Sudan Update 2 2010

Malakal












Since I last wrote I have been in Malakal helping the Mothers Union run a recruitment process and assisting the Diocese in planning for their up and coming block building programme. Its rainy season and I think the mud was worse than usual, twice I actually got stuck barefoot in mud unable to move forwards or backwards, the second time I was slipping so much in the mud I couldn’t make it up a small slope to get across a road, I just kept sliding backwards and was starting to panic a little when much to my surprise two women grabbed me under the arms and launched me up the slope which to be honest I was quite embarrassed about and thanked them quickly trying to leave the scene.

The recruitment process proved difficult as there was a general misunderstanding with many of the women applying who had thought because the roles were under the church that they would not be full time and could be fitted around other work - those who perceivably had the skills and experience for the posts said they wouldn’t leave their current jobs! However two women were offered the jobs and between them hopefully have enough of what’s needed to run the new literacy programme provided they are able to build a good working relationship. (The Picture is of me with Mothers Union Leader Tabitha Leek and Headmaster Anyok outside the ECS Malakal Basic School kindergarten)

The Education Commission- Juba
At the Education Commission I have been working with them on salary planning for the next 18 months, am assisting them in recruiting a new finance manager and assisting in planning for a financial management training which is planned for the end of the month for all provincial departments.

Those of you who know me well will know that I have a slightly irrational fear of dogs! There are many stray dogs in Sudan and for a long time there has been one or two of them hanging around the ECS Provincial compound, but, over the last few weeks they have been multiplying at an alarming rate and on some days, the pack (as I like to call them) is as many as 10 all roaming around the compound together in a menacing fashion. Unfortunately the office where I work is on the opposite side of the compound to the toilet and so if I ever need to go, it often takes all my courage to make this journey which by the time I reach the toilet (all of about 30 seconds) I’m usually in a cold sweat and wondering if a day will come when fear will just take over and I will stranded at the toilet unable to return to the office. At the moment – the embarrassment of having to explain such a disappearance to my work colleagues is keeping me in check.

Thea
Thea is doing well and yesterday came home from nursery explaining all her body parts to us. What is very funny is that she says some words with quite a distinct African accent so when she says for example ‘parts of the body’ she says ‘pats o de boor dee’. Heres a picture of her playing in the rain at our hotel.

On asking Simon what he would like to contribute to this blog, he sought of looked up from his lap top and murmured something about ‘battling through’. I will try to get a bit more out of him next time!

Have a look at the pictures below of Malakal and will write again soon

Keren, Simon and Thea xx

Sudan Update 2 2010 More Photos

Here are some more pictures of my time in Malakal


Me and my friends children Djourbaine and Ethan





Me and Mama Rebecca, the Bishop of Malakal's wife and their youngest Baby Deborah









School Cooks









Malakal Basic School
























Centre of Malakal Town















Malakal Mud!

Sudan Update 1 2010 Pictures

Episcopal Church of Sudan HQ












Picture of our room in Juba











The Nile

Sudan Update 1 2010

Sudan Update July 2010
Dear All,

We’ve now been back in Sudan as a family for 3 weeks. The weather has been amazingly cool and we’re back at our old hotel – the juba grand – home from home.

For those of you who dont know ..
Since the beginning of 2010 Simon started a new contract as a subcontractor on a piece of work for the Government of South Sudan lapping out a new payroll system for all government departments. My contract with Christian Aid was renewed to continue my work as an accompanier with the Episcopal Church for Sudan for another year offering part time assistance to their school building and teacher training programmes in the areas of project and financial management.

Mt Current Work
It’s reporting time so work has involved assisting the Diocese of Malakal, Renk and the Education and Training Commission to report on their last few months. Malakal Diocese have been building teachers residences in four of their school locations in a step towards providing teachers compensation for the fact it’s very difficult to pay the teachers even an incentive for working (let alone a salary). Renk Diocese have been re-roofing existing classrooms that were badly damaged in last year’s severe storms. The Diocese of Malakal are also about to start a new programme of training 6 people how to make soil stabilised bricks and how to build permanent structures in black cotton soil (the soft swampy soil that covers Upper Nile region). A huge deficit in funds had meant the programme had to go on hold but most of the money has now been found. I have been liaising with the Diocese, the donor and contractor on funding, procurement and logistics and I’m hoping that the training will be able to start in the next 6 weeks. It’s a high risk programme for lots of reasons and still a lot could go wrong, it’s also a very exciting programme because potentially the Diocese can take what they learn from building a high spec permanent structure on black cotton soil and (funding available) use that technical knowledge to upgrade the post conflict recovery classrooms (Malakal Basic School is currently constructed out of a steel frame embedded in cement foundations with mudded walls – the school rapid recovery style agreed upon when Christian Aid funded building work began in the Diocese in 2007) with their own bricks in a way that can provide a strong long lasting school that can survive the incredibly hostile environment of Upper Nile for years to come and not be washed away in the next bout of rains.

Thea
Thea is getting on very well at nursery, it’s the first nursery in Juba which is operating at a first world level and currently has only 10 children, all Sudanese and our friends daughter who’s Swedish Zambian so I think she’s going to come back speaking better Juba Arabic than us. she is going 4 days a week and has come back reciting her numbers 1-10 and her ABC much to our surprise. They are very nice there but have had some unusual demands such as ‘she must have white socks on every day!’ and ‘we like to send them home in clean pressed clothes so provide a second set’ and when I said I wasn’t too keen on having more washing it wasn’t taken well. Appearance, I think, is very important amongst the East African Middle Classes and our sloppy attitude towards dress is has clearly been frowned upon by the nursery staff!

I’m due to fly to Malakal on tomorrow to help facilitate a recruitment process to find 2 women to be trained up as literacy trainers for a new Mothers Union Literacy Programme that is due to start in the Diocese in September.

Be in touch again soon

Keren, Simon and Little Thea x

Last Week in Juba

Dear all,

We are now in our last week in Juba. Since my last email myself and the Provincial Education and Training Commission held a workshop for Malakal and Renk Diocese. Main topics were School Building and School Running and HIV/AIDs. It went well, it was particularly nice for me to see people I haven’t seen for a long time and introducing them to Thea. Hopefully both Diocese’ will take away with them ideas and advice from each other on how they can improve their work in these areas. (see picture of workshop)

Simon took a break from his work with the Ministry of Health to do an evaluation of some CMS Ireland programmes running in Yei, Lanyia, Rokon and Kajo Keji, mainly in health and micro finance. He really enjoyed getting out of town and seeing other parts of Sudan, I always thought of Sudan as cracked earth and scorching sun but where he went he said was lush and green and he even needed a blanket for bed!

I visited Malakal for 4 days to see the Diocese and discuss next years school building proposal to Christian Aid. While we were there an almighty storm whipped up and rain and mud were being propelled at some speed. We hunkered down in the Bishop’s office, at one point it the walls felt like they were going to start falling apart and there was a point at which I was sure the roof was about to go but instead the storm took the roof off the Diocesan clinic next to us and some of Malakal Primary schools verandas were also badly damaged. (see picture of the roof off the church clinic). We waded through water and mud to move all the boxes of medicine and medical equipment to somewhere dry but I think some of it might now not be usable. Many people’s huts were very badly damaged which was upsetting to see
People were very unhappy with me that I hadn’t taken Thea but with the incredible heat, no electric, the sheer number of mosquitoes due to the rains I was glad she wasn’t there.

I’m just finishing up my work with the Provincial Education Finance team. (see picture of Thea with Rahila from the finance team). The team work with 10 donors pushing out school building and teacher training programmes across the whole of Sudan, there’s so much do cover with them but never enough time.

Be in touch again soon, Keren, Simon and Thea x

Juba

Dear All
The three of us have been in Juba just over a month now and loving it.

Juba is the southern Capital of South Sudan which is currently operating like a state in waiting. During the civil war it was a garrison town occupied by SAF, the armed forces of the northern government. It was handed over to the south through the 2005 peace agreement and now the Government of South Sudan is based here as well many UN agencies and NGO’s.

We are living in a hotel; a hotel here means a one room porta-cabin with running water, electric and the all important air conditioning unit. Far more than we ever had in Malakal but it’s made juggling work and looking after Thea in this environment possible. Thea has adapted better than we could have expected, although she’s rarely outdoors at the hottest time of day when she is out she seems to cope with the heat remarkably well. People love her and make a huge fuss of her and she practically gets mobbed when I’ve taken her on the streets in the buggy through the mud (our oversized off-roader buggy has really come into its own here!). I’ve been told by a few women that Thea’s very fat baby for 10 months and that she’ll be very fat when she’s older (this is a complement – I think!). Shes absolutely loving all attention of being unique in her status as only English baby in the city.

I’m working with the Episcopal church’s Education Commission each morning and from our cabin in the afternoons as well as assisting via the phone and visits next month to Malakal and Renk Diocese. This is all project and financial management assistance to their school building and teacher training progammes. The school building programmes have faced the usual myriad of problems, inflation of materials prices due to exchange fluctuations, unexpected classroom repairs after strong winds blew off roofs and rains destroyed mud walls which all needed the repairing so the money that was meant for furniture water pumps and teachers residences had to be turned to repairs instead. Fighting also broke out in Malakal Diocese last week and has been sporadically for over a year, a reminder of the fragile nature of peace here.

And here in Juba you can just as easily be reminded that you’re still in a post war environment as last Wednesday we were stopped from leaving the hotel by the army who were going door to door all over the city doing a weapons sweep and found a fair few on the premises here so we know not to rub any one up the wrong way!

That’s it for now,

Keren, Simon and Thea

Our Mission

Reconcile believes strongly in the fundamental role the church has in providing practically as well as spiritually for its communities. Our vision is to work directly with local organisations and particularly the church, in areas that have been affected by conflict, supporting and facilitating their missions to their local communities to increase development as a way of reducing conflict.

How do we work?

So far our work focused on capacity building and troubleshooting in the areas of Project and Financial Management, particularly aiding communication and transparency between donors and partners by improving systems and training.

We approach the work through light touch, yet holistic capacity building; improving and developing organisations by building on current ways of working to enable them to manage themselves and their projects successfully. All training and support is biblically routed but takes experience from the best lessons of the private sector and NGOs.

With God’s help we strive to have a faith-based role which dictates the direction of the company’s ministry. We believe that our role with the people we work with should be quiet and partial, not overriding, and should work as quickly as possible towards our redundancy.

We currently work with the church in Sudan, Burundi and Zimbabwe