Matthew Dengu and Dr. Luke Benson looked after me in Juba.
From six minus degrees in Turkey to plus 40 center degrees (app. 105 plus Fahrenheit), it was a shock to face the change in temperature when I on Saturday, March 9 arrived in Juba, South Sudan.
Matthew Deng and Dr. Luke Benson, William Levi’s nephew, met me at the airport. Matthew belongs to the Dinka tribe from the very North of S Sudan. They are among the tallest people in the world, so Matthew is probably close to seven feet tall! It was reassuring to see his head tower above the others in the crowd. Customs went smoothly, and then a joyful, warm welcome!! I took a deep breath as I set foot on South Sudanese soil for the first time, and then almost stopped breathing at the wall of heat that met me!
The two men took me to Grand Hotel – five star prices for a one star rooms! I politely declined, so they took me to the MAF guest house which had in fact been booked for me. Missionary Aviation Fellowship is an old, reputable mission organization which provides airline flights for missionaries into the remote, unreached regions of the world. It is difficult to find descriptive words for my first impressions of South Sudan and its capital, Juba… overwhelmed and complete amazement are perhaps the best!
This country was decimated by 22 years of war between the Arab Muslim government troops in the North and the SPLA, the freedom fighters of the African Christian-based South. During this time, approx. two million South Sudanese were killed and five million fled and ended up in large refugee camps in Egypt, North Sudan, Northern Uganda and Kenya. After the 2005 peace agreement and the 2011 establishment of South Sudan as a separate country from North Sudan, there has been an influx of 10 million South Sudanese refugees who have returned to their homeland.
Street picture in Juba
The capital of Juba alone, has a population of three to four million! Imagine the daunting logistics involved in the movement of that mass of people from refugee camps onto a land that was totally leveled by war, thus lacking even the most basic infrastructure… no municipal water, sewage, or electricity…. all power is either by home-made solar panels or generators (for those who can afford to buy gas). When the sun sets and it gets dark, all lights go out – and we sit in complete darkness – except for a few larger business buildings, hotels, NGOs from abroad and governmental buildings whose generators run around the clock. Where I stay, the Internet connections have been hard to find in the evenings, thus my sketchy blogs. Here in Juba there are miles and miles of dirt roads thronging with people who are eking out a living, selling a few items from their approx. 10ft x 10ft corrugated metal shacks where they also live with their families. Except for a few areas of “normal” housing, the whole city seems to be made up of tens of thousands of flea market vendors.
Corina – the lovely Dutch Hostess at the MAF’s Guest House.
I have enjoyed three days staying at the the guest house of MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship), an old, reputable mission organization which provides arline flights for missionaries into the remote, unreached regions of the world). Here, I am meeting a bunch of pioneer pilots and other innovative people from different parts of the world who are here to help the Sudanese people… I’m really enjoying making good connections, and have had good service by a great staff who serve with grace and joy!