The story of Kiech Kuon

Sudan Experience - The story of Kiech Kuon by Eric Wanjamah

The plane that we used surrounded by the crowd that welcomed us.

Once the plane was airborne the view on the ground gradually changed. Someone could easily tell that we had entered another territory. We were now in Sudan , the land of numerous plains. This was a moment each one of us had waited for after spending a few days in Lokichogio due to heavy rains. The plane was compact, fully loaded with foodstuffs and other non-food items that we required. During the flight we admired the country especially river Nile , wonderful vegetation, unexplored territories, true nature.
Shortly after 1 pm and two hrs into flight our small aircraft made a successful landing at the Kiech kuon (KKN) airstrip. The whole village was out there to receive us, the young and old eager to welcome us. Children heartily carried our luggage to our new compound, smiling and eager to let us know their names and grade. The SPLA officials were there to maintain order and everything went well. Upon arriving at the compound, our small huts were strikingly nostalgic of the early days as told by our ancestors. Round and grass thatched with enough room for two occupants. Our first step was to do a some wiring for the 5 huts in the compound for our electric generator. Enough visitors were there, a goat was slaughtered and we got a nice welcome. However, we got some unpleasant visitors the locust and the mosquitoes came just before 7 pm , the situation was so bad that we had to serve food from under our mosquito nets. We had to be very careful otherwise we could have taken some locust salad. The night came to pass; our 6 weeks of internship with NCDA in KKN had officially begun.
Early the next day we embarked on our mission for the South. We visited kiech kuon Primary School and the Primary Health Care Unit where we would be based. The children welcomed us with beautiful songs and instantly we realized that the children were happy to receive us. During the rest of our stay, we worked as teachers in this school; we used to teach children in the morning and train teachers in the afternoon. Teaching was very exciting because the children in KKN are always eager to learn. We used translators for some classes where pupils could not understand English. Our experience offered us the opportunity to learn Nuer (the local language) though just enough to greet someone and ask for water to drink and so on. Our greatest fear in KKN was that of snakes and scorpions, with peace having come to the region, only the two posed a danger. However mosquitoes were an every evening nightmare and soon we resigned and let them bite, actually drilling. During our stay we killed at over 10 snakes in our compound and numerous scorpions.
Perhaps our greatest adventure was going to Kiech 2; at least 3 hours walk on scorching sun and no shade. We crossed two swamps on the way, two of us had gumboots but the others opted barefoot. Walking in gumboots was a hefty task one would be stuck in the mud and in the next minute, you would be looking for it with your bare hand in submerged muddy water. One hour into the walk, we suddenly heard some songs from some boys in the bush. It was a pleasant surprise. They had come to receive us, they carried our luggage and walked ahead of us for the rest of the walk.
The reception in kiech 2 was very good young boys and girls singing to soft tunes, could not have welcome us better. On our way, back they blessed us with a goat and two chickens not to mention the indigenous foods we had to our fill.
One good thing about the people of KKN is their generosity. We were warmly welcomed everywhere we went, they offered us the best food and there was always a goat or a chicken to carry home. We ate all kind of foods and drinks in KKN always fearing some negatives reactions with our stomachs but no major consequences resulted. They were happy when we shared their food.
The culture of the Nuer community and other tribes in the south oppress women. In a region where every man is an SPLA soldier and people survive on food drops by WFP any other works is done by women and children. Women build tukulus (huts), fetch water from the only borehole in the village, wash, cook … Men marry as many woman as they wish and we learnt that some men have even 10 wives. The bride price is fixed at 30 cows but for educated women, the number is higher.

Animals in the homestead

The source of livelihood for this community is livestock. Some children do not go to school because they have to clean cowsheds and dry the cow dung that is burnt in the evenings to chase away mosquitoes
Enrollment in school drastically improved after our initial week. Previously parents had complained about the lack of teachers and they developed the confidence to send their children after we raised our concern. Regular community meetings offered a good platform for our educational campaign and so did the Sunday church service. The sun in KKN is very hot sometimes above 40 C it is not a wonder to see people sweating heavily before 9.00am. This is a great contract to weather in Nairobi which average half that of KKN. Rains make the area inaccessible and walking becomes a problem, the clay soil cramps on the shoes and may feel like a 10 kgs load on your legs. Gumboots and raincoats are an absolute necessity in this region. Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) has scheduled flights to KKN, three times a week ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) is the largest organization in the area and has been in operation for about 7 years. The organization runs a primary health care unit (PHCU), a Malaria Project (mosquito net distribution to pregnant mothers and young children). ADRA works closely with ICRC in healthcare and air lifts orthopedic cases to Lokichogio, Kenya for specialized treatment. The World Food Programme (WFP) has particularly saved many lives in KKN they occasionally drop foodstuffs for the people in KKN and neighboring locations like Ulang, Madding, Yomding, and so on. As we were leaving, the organization had dropped metric tones of food items for the peoples of KKN and neighboring villages. PRDA (Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency did conduct a HIV/AIDS awareness that lasted for two weeks.
The need arose upon realization that the people of KKN have not witnessed cases of HIV/AIDS and soon refugees will start returning home from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda…and therefore risks of contracting the disease.
KKN is one of the major locations in South Sudan. It is in Luakpiny/Nasir county Western Upper Nile, the region that borders Ethiopia. The area is a flat land and is characterized by numerous swamps where water rarely drains after a heavy downpour and there are many stagnant water points. Several villages like Kiech II, yeich, Pierjak, Guenom surround this location. Generally services like education and health are not available in these locations and people have to walk for hours to reach KKN.
KKN is an area controlled by the SPLM and is relatively stable compared to locations that are GOS controlled. However, every family has its own security precautions. In an area where history of cattle rustling has been reported and cattle seen as a measure of wealth and social status, cattle have to be protected. In almost every homestead, one is likely to find a loaded AK 47 machine gun and individuals walk around with heavy guns. Even some missile launchers that can be fired at aircrafts are found in certain homesteads. People in KKN live in constant fear of attack by government forces. Many people are not up to date with news and are not even aware of the CPA (comprehensive peace agreement) signed in Nairobi months ago.

KKN is a small village in South Sudan reminiscent of the olden days before civilization in present day Africa. Villages cut off from the rest of the world save for access by air and occasionally roads in the dry season. The numerous villages in KKN are surrounded by thick grass that is human height tall and infested with snakes, hyenas, world birds, numerous insects and small pests that are yet to be discovered and documented by scientists around the world are found in this village.
Communication and accessibility are primary ingredients for development but are lacking in KKN, mass media is evidently lacking and is a vital tool for development through education. Once you arrive in KKN you are cut from the rest of the world but one can however listen to BBC news, use a Thuraya cell phone or communicate via ADRA or SRRC radio. There is no newspaper in circulation but radio stations are coming up. It is possible to citify village life by installing generators and use of communication gadgets like email and internet like satellite. Since the area is relatively flat, it will require colossal amounts of money to make the area accessible by roads. Floodwater occupies vast areas and deep cracks open up during the dry season to expose scorpions, spiders and dangerous snakes. Cultural practices among the Nuer’s are diverse, weird, some interesting and others horrifying. Practices pertaining to marriage life and family are particularly unique. Once a man notices that his wife is pregnant, he cannot sleep with her until 3 years. They believe that if the man sleeps with the wife the child will die upon birth. Men marry many wives and they all live n the same compound. Boys and girls look after cattle and the women do the milking. When milking, women use their mouth to pump air through the rear of the cow so that it can produce more milk. Milk for drinking is never boiled and to ferment it, some little cow urine is added. Women build beautiful mud walled, grass thatched house and surround them with a fence made a grass stalk. There is a deep hole in community center where offenders are held before trial, it’s a form of a prison. The hole is so deep that one uses a rope to climb. Stories are told of how scorpions and snakes are put inside to terrorize the offenders; with such a justice system…crime is rare. There are local courts that provide justice to those who have been wronged against. Issues like divorce are often handled.
Girls above 16 years are often regarded as ripe for marriage. A young man who wishes to ask a girl for a hand in marriage often does so at night. He approaches the house in which she stays, coughs or sneezes from the outside and the mother is most likely to send the girl out to “greet the visitor”, sometimes several men may present themselves at the door step in the girls home. The girl dismisses the one she des not like by providing excuses like she is busy. Eventually courtship begins, dowry is given out and a marriage ceremony is held. There are exciting dances for every occasion, these dances are held regulary in the village and the turnout is always overwhelming. We attended several of such dances and enjoyed as the young and the old moved rhythmically to Congo hit songs for the moment perhaps to forget temporarily the numerous problems that they face. Occassionally SPLA soldiers would treat us to a spectacular show accompanied by songs. They would walk around the community center displaying sophisticated weapons. This usually happened after a deployment from a different location and a form of allegiance to the new commander. Working in a foreign land can make one homesick. This was not so much the case for us because we had enough company amongst ourselves. Our biggest boost to staying in KKN in the initial weeks came from regular field workers who came to KKN once in a while. We met fellow Kenyans working with aid agencies and we had a chance to hold several Kenyan nights where we talked about our homeland and shared Kenyan’s favourite meals (Nyama choma –roast meat.) Six weeks ended and we still felt that our students and everyone in KKN needed us. We added one week and on 13th Nov, we returned home. Our students our sad when we broke the news that our time had come to an end. Tears flew freely and so many questions of why we were going were raised.

Here people live together in Villages

>Some villagers even promised to build for us huts to be residents there. It was not an easier moment for us either. We hadn’t realized the bonds we had created until the day of our departure came. Our students literally begged us to remain there and they said that the school would end with our departure. We had become so accustomed to the people’s way of life in Kiech Kuon that we really didn’t want to leave, We fought back tears as we gave those young children with a bright future our last gaze. Life in KiechKuon was definitely challenging but we derived the greatest amount of self satisfaction for ourselves. I felt so happy when I met a small child barely five years whose hand I held and gradually taught how to write numbers and the alphabet. Our greatest fear was that when we left the school would never be the same. We had instilled so much hope to our young children and we feared we had suddenly abandoned them. Perhaps our best approach was that of making learning exciting and this explains why enrollement increased drastically during our stay and even very young children were left to our care by their parent.
Come January 2006 we would like to go back to Kiechkuon, a place we call home, our second home. Unanimously we feel that children and villagers in this location need us as much as we need to learn from them and become partners in developing this area. Education is a key to development, we feel that we can make a great impact through education. Our strategy is to win more children and especially girls to school while fighting practices of child labour which we have identified as a great impediment to development of education. During the next few weeks as we await our graduation ceremony from University (scheduled for 9th Dec) we want to refocus and re-strategize on the best way forward.
The internship was an eye opener to the situation in South Sudan. A great experience that few words can comfortably describe, an opportunity of a life time.
Personally, I feel indebted to members of Omidyar Network who made this internship a success. May God bless you all.

Webmaster, sorry this a huge article, but I'm just curious and think that this may be helpful to remind us for our great land Nasir. Moreover, I'm very amused for these people, and the supports they disclosed to our people. that's why I brought this article on the NCAB. showing that there are truehearted people who are willing to help our people back home despite the different circumstances they might faced there.

Click this address to slide Kiechkuon Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiechkuon/show/

Thanks

Choul Dugak

Send Date: 4/2/2006 1:25 AM