Best seats in the house...


The goat that was...



Sat 12th June

Dr P left today to go back to Italy for 4 weeks. We will miss her, not only at the hospital, but also here in the compound, as she is always the life and soul of the place!!
.......but it does mean I have two rooms now to move around in, I feel a bit guilty really compared to what the others have.

Things are still getting cleaned on the ward, long may it last. I have spent most of the day today ‘damp dusting’, scrubbing lockers and trying to encourage by example. The hospital already is looking so much better with everyone’s hard work.

The rain is still coming down and the compound is flooded again. Hard to keep the fire wood dry. Well the goat is no longer with us, I am goat-less. Little did I know, but it was with kid, but very young if that helps. The gatekeeper did what he had to do, then one of the compound cooks prepared all the meat. The main pieces were put on a big barbeque (with wet wood) and all the ‘other bits’ in a big pot to make a thick soup-type thing. I was hungry but not that hungry. The thought of the kid put me off somewhat.....

Every one brought food, so we had rice, beans, assida (porridge with ground millet) all washed down with a beer. What a feast - there were about 12 of us, teachers, Drs, nurses, everyone in the compound and P of course. Have saved a plate of food for Juma who gave me the goat - hope he will not be offended.

Time now 9-30pm the crowd had gone, when there was a knock on the door - one of the teachers and the Italian nurse to say there was a match on. Rid repellent quickly applied, gum boots on as it was still raining, and we set off up the road, only about 500meters away.

The track by now was a mud bath. I was fine, but most of the others going were in bare feet. As there are no lights apart from the odd torch it is very hard to see where you are going, just follow the crowd.

The church (but the locals call it the ‘cathedral’, as Rumbek has one so they want one too!) is a giant sort of yurt with no windows. So a roof and pillars supporting it and between two pillars there is a framework that is the alter type area. There are rows of thin strips (about 5inches across} of very rough mahogany wood nailed onto posts to make the seating. It is so uncomfortable, but it’s a seat.

The screen tonight is a large plasma television screen, a little low but most Dinkas are very tall. The TV was given to the school by a benefactor and is used for viewing DVDs etc (no TV in South Sudan). The loaned satellite dish is up, the generator is on, and the tension rises. So does the steam, as there are so many of us all in there and we are all wet, with the temperature probably around 30c - you can see and breathe the rest I am sure. At times the condensation misted up the screen!!

When Gerrard scored that first goal for England the place went mad, it was great to be there.

By now the rain had stopped and the stars were out in their full glory. It was hard to believe I was in South Sudan watching a World Cup game in a Cathedral with this group of people, most of whom would never have seen a TV in their lives!! Surreal!

I am sure Father was so relieved he had got all the equipment working for the locals, after the game it all had to be loaded into a truck and taken back to the brother’s compound – what a worker.

Big disappointment - the satellite dish did not work for the next game and apparently they all hung around hoping, but eventually left very disappointed. Poor Father - he had worked so hard and had a man from Rumbek working on it but no go. It is a problem as very few people know anything about such technology, as they've never seen them before. Whereas we take it for granted, and people easily at hand to fix things!

I know Father will not give up, so I am sure it will be OK for the next match.