the ultra slim-fast diet.

As a friend of mine called the rather drastic move made by the president to fire the vice president, all the ministers and their deputies, a few weeks ago. We’d complained of the fat- well… this was the ultra-slim fast diet. Bold and shocking (to me at least).

Things were quite tense in Juba the days after the announcement - no one was sure what would happen. Would the army remain neutral? What would be the reaction of the Nuer? Rumours abound. Every single incident was blown up and out of proportion- for example, there was a conflict among traders in Konyo Konyo market, Juba town and a fight broke out, a few people started running and next thing you know, there was pandemonium- it’s a return to war! The UN sent out security alerts to all staff to go home and into hibernation mode, and to update evacuation plans. On the road to Yei, some soldiers got into an argument- I believe this also resulted in a fight and the news was… soldiers from two factions are fighting on the road to Juba town and are heading into Juba town! It was so difficult to get anywhere close to truth (a friend of mine said we really need twitter) 

I was surprised though; many people were quite pleased by the move. I hadn’t realized just how overwhelmingly unpopular this government is. I think we were all hoping to see a major change from the status quo. Getting rid of all the corrupt ministers, deputies, cronies…  and an ushering in of a results oriented, and slimmer cabinet. I am not sure we got what we wished for. When the presidential decree installing the new ministers was read, there was a sense of puzzlement in some of the choices. It’s a slimmer cabinet, yes… we are waiting to see if it’s a better cabinet, and worth all the drama and tension. Parliament has thrown out the nominated minister of Justice- over whether or not he is qualified. I still don’t understand this political process- I thought vetting of candidates happens before they are nominated? Not after?

We are still waiting for a VP

Work...

I’ve been travelling a lot, throughout western and central equatoria state… training health workers on how to improve the quality of services they provide. More specifically, to focus on infection prevention practices. This has been an eye-opener.

The level of knowledge of health workers is quite low. The lack of availability of infection prevention supplies – including chlorine used for decontaminating instruments is disturbing. The state of some of the facilities makes one wonder. There is so much work to be done in this country. In facilities that have been supported by NGOs for years… one wonders what we have been doing because there is not much change/improvement/impact. This is frustrating. Not to solely blame NGOs because we do have a ministry of health…how can we say we are here to improve the lives of people, when basic essential necessities in the health facilities are missing, and health-workers have not been trained – in any meaningful way- in years.  We do not have enough numbers of skilled health personnel; we do not have enough health facilities, enough drugs, equipment, etc.  There is never enough.

Other than the challenges of work, South Sudan is an amazingly beautiful country. Places like Kajo Keji, all rolling hills and green valleys, or Yambio- where you drive through immense forests of teak trees. The trees were in bloom last time I was there and it looked all snow covered with the white flower petals on trees. Sadly, there’s a teak factory in Nzara- im not sure how much longer the teak will be available. Deforestation. No one is sure where the proceeds go but I’m certain the communities do no benefit much. But right now, its still beautiful.

IT always amazes me how empty this country is. You drive out a few miles and all you see are a few goats and cows. Where are the people?

Floods

Significant flooding hit the outskirts of Khartoum{East of the Nile},destroying homes,cutting off access and generally doing what floods do.14 517 houses and more than 72 000 people were affected on the edge of Khartoum.
Government response has been what you could expect,nothing .
One positive is the amount of youth who volunteered to help{ferrying families in little dinghy's ,passing out food and blankets and tents,etc} and the amount of people who donated food and other essentials.
The culture of volunteering is not strong here and NGO's generally viewed with suspicion, so this was a welcome surprise.

It rained and Ramadan is coming to an end.

Big deal right?
Well yeah, it is.My beloved dust bowl Khartoum, is hot and dry for most of the year .
Yesterday it rained and rained and rained.The earth drank its fill and the rest ran off to fill ditches and courtyards and allegedly asphalt streets.
Trees look clean and even the ugly mud in front of my home cannot lessen the pleasure of a cool breeze.
Ramadan is wrapping up.It was  a long fasting day{from 5am -725pm} and really helped remind me of the pangs of hunger so many feel everyday{and not by choice either}. Having iftar {the breaking of the fast} with family and friends regularly was a refreshing change and muzzling my filthy mouth was a great exercise in self-restraint}.
Eid coming up in a week and that is a post in itself.
Happy Eid folks.