Our Stupidity

So today was useless. Useless because we tried to get meetings set up but no one was available. The workday apparently ends immediately after lunch over here, but no one told Emma, George, and me. So we looked like three silly khawajas walking from place to place, with no sense of purpose.

We first went to the SSRRC to finish obtaining all the Boma information for each county, but they were not completely done yet. We then went to the Ministry of Health so that I could talk to the Head of Malaria, but he was not there. Because we told the driver to come pick us up after our meeting (which we did not have), we did not know what to do for the next half hour. So we stupidly decided to walk into the town where the marketplace was. This was the first time I had ever walked by the market, and it was definitely less crowded than Juba’s. There is more open space and broader paths between the lines of tin-roofed stands. I saw a lot of vendors selling jewelry, cassettes, shoes, and English movies. There were also car repair shops and fruit stands. Some small boys walked around selling boiled eggs. We walked into a small store that sold stationary items so that Emma could buy notebook paper.

Although this was a different experience for me, it was a stupid adventure. We had to tell our driver we were not at the Ministry, and so we called Lucy (who was sitting next to our driver) to change our plans and pick us up at the market. We were standing in an open area right in front of the SPLM building, and since it looked like a courtyard, we told Lucy to pick us up there. Lucy, however, misunderstood and thought we were at the bombed judicial court located deeper in the market. So we ended up standing right in the middle of the dirt yard, in front of the SPLM building, at the edge of the lively market, for about a half hour waiting for Lucy to arrive. I had never looked so conspicuous and out of place in my life. We looked like three silly, lost khawajas who did not know what to do but stand. Obviously we drew a lot of attention from all the Sudanese who could easily spot us. There were a few schoolchildren brave enough to walk pass us, but they did so slowly and with looks of wonder. I tried to catch some of them off guard by smiling and waving at them. There were also women who asked us “how are you?” as they passed, and there were groups of men who liked to act tough and not wave back at us when we did. This whole scene was really just hilarious for me. Emma called back Lucy again, and told her we were next to a lot of busses and goats. But the thing is, there were busses and goats everywhere! So that was clearly not going to work. Haha. So we called her back and I told her we were next to the SPLM head building. She wanted to find us, but we insisted on walking towards the bombed court building to avoid any more trouble and miscommunication. My head was down for most of the walk partly because I did not want to trip over any ditches in the road…and because I was pretty embarrassed about the way we were drawing so many eyes toward us. I really did not want such strong attention, and I stupidly figured that maybe if I faced the ground as I walked, I could probably blend in with the crowd. But then again, I was walking with Emma and George… At one point, a guy yelled at me and I looked up. He was sitting with a group of guys and yelled, “My friend wants you! The small one! He wants to marry you!” Yeah, it was clearly me he was yelling about. Then George responds, “400 pounds!”...or 400 cows? I don't remember. Stupid George. George later told me I should be flattered that someone wanted to buy me. Yeah yeah.

We got to the broken court building, which Lucy said was still in use, and found our driver. I had never been so happy to climb inside of a car, but I have to admit it was a pretty funny experience for me. I kept laughing to myself the whole ride home. We were supposed to go to the EPI and cold chain again to get more stats and a record of health centers, but we totally blew it off. Besides, no one was going to be there anyways.

We then had a team meeting with Father Vuni to update him on each of our tasks. The great thing about the Diocese is that it built its primary health centers out of an emergency necessity. They did anything they could to serve people no matter what condition the state was in, even if it meant building new health facilities on the spot without the luxury of extensive planning. I truly love the people of this Diocese. Every face is a constant reminder of why I am working day by day to get funds for this church, even if I am not Catholic. Their goodness and love for service extends beyond religious and racial differences, and they truly inspire me to commit my knowledge and skills towards helping others. I really am proud to say that I volunteer for such an organization.
Ok so this last paragraph clearly did not follow the theme of this post, but I had to include it somewhere. :-)

-Neesha