One outstanding day in my life...
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BidiBidi..Largest settlement in the world - only opened in Jan 17 & hosts 280,000 refugees ovr 88.8sq mls
I was asked by MAFUK to blog a day in my life here in Uganda. I could have picked an average day that wouldn't be all that interesting but instead I chose to write about a day 2 weeks ago that I thought you might enjoy reading about.
I was able to fly with MAF to Arua to visit the largest settlement in the world right now, Bidi Bidi in Northern Uganda which is hosting 280,000 refugees and is only 1 year old. Thankfully, a friend of mine who is a fabulous photographer from South Africa agreed to fly in to Uganda and come along to take all of the photos. We had to get up at 5am to accompany the pilot to the airfield by 6am check-in...this always creates a problem for me the night before. I seem to have sleep anxiety if I know that I have to be up early, and so lay awake hour after hour counting down the few hours I would have left to function throughout a predictably grueling day. About 3 or 4 cups of coffee later my adrenaline was ticking over ready for the day by the time we boarded LDR for the 2 hour flight.
Warchild Canada kindly met us at the airfield in Arua and whisked us away in a van for the long 2.5 hour drive to Bidi Bidi settlement. Every minute of the day was spent interviewing every person encountered, gleaning as much information as possible to get an overall picture of how our partners we fly are impacting the beneficiaries (villagers, the people in isolated places, struggling with war, displacement etc) Bouncing around in the van I was switching between filming a diary log for this blog and also jotting down information on my phone (which is way easier than trying to write on a bumpy road!) At first glance, every staff of Warchild Canada were oozing with a passion for their work among the refugees from South Sudan and were great company for the long day ahead. We seemed to pick up one staff member after another as the day wore on until we had a jam-packed van full of staff and beneficiaries.
I had warned our photographer to brace herself for the stories we would possibly come across throughout the day. I had previously visited Adjumani a year before and the interviews were pretty harrowing. We met elderly women who had just run under gun fire, having to jump over dead bodies seeing their own children killed, sitting desolate on a mat with a handful of grandchildren and nothing else. This visit was different. The silver edge we found in Bidi Bidi settlement was encouraging.
We interviewed quite a few students with Warchild Canada who were now attaining education when back in South Sudan they weren't able to. We discovered that the locals were helping lease the land needed to host all of the refugees that have been flooding in (at its climax, 2800 per day). We heard students tell us how the leadership training they were being given by Warchild Canada was helping bring domestic violence and other issues down quite noticeably in the refugee community through education and also accountability. We also witnessed how spread out the settlement is, allowing the refugees to have their own piece of land to build on and grow crops which they are allowed to sell outside of the camps. The refugees we interviewed mentioned the relief of just being safe and being able to sleep well at night. Although there are problems with the refugees finding ways to keep themselves pro-active and purposeful with creating small industries that can help them be self-sufficient, overall the elaborate way that Aid organisations are working together to assist these refugees, is impressive. It did seem to me that after all that Aid Organisations have learned over the years, Uganda's settlement model is worthy of being hailed one of the best in the world.
We were greeted by Samaritan's Purse who kindly gave us a cup of hot tea made by one of the refugee families. The regional manager showed us around the area which was just like a cluster of mud huts with straw roof-tops identical to the villages I had seen in South Sudan. Everything was very tidy and clean and it was very apparent how much Samaritan's Purse were assisting the refugees with latrine kits, hand washing kits, economically designed cooking areas, washing up elevated kits...all designed to keep outbreaks of cholera and dysentery away. Again, way more positive then I was at first expecting.
Although we were exhausted by the time we had made the 2.5 hour drive back to Arua, we tumbled into the little hotel there at 9pm, hungry, dirty, but totally satisfied with the day and all of the smiles we had met on every face that we had the privilege of meeting.
MAF needs to be in the places in the world it is needed most. MAF Uganda are playing a significant role in flying daily shuttles up to the north of Uganda where the four refugee settlements are based.
The reality is that the South Sudanese are exhausted with having the hope of their nation being born and smashed apart, but the welcome and help they are receiving in Uganda has become the silver lining and is helping them bide this difficult time of waiting for their nation to repair itself hopefully in my lifetime.
Later this month I'm going to write about the following remarkable day finding Jackson Mataya after 4 years which had me riding on a high for at least 24 hours....so watch this space or search online for Jill Vine MAF Jackson Mataya to read more.
(https://www.mafc.org/how-maf-helps/medevac-and-flying-doctor-services/wheelchairs-delivered)
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