CATHY SOLANO'S REPORT FROM SUDAN - NOVEMBER 2005

The rainy season has stopped and I am happy to announce that I only got bogged twice in the four months - and both times were on the same day. I had driven back in torrential rains all the way from Lumon to Kauda where stretches of road were more like flowing rivers. The pick-up seemed to be driving itself most of the time because when I tried to point it in one direction it went in the completely opposite direction. I got bogged in two very big muddy puddles on roads near home with which I was familiar and it was obvious I had stopped being careful. I also experienced what John the mechanic described as "dancing" where the car just slides and waltzes from side to side. When that happens in the mud all you can envisage is sliding into trees and ditches and it isn't dangerous so much, because we are going so slowly, just annoying because you know that then you will become bogged - again!! The rains just stopped as soon as November started and now the dust is all-pervasive and the worries are more about getting punctures. There is always something to keep us on our toes. At least the nights are cool and I am enjoying having to throw on a blanket in the early morning hours. Unfortunately my wrist aches in the colder weather - I hate to admit it must be a touch of arthritis!

We recently had Bishop Macram come to Gidel. It was a lightning quick visit for the ordination to priesthood of Deacon Francis. It happened at Kharga and the Christian community there was just fantastic in getting things organised for such an important event. The mass "only" went for two hours and twenty minutes (I had expected much longer) and then the community organised lunch and entertainment and gifts for Francis. The latter included representative groups from each of the parishes bringing gifts such as chickens, goats, pumpkins, pigs, etc. It was great to see and lots of fun: one group had a man dressed up as a woman and she was dancing and ululating and doing a very good job at acting as a woman. Very pretty too!

The academic year is coming to a close here. The year 7 primary students will be sitting their final exams on Fri 25th and Mon 28th so pray for them please. Some of them are repeating because of mass cheating that happened in a couple of places last year, as well as very poor results, so they are particularly keen to be promoted to secondary school next year. I have been frustrated in getting started with the building of the new secondary school that is needed for next year. The current small one has been catering sufficiently for the 13 boys who are in S2 but with a possible 50 - 70 students in S1 for next year and the fact that land has been given in Gidel by the local SPLA authorities it is important to build a bigger one with more permanent structures (rather that the mud walls, floor and grass roof that is the present structure). Unfortunately we are waiting for Caritas and Care to approve applications for funding and they are taking their time so my plans to have at least three classrooms, a library and a science lab built and ready for mid January aren't going to be realised. UGGGH! You can sense that I still haven't learned to be patient and that in fact my frustration levels are just get worse. There is a common expression used here (too much for my liking): "Malesh. Bukhra. Inshallah." Simply: "Sorry. Tomorrow. God willing." That sums it all up really.

More news on the local education front is that I had to send two teachers away recently because of the problems they have created from drinking too much of the local brew (called marissa). One girl in P6 was found to be pregnant (she is 16 years old) and after talking with her dad it was decided that it was best for her not to continue with school. It is hard enough to get girls to stay in school especially as they get older, and getting pregnant, and being forced into arranged marriages, (some to old men or to men who already have two or three wives) are just two of the common traps that stop them from continuing their education.

I have been quite occupied this last week in meeting with reps from Save the Children (involved in health clinics, etc), NRRDO (the local govt education authorities), Dan Church Aid (the de-mining people) and us (DOE - for water points and boreholes) because we have formed a Consortium that has had nearly 5 million euros granted to it by UNDP. Even though the proposal has been approved in theory there has been lots of work to fine-tune the budget and set the objectives and time-frame for the activities for the three years that the project will operate. I am glad I am not in charge and the poor guy who is still has a lot to do to satisfy the UN requirements - a lot of technical jargon, etc. the amount of money sounds a lot too but when we started to work out how many boreholes and schools and clinics it will build it really isn't - especially when so much of it has to go towards paying salaries of expats who will be supervising the program.

Cathy Solano

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