The end of term school exams are over and school has closed for the holidays. I am now on
the move on my way back to England. My
journey has been busy and eventful.
Shortly before leaving Nimule, a girl from
the orphanage where I previously volunteered came to visit me. Her name is Concy. She has an artificial leg which, while I was
at the orphanage, needed to be reviewed by the Red Cross in Juba every six
months, in case she had grown and needed a new leg, or in case any repairs or
adjustments were necessary. Since then
the orphanage has moved to Uganda and I no longer had the chance to help in
that way. She is now 19 years old and at
a boarding secondary school in Uganda.
During the school holidays she stays with an older brother in
Nimule.
When she visited me, she said that her leg was no longer fitting properly and that she thought she needed a new leg. It was three years since her leg was last reviewed. My heart sank. I was about to start my journey through Uganda and did not have time to take her to Juba, which is in the opposite direction. More importantly, the road to Juba is currently insecure as there has been recent fighting along the road. Vehicles have been attacked and civilians murdered. I did not know what to do. Fortunately, a visiting bishop gave me the answer. He told me that there is an NGO called AVSI in Gulu (a town I was intending to pass through in any case) who make artificial limbs. I found their contact details and made an appointment for Concy. So Concy travelled with me to Gulu on the first leg of my journey.
We went to the orthopaedic department run
by AVSI where her leg was checked. It
turned out that only minor repair and adjustment was needed, but that she did
not need a new leg. The repair was done
while we waited, so Concy was able to travel back to Nimule the very next day.
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| From left to right, Betty, Margaret and Concy in Gulu |
While in Gulu, Concy had the opportunity to
have a reunion with two former fellow orphans, Betty and Margaret, from the
same orphanage, which was very nice for them all. I also bought a quantity of beads and
beadwork materials for her as she is very keen on traditional African
beadwork. This will give her the ability
to sell her handicrafts and make a bit of money to help her over the school
holidays while staying with her brother, who is unemployed. It is also a step towards adult life and
learning to support herself.
Also while in Gulu, I paid the school fees
and other expenses for Margaret, who is at boarding school in Gulu, on behalf
of an American sponsor. It is good to
stay in contact with the orphans who I stayed with for the first two years of
my time in South Sudan. I grew to know
them well and care very much about them.
Many do not have supportive families to help them when they leave the
orphanage, and having spent their childhood in an institution can find it very
hard to adjust to a more normal life.
This has been the case with both Concy and Margaret and quite a few
others who have come to me for help. I
am not alone in this endeavour. Another
former volunteer lives in Gulu and has also assisted ex-orphans in the same
way, including Betty, who is in the photo. Betty is now a qualified tailor working in Gulu.
From Gulu I took a long distance bus to Budaderi,
near Mbale to see the deaf children and repeat the process of paying next
term’s school fees and other expenses. I
stayed with a local family this time, rather than in a hotel as I have done
previously. It was a very good
experience. The children are all doing
well. The two new children, Paul and
Lillian, who joined the other children last term are now fluent sign language
users and have moved up into higher classes.
Both have changed out of all recognition, purely because they now smile
and look so happy. It has made such a
difference to all these children’s lives to be able to have a means of
communication. Lillian used to be very
short-tempered and hit out at people in her frustration. This has completely stopped now that she can
express herself.
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| Most of the children (John was out at his work placement). The lady is the head of the Hearing Impaired Unit. |
When I arrived four of the children (John,
Paul, Lillian and Alice) were away at a state-organized sports event for
disabled children from schools across the district. They returned several days later having won
football, volleyball and netball trophies for the school. John, who I mentioned in my last post about
the deaf children, is at the deaf secondary school in Mbale doing a shoemaking
course, was supposed to have a work placement at a shoemaking business over the
holidays. There was no advance notice of
this, so I was very fortunate to find a small business making handmade leather
sandals locally. The shoemaker was
willing to let him come, so he was able to get at least a short amount of work
experience. As I was leaving, the
shoemaker told me that he was very pleased with John’s work. Altogether I spent over a week organizing the
children’s various requirements.
From Mbale I crossed the border to Kenya. This is my very first visit to Kenya. I took a public minibus to visit a religious
sister, who used to be part of a community in Nimule and became a very good
friend of mine while she was there. The
community left South Sudan two years ago and the members were posted to various
other communities around Uganda and Kenya.
My friend has repeatedly invited me to visit, but this is the first time
I have had time. It is a similar
distance to an international airport from Mbale, whether I travelled to Entebbe
or Nairobi, so it made sense to visit while travelling back to England. However, the journey was much lengthier than
anticipated as I took a stopping minibus by mistake instead of an express one. Altogether my journey that day lasted from 6
am to 10 pm. I was completely shattered
by the time I arrived at Gilgil, where my friend’s community is based. I was quite ill with exhaustion.
I am staying in a lovely guestroom where I
have been able to recover from my exhaustion, before my much shorter journey to
Nairobi to catch a plane to England.
This is the first proper rest I have had for a very long time and is much
needed. Once in England I will be
looking for financial help for the school in Nimule and, hopefully, for people
who might be interested in volunteering to come and assist me in my work. There are very many children in very great
need, and this is becoming more than enough for one person.
