Cows for Schools

I was really happy to read this great initiative from the government of Unity State in South Sudan. They are selling cows to fund school construction. It may not come across as a big deal - selling property or investments to pay for construction projects - but I'm not sure that people outside South Sudan understand the significance of THE COW.

Cows are taken pretty seriously here. Almost everyone is named after a type of cow. Much like the Inuit have hundreds of words of snow, the Dinka and Nuer have hundreds of names for Cows. I myself have 3 Dinka names (and counting!): Allual (Red cow - I got this one when I arrived. I was likely fairly red), Yar (White Cow) and and Akuor (White Cow with a Black Spot over the Eye). Cows are also the economy here. You cannot get married without paying for your wife in cows (where I live... many cows), people measure their wealth in cows, and in some areas people will starve rather than kill a cow for food. A good looking cow can fetch you well over $1000, so 30 cows can go quite far.

South Sudan has one of the lowest literacy rates and school enrollment rates in the world. They are in desperate need of schools (and teachers... and teachers being paid). They're budget also relies very heavily on international donors and the work of aid agencies to provide almost all basic services. With aid budgets shrinking, there is less money for school construction funding by the international community. Moreover donors would like to see the government starting to take responsibility for the costs partially or in full. To be frank, it unfortunately rare to have governments here willing to support footing the bill even partially for projects.

As many know, earlier this year ROSS shut down oil production over borders disputes and transfer fees with Sudan. Now that ROSS has essentially no money -  the Government is enforcing austerity measures. They are cutting the civil service (or just not paying them - ministry staff I work with have not been paid in 2 months), reducing or halting projects etc etc. This leaves the average man, woman, child out in an even more vulnerable spot, with even fewer services.

Which is why I'm pretty impressed with the government in Unity State. I think they are setting a good example for the rest of the country. Well done.

Happy Olympics!

The Olympics have started! Congratulations to Guor Marial! The first athlete to compete in the games for South Sudan in the marathon. Well - under the Olympic Flag. South Sudan doesn't have a national olympic committee yet. But he's still there!

He has a pretty amazing story and he will surely make South Sudan proud.



(and go Canada too!)

End of an era at Juba Airport

Ladies and gentlemen, gone are the days that one can literally lounge in an airport lounge. Juba Airport took lounging seriously, filling the departure area with large, bulky, comfortable (albeit smelly and sticky) sofas accompanied with coffee tables (of course!) arranged around the one airconditioner and television set.

But this is no more.

Juba is a real international airport. In a real new country. Two out of the three baggage scanners work! (the other just gets in the way in the arrivals area... but that is another post for another day)

The lounge is now filled with practical seating for many. The television remains.

In other news, here are two interesting opposing views on pressure groups and South Sudanese independence from Reuters and Foreign Policy.

Happy Birthday South Sudan!!!

Hope you have a lovely day! And you fix your economy!
xox

No sticks, no spears, no fun!

Cueibet County in Lakes State (where I work), has banned sticks, and spears in town. Although I feel people should be able to make their own decisions, spears are pretty common and dangerous.

This isn't all that was banned.

"Malek’s order also banned people from using playing cards, normally under trees, during working hours, making it a prosecutable offence."

No fun city. Next comes dancing and music.

#DontCoverItUp (PSA on Domestic Violence)

Lauren Luke is a make up artist in the UK. She does instructional make-up videos for the Guardian Newspaper. She has taken part in a powerful campaign by Refuge, a UK charity that provides safe houses and support for women and children survivors of Domestic Violence. 

Please note that this video does not contain violence, but may be a trigger.

Arming South Sudan

There is a new report from Amnesty International accusing China, Ukraine and Russia of fueling conflict in South Sudan by arming both the army - the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) -  and the militia groups, the South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA).

Amnesty says it has documented human rights violations by both these groups using brand new weapons, and asks that the countries listed above (and others) stop sending weapons to groups (or countries) that cannot guarantee the weapons will not be used to carry our human rights violations.

The SPLA has called the report "bias" and "unrealistic" of course.