27/07: Raising the Roof, Lifting Spirits
Here is this blogger's favorite photo from the latest update on Wunlang Health Clinic construction:
Angelo Ngong Kiir was settled in Syracuse, New York, as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Now the field director of Village Help for South Sudan, he's back giving back to his community, a place where the big NGOs don't go. His upward glance at the newly rising roof of Wunlang Health Clinic says a lot about rising hope.
Here's another favorite, a little harder to see:
The man in the hat with his back to the camera is holding a handsaw. There's lots of talk in the NGO world about local empowerment; we do it with every project. All our workers are from South Sudan. Not only do we provide paying jobs, but the on-the-job training workers get enables them to make even further progress in their lives. The worker is talking to our field manager Yel Maduok Ngor. Yel has told us many times that he has learned so much about running a successful project from his work with Village Help for South Sudan.
The clinic is an elegant little building.
What's even more remarkable is that it's locally designed. Yel and our carpenter visited an attractive new building in Aweil, walked around, made their observations, and from that designed Wunlang Clinic themselves. We know the presence of a big-name architect can be impressive on a project. But we are much, much happier to give the abundant local talent an opportunity to flourish.
We hear that word is getting out that Wunlang will have a "modern clinic." ("We must get those latrines built!" treasurer Ron Moulton wrote.) We know the people of Wunlang have plans for it already -- to set up training for the arriving midwife kits, and to make sure that medical supplies provided by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF reach the clinic. They are advising nurse Arkangelo Diet and Dr. Luka on the progress of the clinic, and when the time comes, to work with the medical staff on clinic hours. As the roof goes up, so much more is rising, too.
Angelo Ngong Kiir was settled in Syracuse, New York, as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Now the field director of Village Help for South Sudan, he's back giving back to his community, a place where the big NGOs don't go. His upward glance at the newly rising roof of Wunlang Health Clinic says a lot about rising hope.
Here's another favorite, a little harder to see:
The man in the hat with his back to the camera is holding a handsaw. There's lots of talk in the NGO world about local empowerment; we do it with every project. All our workers are from South Sudan. Not only do we provide paying jobs, but the on-the-job training workers get enables them to make even further progress in their lives. The worker is talking to our field manager Yel Maduok Ngor. Yel has told us many times that he has learned so much about running a successful project from his work with Village Help for South Sudan.
The clinic is an elegant little building.
What's even more remarkable is that it's locally designed. Yel and our carpenter visited an attractive new building in Aweil, walked around, made their observations, and from that designed Wunlang Clinic themselves. We know the presence of a big-name architect can be impressive on a project. But we are much, much happier to give the abundant local talent an opportunity to flourish.
We hear that word is getting out that Wunlang will have a "modern clinic." ("We must get those latrines built!" treasurer Ron Moulton wrote.) We know the people of Wunlang have plans for it already -- to set up training for the arriving midwife kits, and to make sure that medical supplies provided by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF reach the clinic. They are advising nurse Arkangelo Diet and Dr. Luka on the progress of the clinic, and when the time comes, to work with the medical staff on clinic hours. As the roof goes up, so much more is rising, too.
