Ben Tshin

“TIA.”

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.

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.

I’m finally leaving for Africa!

It’s a relief to know with much higher certainty that I will be Nairobi tomorrow morning. I’ve already checked-in 24hrs ahead of the flight as per my routine, so everything is ready and confirmed. Yesterday was a bit of a tense day for me as I waited for HQ to green-light/red-light my departure. Fortunately, the situation in Nairobi has been quiet for the last short while and my HRO had just spoken with my Country Director (CD) earlier in the day.

Last night was a nervous time. I didn’t realize that my heart was pounding and I couldn’t get to sleep. A creaky bed and another room mate made the task of sleeping slightly more difficult. During the last few days at HQ, I’ve at least started on reading WatSan manuals, technical documents and getting my head into work.

A lot of different people have been asking how I’m feeling. I’m happy to say that now I’m ready. This pause was an excellent time to find out about patience and God’s timing. I can’t say about hindsight since I’m not entirely sure yet what the lessons were. Through my Bible-in-one-year plan, I’m reading Joshua and this verse picked me up and encouraged me just when I needed it:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” [Joshua 1:9b]

God is good and He continues to shape and mould every part of my year with Medair.