Teaching about Soap

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

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

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!

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

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

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?

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?

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!

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Close to the earth. Close to one another.

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!

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

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

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?

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

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!

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

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)

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

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

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...

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

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.