I come from a long line of wanderers so it is not strange that I go to South Sudan - Now called The Republic of South Sudan - to work at Memorial Christian Hospital. I have been doing this since 2008. The hospital is located in the bush near the village of Werkok. It is northeast of Bor, if you look on a map. People walk, sometimes for days, to get medical care. Dr. Ajak is the Dr. Boss-man. He arrived a week after I did in 2008 and has graciously stayed, keeping the place open and allowing me to continue to visit and work.

Memorial Christian Hospital & Compound

Memorial Christian Hospital & Compound
I will be returning to South Sudan next month, October, 2011. I am very excited to be on my way back to the land I so love. I miss the people and hardly a day goes by that I don't think of my colleagues and friends. And, as I said in the past, I come from a long line of wanderers and the call to get back wandering is very strong!

I have recently added pictures to my blog. Please go to the beginning of the blog and read forward to see the work that is being done. This puts faces on all the people I have written about. Learn about Gabriel and his family, Dr. Ajak's work and all the Mamas. I will begin writing again as I prepare to go next month. I hope you join me on this adventure.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Driving Nairobi Style

My friend, Joe the futbol player, came and picked me up around 11:00.  Off we went.  The traffic is terrible and Joe just goes with the flow.  Again, I was amazed by the people noticing him and waving, honking, yelling.  At one point we were entering a round-a-bout (I just laugh a the ones in Benton Harbor) and a bus full of students were merging in on us.  One of the kids saw Joe and everyone on the bus runs to the side we were on all cheering and calling his name.  It came in handy when we went to an open market to get "stuff".  He was a great help with the price of things.  I will try to upload a pic of him that I took.  There is plenty of power in Nairobi at Mayfield.  Just like home.

Nairobi is a beautiful city.  It is large, lots of traffic but also has so much greenery, parks, flowers.  Often the air is filled with automobile pollution while you are trying to get somewhere.  Then it opens up into a beautiful street or boulevard.  There is a melting pot of people - primarily your black Afrikaners but also many muslim, middle and far East people, Europeans also.  Not too many Americans that I am aware of.I told Joe I would meet him in an hour.  Then I got lost and could not find the entrance we came in.  I had to ask a security guard if he knew where Joe, the futbol player was.  He took me to him.  Sheesh, I have just got to get a better sense of direction.  I lost it in Buffalo some years ago.  That is another story.

Hope all is well and the sun is still shining.



Joe and his taxi
 
My friend, Joe, and I











Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. Aunt PatFebruary 5, 2011 at 7:16 AM

    Great you made it and looking forward to reading your blog. My niece Laine's daughter is in Lome, Togo Africa. I spent 3 weeks there and I follow her blog. I will enjoy reading you and following your travels. Be safe

    ReplyDelete
  2. SuzyQFebruary 5, 2011 at 7:37 AM

    Sounds like Joe the futbol player has as much of a following in Nairobi as you do in the St. Joe/Benton Harbor greater metropolis area!bbb

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownFebruary 5, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    Love your Blog....you're definately an angel. Stay safe Catherine! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownFebruary 6, 2011 at 6:14 AM

    Glad you're enjoying the sun! There's a light snow here this morning.
    love, Lee

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)