Mukako

Ok, more upbeat today! Here are some photos from our Juba city walkabout last weekend. This is basically the city centre on a dry day. The rains have started early and the pot holes become lakes which makes driving fun. You drive into the pot holes wondering if you'll need a submarine to continue your trip.










The photo below is near the Ministry of Health. The government have cleared a whole area of housing ready for an expansion of the university. It is currently just a field of flattened houses.


At the hospital Muddles (the monkey) has started to cause mischief. He has taken a liking to Heidi and follows her around trying to pull her trousers down. According to staff it is because he likes white women!? Rather less than impressed by this Heidi has taken to carrying around 'Monkey stone'. This small smooth rock is designed to act as a deterrent to the little fellow but Heidi has yet to launch it in anger. However, she does leave it in a lot of peoples' offices which means we end up with staff chasing after us to return the piece dusty granite with confused looks. Apparently Muddles often causes mischief generally, drinking coffee that is left on the ground, taking keys and even opening the office doors to go in. He (or she?) is also known to sink a few beers should the mood take it. The medical director has offered to act as mediator in peace talks between Heidi and the mukako (monkey in Juba Arabic) but Heidi is considering her options and changing her mandate to 'shoot on sight'.
We have also attempted to meet with the Under Secretary for health, largely just to say Hey! and introduce ourselves. However, we are two trips down, two hours sitting in a waiting room and still no meeting. It has been suggested that their technique at the ministry is like that of a Rabbi in the synagogue waiting to be visited 3 times by a potential convert to ensure their commitment (I think I saw that in a film). We'll have one more go.
We have met with VSO in the hospital who are considering setting up a project in Sudan which was very interesting. And we had our first visit to a Rotary meeting having been kindly invited by a group of Americans, Phil, Judy and Janet, who were out here teaching teachers. At the meeting there was a very interesting talk on the Economic situation here.
Anyway, with a monkey contributing to the bulk of our extra-curricular fun I'll leave you to read between the lines...
That said, we have become veritable cricket connoisseurs since the World Cup has started, largely because our camp is run by Indians with a Pakistani manager. He had told them that if Pakistan wins they all have to dance for him. If India wins he told them that anyone who gave him a hard time would be unemployed! I like his style.