Ben Tshin

Yesterday was a welcome change of plans. I went out for my first intervention to help in an Non-Food Item (NFI) distribution. On Friday, part of my WatSan ERT had been helping out, but they decided to rotate some people for the second day and I got to go. I was pretty excited to finally meet “the beneficiaries” and see the condition of these IDPs.

The distribution was targeted at households who had fled their town after fighting between soldiers broke out. From our estimates we served about 700 households. Multiplying that by an average household size of 4, that meant 2800 people. But the numbers are never accurate since some households had only one person and other households were ten or twelve. As expected with this discrepancy, there was fighting. There was fighting for food provided by WFP. Lots of fighting. There was also fighting for the NFI kits that we distributed. Almost every 15 minutes there would be a squabble large enough to summon the army, all toting loaded AKs, to help keep the peace.

Our team of four was outside in the wind and sun for five of the hottest hours of the day. I applied and re-applied plenty of 45SPF sunscreen and I still got a bit burnt. Three liters of water and no lunch were barely enough to keep me going. But we were successful in giving out all our mosquito nets, buckets (although some were broken), kitchen sets, blankets and tarpaulins.

It was a busy day, but some of the people were friendly saying “Salaam” or trying out their English “How are you?”. That gave me a chance to practise my 4-5 phrases of Arabic. But for the most part of the day it was just too busy giving out kits, opening packages, that there wasn’t even time to look up and greet people. I just took their card, marked a “K”, gave a pot or kitchen set and pointed them onward.

The toughest part was when we were finished distributing the kits and an old leprous lady with no fingers came over and begged for something. All I could say was sorry, “maalesh”. She was crying and there was nothing to be done for her. Some Sudanese staff helped her to get registered, but she had nothing and she received nothing yesterday. I felt sad for her, but strangely, it wasn’t heart rending.

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season

Psalm 1:1-3

I read that Psalm today and I’m the tree that yields its fruit in season. I’m planted by water, but that doesn’t mean I’ll sprout fruit every day. There are the harvest seasons and I’m glad that God is in charge of that. I’m also glad that God is charge of any change of plans too!

I know this is probably late, but the lovey-dovey feelings of Valentine’s Day still hang in the air.

There wasn’t much Valentine cheer going around the Medair compound. Not enough love-struck people. But I was looking forward to my satellite phone call with Joeie in Hong Kong. It’s been three weeks since we’ve talked and our voices sounded strange to one another. It might have been the long time or maybe the satellite connection. Either way, communication is a big concern for this year apart. Not just with Joeie, but with family and friends back home and even the MCBC community. Already, I’m starting to feel as though the world at home kept on chugging along at its steady and fast pace after I jumped off.

I admit, Valentine’s Day without Joeie is lonely. There aren’t even roses, flowers or chocolate. Although, thankfully, Sudan also doesn’t have the Valentine’s Day hype either. There’s only a satellite phone. But at least there’s a satellite phone. Actually, I’m glad there’s more than one because CG forgot to charge his. Valentine’s Day without any of that would have been even more lonely and far away.

Pictures from Malakal including my first assessment.

My WatSan team is split into two teams, A and B. Actually, there aren’t any formal names, but “The A-Team” is a pretty swanky name. It sure beats “Alpha Team” and “Bravo Team”. Alas, I’m not on The A-Team.

The A-Team just departed downstream on the Nile to Melut and eventually onwards to do an assessment in Kaka. That’s right: Kaka. Despite it’s name, part of me wishes I could go with them. But I’ve already figured out that God’s timing is perfect. It’s easier to be faithful to God when you remember that He’s always faithful to us. I’ll be stationed in Malakal for the next week going over reports and reassessing old equipment.

Meanwhile, the secret is out that I’m a tech guy. Requests are already coming in to fix this computer, get rid of some virus, reducing the amount of internet usage, etc. It’s like I already have two jobs. As remote as Sudan is, I still can’t get rid of my past. I think God’s saying something here, but it’s a bit fuzzy on it.

This is a late update, but I’ve now been in Sudan for 1 week. I was lucky. I flew direct to Malakal with MAF instead of being stuck on the WFP flight that took the round-about way. I’m told to get used to the tiny Cessna Caravan because that’ll be my main mode of insertion and extraction at all the field sites. It’s a fun little plane especially sitting way at the back. Unfortunately, it gets a bit chilly since it’s not pressurized up at cruising altitude.

Immediately the next day after arriving, the WatSan team of 8 split into two teams to do a 3-day assessment of Malakal town. Malakal is the capital of Upper Nile state, but it’s situation is as dire as other parts of South Sudan. We saw people using fields for latrines, even going into (and being killed by) mine fields. Girls and mothers were drawing dirty, untreated water from the Nile. It’s sad to see such a situation in the 21st century.

I’m getting direct exposure to the heat of Sudan. The daily high has been constantly 35 Celsius and more. Nights start warm and get quite chilly by 3-4am. I only know this because I’m awoken by the donkeys braying, roosters cock-a-doodle-do-ing, the crickets playing their songs, and the slight chill. The Kenyan staff said that it started getting really hot the day before I arrived. But it’s only the start. They expect temperatures up to 40 and 50 Celsius before the rainy season comes. “You can’t tell the difference between 40 degrees and 50 degrees anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.”

Although I’m updating this blog more frequently than my newsletter I’m grabbing this update from the newsletter instead of paraphrasing it again.

Hi! Greetings from Africa!
I hope you are coping well with the recent snowstorms in Toronto. Here in Kenya, it’s the opposite problem: sun, heat and more sun. The daily high regularly reaches +35C, but I’ve been drinking plenty of water to adapt with the heat and the intense sun.

At the moment I am waiting in Lokichoggio in northern Kenya. Situated 30km from the Sudan border, Loki was established by the UN in the 1989 to serve as a logistical pit stop for humanitarian assistance to Sudan under Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS). UNICEF, the World Food Program (WFP) and 40-other NGOs, including Medair, have offices here to support operations in South Sudan. As a result, a small town has sprung up around the airport and the UN compound.

Conditions in Loki are quite good. It’s much nicer than the expectations to which I signed up. There is a pretty good canteen with decent food, fresh fruit and vegetables. I’ve been told to stock up now before I head into Sudan where the food may come from tins. Unfortunately it’s a bit of a ghost town since 95% of NGOs have relocated into South Sudan after the CPA peace agreement was signed ending the war in 2004. The compound is littered with empty buildings of NGOs like Save the Children, Oxfam, etc. Altogether, I wouldn’t mind spending considerable time here, if only I had something to do.

Four weeks since leaving home I’ve been delayed once in Switzerland and once again here in Lokichoggio. Myself and another fresh colleague were hoping to get into Sudan as soon as possible. However, our second round of briefings have been postponed and put off and I’ve already seen different staff come through Lokichoggio on their way to Sudan. It is quite frustrating to be waiting here with nothing much to do.

Excitingly, I will finally be flying out to Malakal with MAF this coming Tuesday. I’m looking forward to seeing the real Sudan, instead of the veneer of Lokichoggio. The down side is that there is also no work to be done there either. My project is waiting for donor funding before we can go ahead with any work.

Please keep these things in your thoughts and prayers:

• an end to violence in Kenya which is weighing heavily on the Kenyan staff
• successful and quick donor funding for the WatSan project
• my faithfulness and fruitfulness amidst delays and boredom

in His service,
Ben

I’ve made it to Kenya. My first time in Africa, and it hasn’t been the shock I expected. Partly it’s the familiar faces and new friendly faces, and the sight of street reminiscent of Thailand and Indonesia. I’m fortunate that the Medair team house in Nairobi is in a nice neighbourhood. It’ll be great for R&R when I finally get it!

As the support, finance and logistics hub for Medair’s South Sudan project, all internationally recruited staff (IRS) arrive first in Nairobi. It’s almost endless briefings for admin, HR, logistics, finance, security, etc. The office here is busy, with lots of activity and lots of staff doing their different jobs. But the staff are still so gracious, generous and kind. I’m glad Nairobi will eventually become my home away from home since all my R&R time is spent here.

At Medair HQ in Switzerland, I started to get a slightly clearer picture of what work I would be doing. But now that I’m here, I now know what I’m actually doing in Sudan. My title is ERT [Emergency Response Team] WatSan Field Technician. I am joining a team of 8 other staff (mixed IRS and KRS) focused on responding to emergencies by providing water and sanitation. Together, we will fly to areas of immediate crisis and implement the emergency projects, which may be joined with Health/Medical. The implementations range from 2 to 8 weeks in length.

I’m really excited to jump in. I barely have 48 hours in Nairobi before flying north to Lokichoggio near the Sudan-Kenya border. I’ll fly from there on small charter planes to the ER sites. Good thing it’s a short time here since I might get a bit too comfortable in Nairobi where you can find almost everything: Italian pizza, broadband Wi-Fi internet, fresh fruit, etc. I’ll miss all that starting this afternoon in Lokichoggio.

It’s now the countdown: D-day minus 14. Two weeks.

My preparations to leave have been harried. I returned from Medair’s ROC in November and two weeks later I accepted a Water & Sanitation (WatSan) position in South Sudan. Total days from acceptance to departure was less than 60 days. But there is much to do.

Being voluntarily unemployed since May has settled me into a slower pace of life. My decision to take a break from work was to give time to go on vacation in Italy, visit my sister in Florida and apply to the CIDA internships. But then I didn’t land any internships or Humber.

My to-do list seemed unending to begin. My briefing pack contained 16 different documents that needed reading, filling, or signing. And then the drugs and vaccinations. In total I’ve received 6 shots for infectious bugs ranging from Hepatitis A and typhus to rabies. Beware: the rabies inoculation cost a ridiculous $510 (3 x $170). There’s also a packing list the length of my arm. And all the things I need to organize before I leave.

It was overwhelming and some days paralyzing to think about the long to-do list. I didn’t know where to start and what to do next. But the list is slowly dwindling. Tick off one task at a time. And now the list is down to less than 10.

With all the preparations, I haven’t had the chance to get excited about going to Africa. But I’m really glad that everyone I’ve talked to is really encouraging and excited for me. And then it rubs off onto me. So now I’m excited and also slowly getting things done. *whew* The right balance.