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| View from Salesian Mission in Nzaikoni, Machakos County, Kenya |
Happy End of February everyone! It has been over a month since my last blog post and a lot has happened in that time to say the least! So I thought I would finally give you all an update. In my last post I talked about how I was about to head to the Salesian mission in Nzaikoni (a small village a few hours outside of Nairobi), for a while until the conflict died down in South Sudan. I will pick up from
where I left off and work my way back to the present day. When Mike and I
arrived in Nzaikoni in mid January we were blown away. Nzaikoni is basically
one of the most ideal locations you could ever imagine. It is on a mountaintop
out in the Kenyan countryside, is quiet and peaceful, green and beautiful, and
has perfect weather all the time.
After relaxing for a week Mike and I
were finally put to work in the local public high school, General Mulinge High,
where we taught during the rest of our stay. I was teaching computer classes and Mike was
teaching biology and English. I loved teaching there and the students and teachers
were incredibly welcoming to us but it just didn’t feel like home. During our
entire stay in Nzaikoni I just wanted to be back in Gumbo at Don Bosco. My time
in Kenya really showed me how much I have come to love my home in Juba and all
the people there. Luckily, I didn’t have
to wait long because after two weeks in Nzaikoni we received an email from Fr. Ferrington (the Salesian delegate for Sudan) telling us we
were expected back in Juba on the 2nd of February. Earlier that week
the rebels and the government signed a “ceasefire” agreement” so the community
decided it was time for us to come home and get back to work in Gumbo.
After arriving back in Gumbo Mike
and I were immediately put to work, which I couldn’t have been happier about. A
few hours after getting off the plane we were in the office at the secondary
school making the class schedule for the new school year. The next day I was
back in the classroom teaching at DBSSS, but a lot had changed since December. The biggest of those changes is that the majority of our students from last year have not returned because of the
ongoing conflict. Many of them are still displaced in refugee camps in South
Sudan and the neighboring countries and some have even joined the rebel army.
Unfortunately, ever since the ceasefire agreement was signed both sides have
repeatedly broken the agreement and it still doesn’t look like South Sudan has
found peace just yet. Almost 900,000 people have been displaced due to the
fighting at this point and even here in our compound in Gumbo we have a camp
that is home to over 100 families.
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| Salesian refugee camp in our compound in Gumbo. |
I will elaborate on that because
that is actually a big piece of news. The night before Mike and I left for
Kenya hundreds of women and children from the northern town of Bor arrived in
our compound in search of refuge. When we returned we found that the Salesians
here in Juba had built a camp behind the vocational training center on our
compound, which is now the home of those who had come from Bor. Fr. David the
secondary school principal, has been running the camp since its creation and
some NGOs in the area have been aiding the camp as well. Since Fr. David has
been tied up with the camp he does not have much time to be at the secondary
school which has changed Mike and I’s role at the school a bit as well. When I
first arrived I was teaching business and English but as of last week I have
shifted into a more administrative role. Mike and I have been helping with the
registration of new students and getting everything organized with the school as we have already
begun the new school year alongside.
Earlier this week we actually took
our students to the refugee camp to help clean up and distribute donated items
such as food and sanitary items to the people staying there. It was beautiful
to see the students serving their fellow South Sudanese whose lives have been
turned upside down by the civil conflict. I hope South Sudan’s future is full of love and service between people rather than South Sudanese fighting South Sudanese. In the past day or
two the rebels have reclaimed the key oil town of Malakal in the northern part
of South Sudan, which marks the biggest clashes since the “ceasefire agreement”
was signed. So please continue to pray for peace here as we enter into the
month of March. God bless!
MORE PICS!
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| Another picture from the camp here in Gumbo. |
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St. Francis of Assisi Parish run by the Salesians in Nzaikoni, Kenya.
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| General Mulinge High School |
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| Me and James a student at General Mulinge. |
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Me and some of our teachers at Don Bosco Senior Secondary School. From left to right: Mr. Pio, Me, Ms. Florence, Mr. Benon
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