Whirlwind

If you haven't picked up a newspaper or clicked on an online article about Sudan by this point, I highly suggest you expand your knowledge of what is going on there. The last few weeks for me have been an absolute whirlwind of emotion and activity; I am still trying to wrap my head around what I have seen and experienced.  Looking back, it seems that these changes happened gradually, but the situation now is so absurd that it's like a runaway train off its track. It all started with Bashir's threats of taking back the border states and then he started to "make good" on his statements. The fighting broke out in Kadugli and various other villages in that area. The fighting eventually spread to areas closer to where I was in Gidel. About a week before I was evacuated we started to hear the sounds of Antonovs and MIGs flying above us. At the time I didn't even know what an Antonov was, but I was taught to just lie down if I heard them come closer.  Apparently, they are very inaccurate when it comes to bombing and used mostly as a scare tactic. It became a daily occurrence to hear bombing and gunfire in the distance. When wounded soldiers and civilians from various areas began trickling into the hospital it started to feel a lot more real.  I over heard one soldier saying to another that these injuries were caused by "freedom bullets;" the people of Nuba Mountains will do anything to solidify their freedom from the North, including sacrificing their own lives. Many articles refer to people in South Kordofan as "rebels" which is completely inaccurate. These people never had an opportunity to vote like the individuals in South Sudan; they never got the popular consultation they were guaranteed.

The number of patients treated over the last 2 weeks is well over 100 now. We just learned that one of our employee's neighbors was killed by a bomb and she was 9 months pregnant. The stories I continue to receive from the field are horrific and having seen some of the wounded first handedly will forever stay in my mind.  I did not want to leave the field, but evacuation became inevitable and at the same time extremely problematic.

When some of our builders and the remaining teachers were waiting on the airstrip to leave, Antonovs and MIGs showed up and began bombing them. The plane was unable to land and evacuate them and they hid under trees as bombs were landing 5 meters away from them. After the bombing of the airstrip, no planes wanted to land. Two days later all of the ex-pat staff was packed and ready to be evacuated after a pilot actually agreed to land on the same airstrip. None of the staff knew we were leaving because we were afraid  of a security breach leading to a repeat airstrip bombing. We got up at 5am hoping to be on the plane before the Antonovs showed up for their morning scare. We traveled in two trucks, whose white paint was smeared with mud to be more discrete. Once we were close to the airstrip, we hid under trees awaiting the arrival of the plane. The first sounds of a plane brought about slight panic- was it an Antonov or our plane? Did somehow the North get information that another evacuation plane was coming? When it was confirmed to be our plane we sped as fast as possible to the airstrip.  We ran with our bags to the plane while SPLA soldiers looked over us with their guns. Once we made it to the plane our bags were thrown on while the propellers were still moving. The real moment of truth was waiting for the pilot to take off while we were all strapped in. If a plane came then we would have no place in which to run. I glanced at my watch as we began to take off; it was 8:20AM.  The national staff was by then all at the hospital ready to work, discovering for the first time that all of the ex-pats had left.  

Dr. Tom is currently alone with only a handful of qualified help. When surgical cases come in he is now both the anesthetist and the surgeon. So now I am in Nairobi trying to find a mission hospital willing to train me as an anesthetist so I can return to the field to help him.  At the same time, we are helping to organize emergency aid for the hospital.

The last few weeks have been nothing that I could have ever imagined experiencing and I obviously have very mixed emotions about leaving.  At least being out of the field I have saved my family and close friends a lot of money from paxil co-payments.

Please keep the people of Nuba Mountains in your thoughts. They are the strongest people that I have ever met and do not deserve any of the atrocities which they are currently forced to face. I hope for peace and stability so that I am able to go back and continue with the work I set off to do.

Middle School Nurses

Pharmacy 

One of the huge problems in this area is lack of education. In the entire hospital staff of over 100 nationals (from the cleaners to the nurse assistants) there are about 5 people who have finished high school. The first graduating high school class in this area was 2009. The statistics are staggering, but unfortunately not surprising considering the history of this area. A huge amount of fighting between North and South Sudan took place in South Kordorfan in the Nuba Mountains. There simply were no schools to attend during that period.  Some children were sent elsewhere for education, but times of war render financial instability and the funds were not available to the vast majority.  The other problem with the Nuba Mountains is that they are not part of South Sudan, so they are not eligible for many scholarships set up for the Sudanese. When I talk to some of my colleagues, 99% of them are desperate for an opportunity to continue studying. Some are trying to save up money for school fees by working at the hospital, many are using their salaries to send their younger brothers and sisters to school instead of finishing more school themselves.  For example, my translator Kodiki only finished half of high school and his salary (~$100/month) goes towards feeding, clothing, and schooling his younger siblings since his father lost his life during the war.

Right now there are several former hospital employees who began nursing school through sponsorships in South Sudan.  The program is 4 years long and they are the first group to be sent from our hospital.  The hope is that in the future these trained nurses will eventually be the ward in charges.  The other opportunity for medical education is a basic nursing course at a local NGO.  They just graduated their first class this past year, and although they have some book knowledge, they lack hands on experience.  In the mean time, the hospital staff continues to run with nurse aids that cannot tell you where Japan is on a map but can start an IV line and assist in the operating room.  These individuals are extremely dedicated to the hospital and their drive to learning clearly outweighs any formal education they have received.

Miriam, who after I learned was my translator's Aunt, I now call Auntie in Arabic. She calls me "Betu" and hooks me up with tea.

 

Lojo and Mandi (you might know him better as the "rat slapper")

Some of the lab staff

Rhiala: one of the few high school grads seeking further education

 Joseph: my buddy seeking to be in every picture I took

If you know anyone who would like to sponsor an employee or one of their family members for educational opportunities get in touch with me!