ever-present awareness that their fragile peace agreement with Khartoum could crumble, dragging them back into civil war.

Mercy Beyond Borders works with displaced women and children in Southern Sudan to lift them up from extreme poverty. By supporting the education of girls and the entrepreneurial efforts of returning refugee women, we improve their lives bit by bit.

Join us! You'll find more info at our website: http://www.mercybeyondborders.org

You can also sign up to receive our monthly eNewsletter: simply send your name and email to mercybeyondborders@yahoo.com

What would you give for a Klondike Bar?

2009-04-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

A few years back, there was a tv commercial portraying the extravagant contortions which ice cream lovers would put themselves through in order to obtain a Klondike Bar. It always made me laugh, but lately I've been wondering about that tagline, "What would you give for a Klondike Bar?" in relation to the situation in southern Sudan. So I ask today, "What would you give to improve the life of a woman or girl in Sudan?

Most of you, of course, have not had the opportunity of visiting Sudan. You haven't seen, up close and personal (as I have), the strength and resilience of the people and their innate dignity even in the midst of extreme poverty. Look at this girl: she is literally wearing a gunny sack, yet she is as beautiful as any Hollywood movie star! I snapped her picture when she ran out of her hut to dance in the rain during a rare and precious downpour at Kakuma Camp in the northern Kenyan desert, temporary home for 82,000 refugees, most of them from Sudan. For many of them, the camp has not been very temporary; they have lived in it for 10 or 15 years.

For those refugees who are now returning home from the camp to their villages in Sudan, life will remain difficult. With your help, MERCY BEYOND BORDERS will be there to ease their way a bit. MBB supports the education of girls, and funds entrepreneurial projects designed and implemented by the displaced women themselves. If you can help, send a check to Mercy Beyond Borders, 1885 De La Cruz Blvd #101, Santa Clara, CA 95050. Or use the PayPal button at www.mercybeyondborders.org

You will have found an inspired answer to the question, "What would you give to improve the life of a woman or girl in Sudan?" I'm confident, too, that your own life will be enriched in the giving. THANK YOU.