Extension Approved.....

It’s official.  My extension has been approved and I will be remaining in this mission for another 3 months.  Can you believe I would have already been home if it was denied?  As much as I am homesick and miss everyone I feel that I need to remain in mission for a bit longer.  It takes about 4-6 months just to get comfortable with mission life and to figure out how things work and function. Now that I am settled in I can start focusing on the volunteer work I am doing and the kids I am working with.   

These last couple of days have been rather interesting.  Ramadan started on August 1^st and will last for the next 30 days. I was asked by one of the local Sudanese women that volunteers at Scouts if I would try fasting for this time period.  So you know me…..I am up for any challenge.  The interesting this is….Jack and Peter have decided to give it a whirl as well.  We have made it through the first four days with no food/water from sunrise to sunset.  It has not been easy in this climate condition but we succeeded.  I have approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes left before sunset so I am looking forward to having something to eat and a big glass of water (but who’s counting). We were also without power and water for the last day so the beginning of Ramadan has been a bit difficult for us (you know what that means…..no showers).   It is giving me an appreciation for what the people in the IDP camps are going through when they have no food/water and have to survive in this climate condition. I am not sure how long we will be able to stick this out but many of the Muslim people appreciate us giving it a go.  

To top it all off we had one of the largest haboubs I have seen so far.  I did not even see it coming.  I was sitting in one of the offices and everything went dark.  All of a sudden the wind picked up and I thought a tornado was going to rip through our camp it was so powerful.  It lasted about 15-20 minutes then the rainstorm came and cleared all the dust out of the sky but then the thunderstorm hit and began flooding the area.  This place has gone from a dust bowl to a mud bowl.  I think I will have to pull out my rubber boots and trade them in for my combat boots.   

Since returning from Umkadada I have kept busy with Scouts.  I feel the leaders and children are becoming more comfortable with us and realize that we are dedicated in helping and working with them.  The last few meetings I have attended I have been able to play volleyball with the girls and watch the boy scouts practice for an upcoming parade.  I have to say that some of these children can march pretty well and would be great to have in the Calgary Police Cadet Corp. One of the Scout leaders is a young Government of Sudan (GoS) Police Officer so it is nice to see his commitment in helping these children become future leaders. 

At the end of July, I jumped on a plane and headed off to Uganda for a week.  I went with my Canadian colleague Jack as we both needed a break from mission life.  The weather is so hot and the daily routine and work can really take a lot out of you.  As I mentioned earlier, you feel exhausted all the time and can’t seem to regain your energy.  Anyway, Uganda was beautiful and GREEN…….it was so nice to see trees, grass and flowers.  The first day we traveled for 11 hours by car to the west side of the country where we went on 3 safaris in Queen Elizabeth National Park.  The main reason we travelled there was  to see the tree climbing lions.  Unfortunately, we never saw any lions hanging out in the trees but we were able to catch a few crawling through the grass and one was feasting on a water buffalo that it had just killed.  I was told by our guide that there are only 45 of these lions in the area so it can be hit or miss.

We spent some time in Kampala which is the capital city of Uganda.  It is a very busy city and the only way of getting from A to B is on a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) or a local minibus.  So we had Job from our hotel take us to the market.  It was another adventure in itself.  The minibus ride was interesting as we were all packed in like sardines and I don’t think there were any shocks left in the vehicle.  We arrived in the market and could barely move through the crowd of people.  Everyone calling me a “muzungo” which translates to white man.  Anyway, as I was searching through the market I came across a boy scouts shirt from Canada with a BC Yukon crest on it. The label on it showed that it came from Value Village.  So if you think that the clothes you donate to the local stores and organizations do not go anywhere I have proof that the clothes actually make it to these developing countries.  I had to purchase it so I can take it back to the Scout group in El Fasher. The boda boda’s were crazy to ride around on.  It was insane…..by the time we made it back to the hotel I think our mini bus hit 4 vehicles and we were struck by two and there was a lot of contact made when we were on the boda boda's. All I can say is that we made it back to our hotel in one piece and Jack and I are still talking about it to this day.

We ended off the trip white water rafting down the Nile River. I probably shouldn't have gone as I came down with an eye infection but do you really think I would have missed out.  It was so much fun.....however we woke up to a huge thunder and rain storm.....it was so cold as we were driving to the rafting company.  Anyway, when we arrived we met our guide who was this young 23 year old from Ottawa who is 6'8".....did I ever feel short....actually Jack looked very small beside him.  We were joined by another family from Holland so it was a nice small group.  We drove 45 minutes loaded in the back of a cattle truck.  It was an open truck so I was freezing in my shorts and t-shirt.  I really did not think I was going to make it into the water as I was so cold.   When we arrived the water was fairly warm and the weather on the Nile was reasonable so I actually survived the day.  I even got a sun burn....go figure.  The rapids were quite large and we even went down one part which is one of the largest rapids in the world.  I sat at the front and paddled as it is the most exciting seat on the boat.  The very first rapid we hit I was launched into the air and right into the water.......I guess it was pretty funny to watch as everyone couldn't stop laughing at me.  I was just happy that they were strong enough to pull me back into boat.  The water is so powerful and I can't tell you how much Nile water I swallowed that day.    The last rapid our guide ended up tossing our boat and that was rather interesting when you end up under water under the boat trying to find the surface.....it is all about staying calm.  When I did surface it was like a yard sale around me....oars and people everywhere.......I just let myself float through the rapids and when we hit calm water we all decided to float down the Nile for the next 500-600 meters.  I kept thinking about the crocodiles as the guide and safety boats kept telling us that they usually don't hang out in this part of the water....I am not sure I was convinced. I kept waiting for something to chomp at my leg. There were some great photos taken but I still have to get them from the company.  It felt great to be back on the water and get some paddling in…….ladies I am ready for Dragon Boating in New York!



This is just one of the many camel spiders that I have found around my accommodations.  This one was hanging on the entrance door which I was unaware of at the time.  I was standing right beside him in the dark and when the light was turned on I was in for a bit of a scare.




This camel spider was caught by some of our friends at their accommodations.  They are not very pleasant and supposedly have a very painful bite.



For those spider lovers out there here is a close up of one of the camel spiders that we caught here in El Fasher.

Peter and I playing volleyball with the Girl Scouts. It was so hot out and I have no idea how I managed to play in my uniform. 



Some of the Girl Scouts just love to pose for the camera. 





Our photographer.  I reckon she wanted to include herself in the photographs.



The Boy Scout's practicing for their upcoming parade.



The Boy Scout's reciting their oath/pledge

On July 4th, 2011, I attended the Gambian Independence Day parade in El Fasher.  The Rwandan Military performed one of their cultural dances.

I know what you are all thinking.....

The Gambians cultural dance is one of the most exciting and entertaining performances to watch here in UNAMID. This man is cutting his tongue with a large sharp knife but because of the jujus (charms) he is wearing, it will not cut him. It is a traditional belief for the Jola tribe.

Driving by a local butcher in Uganda.  Not sure if his shop would pass an food inspection in Canada.

It was wonderful to see the colourful fruit stands while driving through Uganda.  You do not see anything like this in Darfur.

Bananas are everywhere you turn in Uganda.  People even strap them to the front of their bumpers.  It costs about 3-4 dollars for one of these bunches.  

The many boda boda's in Kampala. They will everything and anything on these bikes and will take up to 4 adults on one.  

I am still trying to figure out how these women do this. 

I could not imagine having to carry around those horns all day.

We found this elephant all alone in one of the fields in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda). 

What you can't see is that he has been attacked and had his tail torn off. He is now struggling to stay alive and fend for himself. 

We went on a boat safari in the northern part of Queen Elizabeth Park.  There was so much wildlife to see around the water and the animals were very active.

Driving out of one of the parks we came across this little fella and his mother. He cannot be more than one month old.  I think he was still trying to find his feet.

Elephant Xing

This is the view of the Savannah from one of the lodges we stayed at. 



This lion had just killed one of the water buffalo which was lying on the shore as we were on our boat safari. 





Right behind Jack is literally the Democratic Republic of Congo. 



I guess we were disobeying rule #3

At the equator in Uganda.

Here I am at the source of the Nile in Jinja, Uganda with Jack and Barnabas our guide.

Meet our new buddy Matovu from Kampala.  He just returned from school and was meeting his mother by our hotel.

I feel like I need a shirt that says I survived a ride on a "boda boda".....it was that crazy.



This was my attempt at making a Birthday cake for Saeed in my office. Unfortunately it did not go as planned.  Having a proper oven and the right ingredients would have helped. Oh well it was the thought that counts.