Naomi Pendle

There were cows in the ‘kitchen’, a large lizard in latrine, and  the noisest cockrel next to my ‘tukal’ (hut), but the village in South Sudan felt like ‘home’ like never before.  By mid January, I had brought 20,000 bricks (and transported them from Wau on the wobbliest cobbled together lorry that could move) to build some accomodation.  I had planned full-time teacher-training for March and part-time training for the year ahead.  I had talked things through with children, other NGOs and even the former chief-justice.  And I had even had time to learn a little Dinka, after the sun went down.

But January was not an easy time for my village.  From December to April, when the ground is dry, the children herd the cowthe two or three days walk to water.  Bare-foot, they will wander the days under the sun, and sleep at night huddle beneath the stars (despite mosquitoes and hyenas).  They drink the water the cows drink, and live off the milk of the cows.  But this season there was also deadly raiding to contend with.  Daily people were concerned and desperate for news that their children and cows were OK.  The day we visited the sight of the raiding we collected the names of sixteen dead.  The injured would wander back through the village as they sought help.  Bullet wounds only had water to treat them.

But there are still endless dreams and hopes.  

I am now in England to plan and support raise.  My adventures in South Sudan will continue in March.  But, until then, I will be missing ‘home’.

Fairy lights, fancy mince pies and funky presents are scribbled on my shopping list.  Tinsel is already hung over the picture frames, and the mulled wine just had to be tested.  But, by New Year, I will have packed by bags and left for South Sudan – a very different place, in a very different season.

In war-torn South Sudan, famine is a more familiar word than festivities.  People can only afford to eat every two or three days, and would have no electricity to power the fairy lights.  Even if they could afford it, there are no children  to give presents to.  The children are all away from home for the Christmas season, walking hundreds of miles, with no shoes, in order to herd the cows to water.

The dream is to give them the gift of hope this Christmas.  2010 should be a year that makes a world of difference for the children of this village in South Sudan.  I will working with HART on plotting and planning with the leaders of the village to see exactly how education can be maximised in this pocket of extreme poverty and I cannot wait to get started.