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Just your typical everyday vacation to a warzone... So what else is new?

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Driving to Nimule.

Getting from Kampala, Uganda to Nimule, Sudan is not as easy as the folks at the atlas publishing company make you think...

'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing'

I keep thinking about this quote. I know the problems in Africa are vast and complicated, but I can't shake the notion that we, who are more fortunate, must do something. No matter what our belief, no matter how desperate the situation may seem, we simply cannot  turn our back on these beautiful people. They  still have hope after everything they have endured, still have faith that the Americans are coming to help them. If they can still believe in us, shouldn't we believe in them?  

Aids or Starvation

I had to get special permission from the military to visit Geli, a village that had been attacked four months earlier by the LRA. The government lent me a Police Chief and a Military Intelligence Officer for the day as added protection. Half of the village was wiped out by the attacks, entire families buried together in small unmarked graves next to their burned down huts. The LRA took all of their livestock and destroyed the fields leaving the survivors with nothing to sustain them. When I arrived, there were only a few people around sitting under a tree trying to escape the scorching Sudan heat next to a makeshift chalkboard outlining ways to prevent HIV/Aids. Gabriel, the Police officer, served as translator and said the villagers were so happy to see me because I was American and that meant I would send help. They had been surviving on boiled leaves for months, and some of the villagers had walked several hours to the nearest town to see if they could trade some leaves for maize or soap. After a lengthy tour detailing the attacks I thanked them for their time. The tribal elders came out and gave a speech of gratitude for my visit and offered  blessings from God. Later I was able to send a 50 kilo bag of maize and a case of soap. I wish I could have sent more. 

Nihal

One little boy, Nihal, sits on my porch for hours waiting for me to come out. He never says a word, just sits and waits. When I come out he smiles a shy toothless smile and quietly approaches me slipping his hand into mine. We walk all over the compound never saying a word, just walking and holding hands. One day, after standing in my doorway for a long time, he suddenly got the courage to step inside in pursuit of a pink feather. After that he just sat at the foot of my bed playing with his feather and an empty water bottle.

Photography lesson

Today was a wonderful day! As I was walking the grounds of the orphanage taking photos, I noticed some older boys watching with immense curiosity. Their eyes lit up when I handed them some disposable cameras. The photography lesson that followed was one of the most beautiful times I have ever experienced. Nine boys, ages 14-17, all victims of the war, some of them ex-soldiers in the LRA. Yet I felt nothing but love, acceptance and gratitude from these boys. They really touched my heart at that moment as I became the student. I've come to document the tragedies that these children, these victims of war, have endured, yet I am in awe and inspired by the courage and the immense love they have. Throughout the lesson I show them samples on my digital display. Lessons in composition, light, and subject take place with the nine of them huddled around me, watching closely and politely asking questions. I love the way all of our heads smash together as we analyze what we see on the viewfinder. Like one big group hug after another. Soon I send them out on assignment but I give the oldest one, Opio Joseph, my 30D. I ask him to try and get something different. I found out later that he had a goat slaughtered so he could document it for me. I wasn't quite sure how to react to such a violent act of kindness! Later, when I leave, he writes me a letter referring to me as his mother. 

AK47 and a restless mind

6:30 am and the roosters have been carrying on for hours already. I'm sitting outside as the sun rises revealing the lush green landscape and deep red earth. A choir of hundreds of different species chirping and squealing fill the air with a sweet early morning chatter. A slight breeze and an occasional baritone dog bark complement the harmony in this African landscape. I'm sleepy but restless in my mind. A wise old chinese doctor in Thailand once told me that the only thing wrong with me is I'm always thinking thinking thinking...

Nimule, Sudan

The drive from Kampala to Gulu was 9 hours of heat and potholes. I learned how to pee on the side of the road and drink hot coke. In Gulu I met several victims of the LRA. One older woman had her lips and nose sliced off. A young man had his arms chopped off and demonstrated his ability to eat and drink. Another woman had her ear cut off. The older woman smiled alot anyway but the others had a distant look of hopelessness. The next day we took a 5 hour drive into Sudan. This is the road where the LRA attacks took place. At the Ugandan border, the border crossing was a stick lying on the road. Sudan was a bit fancier with a piece of rope tied across two sticks and a small guard hut. For dinner we had beans and rice and posho again. Posho is basically hard cream of wheat. For a special treat in the mornings we get stale, moldy bread with neon pink jelly. YUM. For some reason I havent had much of an appetite here. Maybe it has something to do with Sam sucking on the eyeballs of the fish face we had for dinner our first night in Kampala.
Sunday morning I joined the kids for church and afterwards we had a dance party in 100 degree weather. It was so much fun! In the afternoon we walked down to the river and watched naked people bathe. The children are so sweet here. I keep sneaking them little pieces of licorice.
Duncan and I are staying in a small thatch roof hut with two twin beds and mosquito nets. There is a western style toilet and a shower which draws cold water from a large barrel above our heads. Someday, when I'm old, I'm gonna stay in a fancy hotel and lie around on a big fluffy comforter watching overpriced movies and ordering room service. 

saying goodbye at LAX

Look at that face! I love you Charlie!

   I'll be back soon and we will cuddle for days...

Vaccinations

In the past week I got to experience a  yellow fever/meningitis/typhoid vaccination reaction AND hallucinate on Malaria tablets. At one point I thought someone was reaching into my brain and shaking it violently or massaging it with one of those vibrating back massagers. It's mothers day, and I'm trying to finish up some last minute details on the computer while Charlie stands next to me bouncing on a pair of moon shoes holding onto my chair laughing hysterically. It's not helping with the brain shake. Duncan and I leave tomorrow and I'm sure gonna miss my babes.

I wonder how Charlie will process his mommy being gone for three weeks? I've never left him for more than a few days at a time. Daisy will be fine. So responsible and  independent.