Creatures in the night

I confess that at age 24 I am still afraid of the dark. I even get scared when I'm at home alone sometimes. It's the noises that get my mind wondering. That is why I like to sleep with a fan on to create a soothing white noise.

Last night I awoke to the sounds of a creature running across the tin roof. I'm pretty sure it was a cat chasing a rat or something, but it woke me up. And then I kept hearing scurrying and was imagining mice running under my bed. And then I swear I heard a person moaning or wailing. Maybe it was all in my dreams. It's been so hot lately that it's uncomfortable to sleep. Without fans or a breeze you just lay there and sweat under the mosquito net.

Today we got to visit and talk with more people about the situation in Juba. We visited a community where MCC helped support the construction of latrines. The people told us that there is a huge lack of basic needs, especially in water, health, and education. I have noticed that there are always a bunch of people at the water hole in every community we visit or drive through.

Juba is growing so quickly and there aren't enough schools to provide for all the children. One school that MCC supports has over 650 students and it's just a primary school with 3 classrooms! They are currently using a temporary building for classes and there are only a few desks in it.

We heard the story of a returnee today who recently arrived to Juba from Khartoum, a city in northern Sudan. I don't want to give away all the details of his story because Tim (MCC writer) will surely be writing about it for the magazine at some point. In summary, this man and his pregnant wife spent almost 3 months traveling from Khartoum to Juba. For the last part of their journey they were on a cargo barge on the Nile River for 18 days where his wife gave birth to her baby. There were no doctors or nurses on board. It's hard to imagine what that would be like. The man was very optimistic about starting a new life in Juba and very willing to share his story with us.

Just for the record, there are monkeys in Juba. One grabbed Rob's (MCC staff in Sudan)leg and bared it's fangs at him. It did not bite him. Another thing to note about Juba is that there is only one paved road. The rest are bumpy dirt roads or 20 year old paved roads full of pot holes.

Since my entry is rather long today I won't share any further thoughts or provocative questions.

In the photos you will see me with my friends by the bore hole, and a Sudanese dinner outside with Rob and Tim and the tukuls in the background (grass roof huts).