http://helpwunlang.org en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://helpwunlang.org/nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://helpwunlang.org http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=74 First Lutheran Church, Lynn. It will run from 6 to 8 p.m.; tickets are $10; the evening will feature food, entertainment, a photo/video presentation of our project so far and our future plans, and a silent auction.

If you'd like to help, e-mail us at info@helpwunlang.org. If you can't make it, go to our Donation page and participate that way. First Lutheran was one of our very first supporters, and Village Help for South Sudan wouldn't have gotten off the ground without them. We're so happy they're hosting our fundraiser again.]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=74 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:22:16 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=73
We're so glad to have friends who have remembered Village Help for South Sudan this summer. The youth of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Arlington held a car wash in support of our work in Wunlang. Ron's neighbor just donated more than $300 from her yard sale to benefit Village Help for South Sudan.

We are planning a fundraiser the evening of September 13 at First Lutheran Church in Lynn. You'll hear more about that soon. In the meantime, what can you do? There's still time to set up a yard sale, a bake sale, or a car wash to benefit the children of Wunlang. We're sure you can think of other creative ideas. We'll be happy to provide you with brochures; send us an e-mail at info@helpwunlang.org.]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=73 Tue, 5 Aug 2008 09:00:56 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=72 article about our friend Peter Leek Nhiany and his quest to drill a well for his home village in Bor. You'll see that he consulted our board member Ron on how to do this, because we know how. Village Help for South Sudan is not only providing education and opportunity in our part of South Sudan -- we're providing advice and expertise for other projects in this vast region.

This article was published at the same time as other articles about the G8 summit in Tokyo. The summit has issued many position papers, including one on food security. For most of us in America, rising food prices means we have to shop a little harder, or do without a little ice cream. For many other people in the world, it means starving. This time of year in Wunlang is a gap season anyhow -- stored food from last year's harvest is just about gone, and this year's harvest is not yet in. The construction jobs we created in Wunlang are so important. Those families are able to buy sorghum in the market to bridge the gap. But when the price of sorghum goes up, what can they do?

They can't effect the price of oil futures that drive up the transportation costs of delivering grain to the market. But they can grow more food locally. We will include agricultural training and a demonstration farm in Wunlang School. We see all around Africa how communities are using spot and drip irrigation to increase yields.

For that, we need another well. Our well is used day and night. The Wunlang population is growing as word spreads about the availability of water and education here. Another well, set along the path where people are traveling to Wunlang, would lighten the load on our well and give the people an opportunity to grow more food and to feed themselves.

If you would like to help, our donation page is one click away.]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=72 Tue, 8 Jul 2008 10:39:34 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=71
"There is excitement everywhere."

"We have achieved great things for the people of Wunlang."

"We wish you were here with us. Everyone for miles around knows the names of the Americans who did this for us."

"We have changed the situation in Wunlang forever."

"The village workers are thankful to have jobs and get paid for the first time in their lives. They take their pay to the market and buy sorghum for their families each day."

"I am very grateful to be your Field Manager. Thank you for teaching me how to manage a project like this."]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=71 Wed, 4 Jun 2008 08:41:16 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=70
On the scaffolding of Wunlang School in Southern Sudan

The photos are our photo web site, www.wunlang.smugmug.com, under the "School Construction" gallery. You'll see the construction process in chronological order, beginning with the foundation digging photos and videos we brought back from our January trip.

We've had a lot of discussion about the school's foundation. Franco has confirmed with Yel that our foundation is firm -- concrete, made with cement, sand, and stone aggregate, with reinforcing bar. The photos show the first layer of bricks being laid atop the foundation. From there, the walls are built; the roof trusses arrive; the roof is raised and the corrugated iron roofing installed.

There's more to do. Our school will have a smooth cement stucco-like finish and cream-colored paint. Our doors, windows, and classroom furniture are on tap. Franco plans to call our builder to discuss the final details. Jackson will be organizing an inspection of our school to take place before our next trip.

The latrines are also under construction, and those who read my post on World Water Day know how happy I am to see that. The teachers' office is almost complete. We'll also have a kitchen and food-storage area. With latrines and food storage, we can now apply for food aid from the UN's World Food Programme.

It is amazing that a dream -- to build a school in a remote part of Southern Sudan -- has literally, with the help of all our supporters, risen out of the ground. Check out those photos!

]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=70 Tue, 3 Jun 2008 09:18:46 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=69 Mading Aweil web site, where the Aweil disaspora all meet. During our January trip, he was a tremendous help to us. Since we've been back, he's been even more. He shepherded our NGO registration with the Government of South Sudan. Now we have tax-free status there and the same organizational standing as the UN, the World Bank,and other big NGOs. He set up our Juba bank account with Kenya Commercial Bank. He really has been Our Man in Juba ("Maybe Jackson can do it," we e-mail each other), and will represent us well to the NGO community and to the Government of South Sudan.
Jackson during our trip to Juba

Jackson holds a secondary certificate from Majak Akoon Upper Primary School and a two-year diploma from Cambridge International College. He also holds certificates from Marial Lou Veterinary Institute and Teacher Training Institute in Rumbek. In a world where further education is hard to get, he has completed numerous training sessions with the UN, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization on everything from creating spreadsheets to demobilizing child soldiers. ("I am more practical than academic," he writes.) The SPLA taught him radio operation.

He has worked for the World Bank, the Sudan Joint Assessment Mission, and UNICEF. His first job was supervising 64 Community Animal Health Workers. He most recently has formed the start-up company Hi-Tech Business Solutions to provide computer and media support to the South Sudan community.

Jackson's married, and the troubles in Abyei have touched him personally -- two of his wife's brothers were killed in the recent fighting there. When we sent condolence e-mails, his main concern was that this conflict not deter us from our mission of providing education and opportunity in South Sudan. Now that Jackson has joined our board, we'll have even greater success reaching our goals.

]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=69 Wed, 28 May 2008 09:55:25 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=68 The BBC has a good summary of what has happened.

Abyei is to the northeast of Wunlang, hundreds of miles away. People who are leaving Abyei are not coming as far as Bahr-el-Ghazal. We are watching this situation (as we have with the fighting in Khartoum earlier) closely. We are continuing to build Wunlang School and to make plans for the future. We are showing that the future can be bright in Southern Sudan.

]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=68 Wed, 28 May 2008 08:36:41 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=67
What does this have to do with Wunlang School? Today, nothing. Wunlang is hundreds and hundreds of miles away. We are still making plans to drill more wells. Our school is still being built.

But we keep an eye on political events in our area of Northern Bahr-al-Ghazal, and the semi-autonomous Government of South Sudan, and what goes on "in the North." Far-away politics can have an impact on isolated rural areas. We read the BBC's African news, the most objective source. Allafrica.com and the news pages on Sudan.net require more sifting to determine who's the straight reporter and who's the propagandist. We check with our personal contacts, too. Politics is a strange creature, and we keep up with it to make sure we can press on with our work of bringing education and opportunity to South Sudan.]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=67 Mon, 12 May 2008 23:33:02 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=66
Jackson tells me that today {May 1} is a holiday in South Sudan, so we should celebrate the hard work of our village and crews working so hard on this labor day! Yel says the second 4 classrooms are now completely enclosed in their walls! Apparently, there have been several days without rain, so great progress has been made.

Since the beginning of March, the first four classrooms have been completed and roofed. With a roof overhead, the crew was able to store the remaining bags of cement in a dry building, a good thing, because it is raining up to 10 hours a day. But as Ron reports, our crew is making hay, or building school, when the sun shines.

Today we made a presentation at the adult forum of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Arlington, one of our faithful supporters. We showed the progress that had been made during our January/February trip. Pastor Goodman asked if we would come back when our new photos arrived. You can be sure the e-mail will be flying when those photos do arrive. If your group has an interest in a presentation, let us know.]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=66 Sun, 4 May 2008 17:29:21 -0500 http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=65
When we were in Africa, Ron and I talked about posting a blog called "Adventures in Elimination." We didn't, partly because toilet humor is funny (except for those perpetual middle-schoolers) only in the moment, but mainly because it seemed an affront to our hosts, who keep their dignity and privacy in conditions that boggle our minds.

But there's no place to go. I don't mind going in the bushes, but there are no bushes. Wunlang does not have the thick cover of the New England deciduous forest. And for a remote area, Wunlang has a lot of paths coursing through it. There's not much cover between the paths.

Ron and I only had about four days to figure out what to do. We left just as I was getting the hang of things. And I must say that women have a more difficult time of this. Men may take a "short call" just about where they are standing. Women don't. I was led out at night by Franco's female relatives to an open place where there was no cover, but where my companion served as a lookout.

This year, 2008, is the UN's International Year of Santation. Having good sanitary facilities matters, especially to women and girls. As the UN reports:

Sanitation enhances dignity, privacy and safety, especially for women and girls. It improves convenience and social status. Sanitation in schools enables children, especially girls reaching puberty, to remain in the educational system. Restricted toilet opportunities increase the chance of chronic constipation and is making women vulnerable to violence if they are forced to defecate during nightfall and in secluded areas. Providing improved sanitation facilities is a liberating development for women and girls and is providing substantial benefits for the whole community.

Our latrines are brick; one for boys, one for girls, and one for teachers. There are no seats; there is most likely a concrete floor and a rectangular opening. It's daunting for Americans at first (I first used one in 2004), but, with practice, it's easy to use and easy to clean.

We have plans beyond the simple latrine. We'd like to build composting toilets that produce usable, agricultural-grade compost for our school gardens. But I'm really ready to go back to Wunlang now. We have the only latrines for miles around.]]> General http://helpwunlang.org/blog/index.php?itemid=65 Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:20:52 -0500