Says Danny Archer (nee Leonardo di Caprio) in Blood Diamond. “TIA”: This Is Africa. I’ve just been reminded that this is still Africa. Or more accurately: This Is Sudan. It might be post-civil war Sudan, but this is still Sudan.

Safety and your sense of security is all relative. It’s relatively safe in most parts of Southern Sudan. Of course, it’s safe where Medair operates since it doesn’t make sense (operational sense, business sense or any other sense) to work somewhere where there is a high risk of losing money, assets or staff. Ironically, Medair regularly warns and reminds staff that the security situation in Nairobi, Kenya (where we go for our R&R) is notoriously worse than Sudan. Perhaps worse than Sudan collectively. Nairobi is affectionately called Nai-robbery, with good reason.

But Sudan can still be a dangerous place. There are mines, and accordingly, lots of de-miners (Zimbabweans, South Africans, Cambodians, Bangladeshis), frequent nights with gunshots and of course, crazy drivers on pothole-rife roads. We hear reports of cattle raids, and even our own local Sudanese staff had his cattle stolen.

There have also been lots of events that have made the news back home:

• May 2, GoSS Minister of Defence killed in plane crash: We had 3 days of official national mourning two weeks ago. There were rumours of foul play. But another theory is that they overloaded the plane.
• May 9, Attacks on aid workers in Juba: Just after arriving in Juba, I saw some of the aftermath of attacks. In our compound, I was shown the splintered trunk of a tree struck by a bullet. There were several consecutive nights where different NGOs were attacked near us. Our neighbour behind us was attacked twice apparently. The most reasonable explanation: people with guns (ex-military or ex-militia) not getting paid, and needing money for food. Or just opportunistic, since Juba might have the highest concentration of aid agencies with lots of US dollars.
• May 11, Darfur rebels attack Khartoum: This was the big shocker because Khartoum was considered one of the safest cities in Africa, even during the civil war.

So I’m reminded that this isn’t home. I’m far away from Canada and the safety of Sherwood Forrest.

Here’s the new news since my R&R: Two weeks have passed. And that’s all. Since returning to the field, nothing new has happened. There has been very little work for SWAT, so I’ve spent the last two weeks in Malakal sitting on my hands. And when not sitting on my hands, I’ve probably read all the news I could read. In most other circumstances, and in most other jobs, a two week break would very much appreciated. But add a three week R&R and the current two weeks, and it’s been five weeks since I’ve done real WatSan work.

I know there are perfectly good reasons for the delay in work, but I’m restless. I’m starting to have some of the same feelings I did late last year waiting for responses from various agencies. Perhaps the eight months of unemployment prepared me for this. But even with preparation, the boredom is almost overwhelming. Ironically, I’ve even become the resident computer fix-it guru. What I tried to run away from came and found me on the other side of the world!

So hopefully I’m flying out of here tomorrow. A change of scenery and maybe a little more work to do. Otherwise, it’ll be a long way until my next R&R at the end of June.

Yei is an amazing town. It’s in the far south of Sudan, almost at the Uganda border, so it has a very different and very African feel to the town. After a month of stifling heat in Malakal, the cool breezes and afternoon rains of Central Equatoria were very welcome. I immediately felt my spirits lift. We stayed with Samaritan’s Purse and their compound was simply amazing. For the first time since I had left Nairobi, I had hot water from overhead showers.

But there was work to be done in Yei. Our contractor took a week to construct a huge wall around 8 truckloads of murram (hardy red clay-like soil). But when that was finished, I had the joys of teaching my very first class of SWAT operators. They were an absolute joy to teach, even if only for 4 days. It was my first class and I definitely wasn’t prepared. I barely even knew how the system worked, let alone teach someone else. Luckily another SWAT operator from another nearby system came to my rescue. I would speak for one minute and then he would translate for five minutes.

At the end of it all, there was a great grand opening ceremony on Easter Saturday. The system was all completed and working. The operators just needed to complete the store/guard house. But everyone showed up. The payam (a step down from county, a step up from village) administrator, the head man, the sub chief, the church leaders and all the trained SWAT operators and hygiene/health promoters (HHPs). There were lots of speeches and after 4 hours the neighbourhood of Mahad had their very own source of clean water. They didn’t have to go to the river and drink the muddy, soapy, oily, feces-infested waters. I wish I could have taken a sip to show my solidarity, but they were still chlorinating. Next time.

The next time would be Khaldak. I left to go on R&R as the system was under construction. But more about Khaldak later. I’m sitting in the Entebbe airport, waiting for Alan and Liz who are about to arrive in a few short minutes. I can’t wait to see familiar faces!

Below are the photos from the SWAT (Surface WAter Treatment) system installation in Yei.