Jordans Trip To Sudan Part II

Here is another update on Jordan's Trip:   (click here for part I) 

JULY 7-10  UpDate

Date: Sunday, July 11, 2010, 10:57 AM

Jordan Hattar graduated from high school a few weeks ago and then headed to south Sudan.   He met up with his friend Deng in Kenya and they headed to Kampala to buy supplies and hire a truck to take the goods to Deng's home area in Sudan.  Deng had been studying in the San Jose area earlier this school year when he and Jordan met.  Not sure when they hatched this idea to go back to Sudan together.  Jordan along with friends and family in Templeton Ca did a bunch of fundraising to be able to buy mosquito nets and text books and more for the people of Deng's area. (Deng is one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" – but not "lost" at all today!)

Below is one of Jordan's most recent reports. I will post some earlier ones in the following days.

Check out His face book page –  Jordan Hattar!  Drop him a line of encouragement or thanks or something!  

Some people talk about doing something one day, Jordan is doing it today!

REPORT FROM JORDAN:

Today was the most intense and terrifying day of my stay so far. First let me touch on the mosquito net distribution. We have distributed 440 of the 500 nets. The distribution in Malek went well yesterday. I am going to survey the Leprosy Colony that is across from Malek and I have a feeling many people don't travel to their small location much so I am eager to see what life is like there compared to life in Malek. 

We also have distributed the books. It turns out over 80 % of the 420 books are present and we gave the math, science, and english books out to P4, P5 and P6  (the classes range from 1-6). The number of students is classes P1, P2, and P3 outnumber the number of books and they are younger so we will not have them take books home, but use them at school.

The teachers will give them out and collect them as need be. The teachers here in Malek are trying, but a few aren't paid, some are paid very little, and I never know who will show up. I don't even know how many teachers we have. . maybe 6? Anyways the school was built last year with Deng's work and now that the building is there I hope we can start getting teachers. I was thinking maybe go through a University with a teaching abroad program, but the village life is very different and I do not know if colleges are willing to partner. If you have the contacts and have the time please look into a way we change make school better. As I wake up every morning I never know when school will start, maybe 8:30 or 9, or even 9:15. There is no schedule but the kids mostly show up early and wait for the teachers.

Back to today. I was teaching P4 today. Just as I was assigning homework on when to use capital letters our school day was suddenly interrupted. A few of my students rushed to the doorway (no door exists on any of the 5 classrooms yet) and I went to see what was everyone looking at. A tall man maybe in his late 30's  whom I have met several times before ( I do not know his name). As he was approaching the school I could tell he was angry and shouting things.

However shouting is typical in Malek the difference today was he was carrying his AK 47 and it was in his arms. I began to get nervous and thought to myself " I should have given him a mosquito net.. " ( many men from the village came to our distribution center and tried to get a net, I told him and several other men to leave. He told me he was my "security" and I responded I don't need security. The night before I thought that possibly I could have ticked the men off, but they aren't the ones who can die from malaria, it's the pregnant woman and small children whom we decided to give nets to, no one else.

So as he walked towards the school ( a dirt/ muddy open field as big as a football field) he fired a shot downwards. I began to yell to the students to come inside but they remained at the door. Deng approached the man from many 20 yards away and with his hands together I could tell he was trying to plead with the good side of this troubled drunk man. The man started walking towards the school, but as the field was muddy it's hard to tell where one is headed.

I then came out from the classroom near my students and edged closer to the road side (since my room was directly in the middle). I thought of how I was the only white man out of maybe 200 other bystanders. Then he moved towards the long hut to the left of the school and with Deng at his side banged on the iron sheet. Then Deng got the gunman to sit down and Deng and another man quickly removed it from his grasp. It was all over.

Many of the children were laughing at this point which I cannot understand. I guess we just have grown up way differently, although we are not that much different. This disturbance at school shows that war has long lasting effect on a country. It will take decades to repair Southern Sudan, but with education it will happen.

Deng's courage shows that love is stronger than hate like Dr Martin Luther King says," Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that."

Also keep a little boy named Maneu is your prayers. He was bit by a scorpion, I wasn't sure if he was going to make it. I cleaned his wound Saturday and he looked kind of out of it. Jacob Malual translated to his siblings on what I was doing, and I gave him an Ibueprofi (half a tablet and an E-mergency vitamin powder for his water. Sunday he looked a lot more alert and I think he is doing better!

Hope all is well back home! 

Love Jordan

ps Don't worry about my safety, the distubance in Malek was isolated and anytime I feel threatened I will come to Bor or leave the area. I think about all you guys a lot! Thanks for all the mail and kind messages. 

Hungry Days and Nights in West Africa.

I have had only good experiences with Oxfam>

check out their site: http://blogs.oxfam.org/en/blog/10-06-22-tonight-more-1-billion-people-are-going-bed-hungry

(Stephanie is a guest blogger from Occidental College -class of 2011. – in Rwanda for a month) 

Sunday, June 20th, 2010
This past weekend we attended a wedding on Friday and Saturday. The cultural wedding was on Friday and was so much fun! I wish we had more cultural weddings in America because the wedding seemed to have so much more meaning with a cultural ceremony.

Amy and I borrowed traditional Rwandan wedding clothes from our friend’s wife that we wore to the cultural ceremony. The wedding outfits remind me of Indian saris and the fabrics that the wedding party wore were absolutely stunning. Many people were surprised to see us in traditional wedding clothes and we received many comments that we looked “smart” as they say here.

In a cultural wedding, held at the bride’s house, there is a canopy on one side for the bride’s family and company and on the opposite side there is a canopy for the groom’s family and company. In the beginning the elder men of the families who sit in the front negotiate the marriage, with the groom’s family trying to prove that they are worthy of having the bride. However, in general it is a lot of teasing and joking around with each other. But the elder men have to be sharp and on their toes to make good come backs. You would think you were watching a stand-up comedian competition with the amount of laughter that filled the front yard, and it is times like these where I wish I spoke and understood Kinyarwandan! However our friend said some times it is hard to translate into English because of the traditional language the elders use.

After the bride’s family decides that the groom is fit for the bride, the elders go and inspect the “cows”, which the bride’s family gives to the groom’s (now they give money instead of cows, yet the gifts are still referred to as cows during the ceremony). Then a “shepherd” from the bride’s family recites a poem about how wonderful the cows are and a “shepherd” from the groom’s family describes his approval. When everything is all settled and okayed, the bride emerges from the house and joins the groom with their wedding party in a canopy in the center.

There are also many dance and singing performances in-between negotiations. 

Throughout the cultural ceremony there are many exchanges of soda, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much soda in my life! Guests get soda, the elder men have a table full of soda, the elders give the shepherds soda as gifts, they elders give each other soda as gifts, and the bride and groom feed each other soda much like in the US, the bride and groom feed each other cake. Even at the wedding reception on Saturday everyone had soda.

Going to the cultural wedding was so amazing and I feel so lucky that I was able to experience this part of Rwandan culture! Not only was there so much love between the bride, the groom, and their families, but you could sense the energy of the guests as well.

People in Rwanda have such close relationships with one another, and this feeling of connection and love was definitely present at the wedding.

Elders on the grooms side

-Stephanie

June 17th,  2010
Although I am not in South Africa, the spirit of the World Cup is
strongly felt here in Rwanda. Even in the mornings when I run, I often hear either “Waving Flag”, the World Cup anthem or the sound of a vuvuzela horns.

It’s amazing to see the support that Rwandans show for
their fellow African teams. Everyone here is so happy that a World Cup is finally being held in Africa. I do not think that any continent has as much unity or support for each other in the World Cup than Africa does. The enthusiasm is simply amazing!

We went to Amahoro Stadium, Rwanda’s national stadium to watch Côte d’Ivoire vs. Portugal on the big screen. It was much more exciting to watch with other people and feel the energy of the stadium than watching from a TV. We even sat behind Rwanda’s Minister of Sports & Culture! In contrast, we also went back to the stadium to watch South Africa vs. Uruguay.

Since it was a night game they had set up two big
screens on the lawn outside of the stadium instead of inside, for
better security. During half time MTN had a DJ and gave out hats to people who could answer their questions right.

Yet the mood that night was still as the audience watched in pain as Uruguay scored three goals against South Africa. Although people say it is unlikely, I hope an African team makes it to the final rounds of the World Cup!

Africa seems to want to win more than any other continent and if the competition was based on fan support, an African team would surely win.

Stephanie

Thanks for this blog Stephanie!

I'm sure some of you have been following these horrible events in Kyrgyzstan.

The clip above is 4 days old but does give valuable information.

Then you can read more posted today on this BBC site:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10336927.stm

I was glad to read that "Washington is sending its top Central Asia diplomat, Robert Blake, for meetings with officials in Bishkek on Friday and Saturday."

I'm sure many of your remember this time last year -today actually- when Officer Stephen Tyrone John's was murdered while on duty at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC.  Horrible news.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/10/AR2009061003884.html

I want to ask you to do something for his family and for yourself, but first let me say this.

That horrible, horrible tragedy caused me to think again about my attitude towards security officers.  Not that I had a bad attitude, it's just that too often  I was impatient and critical  when going through security checkpoints  (been flying a lot lately,)…come to think of it, that was a bad attitude!

With the news of Officer John's death, I thought about so many different things including how it must have been when he left for work that morning, "Just another day at work", and then he didn't come home… (To his family and friends I again want to say I'm so very very sorry)

I gained a much deeper respect for the people who are willing to take the risk that security officers face everyday. It has changed the way I think and act towards them.  I can't tell you how many times since then I've told security officers "Thank you for what you do". And now it's our turn (if we haven't already) to take this opportunity to extend a long overdue  "Thank you"  to officer John's family for the gift officer John gave, in life service, in the greatest sacrifice anyone can make -their life for the safety of others- and finally for the gift he continues to give in the form of inspiration to respect others and show it by saying "Thank you". 

 So here is an opportunity to take a moment and click on this link:

http://act.ushmm.org/pledge

(don't think you will be added to a US Holocaust Memorial email list but so what?)

And write something as simple in the box as "Thank You" to Officer John's family.

One last thing, would someone write and let me know of a group you work with (formally or informally) who helps support Spouses and Children of the Military Personnel we have lost?

Thanks, 

Courage, Carl

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
This week our focus shifted from the health of boys and men to women’s
health. Today we had our first workshop with a group of women who are
HIV+. Teaching people who are already affected by HIV was so different
than teaching people about HIV/AIDS. Instead of asking the group what
they knew about HIV/AIDS and how these diseases have affected their
communities we heard personal stories about how HIV has affected their
lives and what many of them deal with not only in regards to their
physical health, but in regards to emotions and conflict with their
families. Some of the women have children or teenagers who are also
HIV+, or their husbands are HIV+, so the virus has really affected
entire families. It is hard enough for many of them to afford or
obtain ARVs for treatment, yet even for those who are able to get
ARVs, they do not have enough money to afford food. The medication is
so strong and often makes those with normal, healthy diets nauseas,
however when these women take ARVs with barely any food, their health
is severely compromised. These women need to take ARVs to control
their HIV, yet with the absence of food, their bodies are pushed into
an even weaker state.

It was difficult teaching women who are struggling with the symptoms
and outcomes of HIV yet it was also inspiring to see that these women
had a good support group among each other, and that they still were
hopeful to continue living. Before our workshop started, the group
held a short prayer session. The women began to sing and dance in
prayer, and the group seemed to come alive with energy. These women
still have spirit, and it was amazing to see women who despite being
affected by HIV, have fun and enjoy themselves. Amy and I were even
pulled into the dancing, which greatly amused the women, although I
think our clapping skills were much better than our dancing skills.

As HIV+ women, this group takes on multiple burdens of work, not only
struggling with their illnesses, but also caring for their families
and finding employment to pay for either their ARVs, food, or both.
Yet it was moving to see that although these women have many conflicts
that women in the US or more developed parts of the world do not have
to deal with, they have more confidence and drive for a better life.
It is often those who have little, who have the biggest hearts.

Sincerely,

Stephanie

Thursday, June 3, 2010
Today we finished our first set of workshops for a group affiliated
with a small NGO, called Play For Hope, which organizes soccer teams as an outlet for street kids. The group is made up men who have been on a soccer team together since they were young. On Tuesday, the first day of their workshop we discussed HIV/AIDS and STDs. It felt good to finally make a difference and teach. Yet what was so great about this group of men is how enthusiastic they were about the material and learning.

Amy and I were worried that the basics of HIV/AIDS would be
boring, however we forget that new material is always informative and interesting to those who are learning. It was great to also engage in discussions with the men. You could tell that people were actually learning and listening because they asked such good questions about the material. In comparison to teaching in the US, we felt that these men were much better listeners! It was also good to know that we were correcting misconceptions about HIV/AIDS, since many people do not know how it is transmitted, some people still believe that HIV can be transmitted simply through touch or even just association. Today our workshop was on teen pregnancy, alcohol and drugs, and nutrition.

Afterwards when we were getting feedback, it was good to hear that they thought they had learned a great deal after these two days and felt they had a brighter future now. It was good to start with this group because they were so energetic and entertaining, yet it was also hard because they were so enjoyable other groups may not seem as fun.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010
In the mornings, Amy and I have been trying to run to get some
exercise in our neighborhood of Kabeza, Kigali. Besides shouting
“Masungu!” which means white person in Kinyarwandan, everyone likes to watch us run and laughs, because here no one runs just for fun. Little kids like to imitate us running and often times join us.

The other day while I was running a man asked me “What are you doing?” and I replied, “Running.” The he asked, “Why?” and when I said, “Just because” he burst out laughing because to many Rwandans running for no reason is such a foreign concept and is silly. In the US, running is so commonplace as a form of exercise, but here many people walk where they need to go and when they do want to exercise they play sports, so there is no need to exercise by simply running.

On my run today I stopped to play some soccer with some children in the neighborhood. Their soccer ball was made of tightly wound up plastic bags (although now plastic bags are outlawed in Rwanda in effort to make the country a cleaner place) and was very small. Yet since it was so tightly wound, it is a ball that would probably never pop or break like a normal soccer ball. I kicked the ball around with them for a while which they greatly enjoyed, who knew that Masungus could play soccer too! All the children I’ve met so far are very energetic and adorable.

Although all Rwandans seem so friendly and always want to stop, converse with, and meet you, the children are especially excited to meet foreigners and their smiles always brighten your day.