This is what happens when heavy rains rarely fall over a city, the government decides not to build drainage systems and 20,000 people lose their homes when it rains heavily for 3 hours. I guess the expression "when it rains it pours" is rather befitting to a country with a tumultuous history like Sudan.

Half the Sky

"Women Hold up Half the Sky"

- Chinese Proverb

I just stumbled upon this book, "Half the Sky" - a book by journalists looking at targeting women to break perpetual poverty cycles. I will order it online and will report back. But regardless of the content, I am just happy to continue to observe the clever marketing of innovative solutions to poverty. To begin to be surrounded by creative thought being expended when it comes to the task of assisting the worlds poor. It led me to some interesting NY Times articles too, such as The Daughter Deficit.

In an industry where the concept of "Do No Harm" has high importance but is rarely heeded, I think the philosophy behind micro-credit schemes and small-enterprise establishment that simultaneously empower women is, and will continue to be, part of the solution. And it seems to be kinda trendy with rich americans at the moment too, and that can't hurt.. They also have a really nice comprehensive list of links to NGOs that focus (in one way or another) on women.  

Birth

These were three mid-wives I met in North Darfur.

I was visiting an IDP Camp called 'Zam Zam'. I popped into a mother-child healthcare centre, where women can take babies for therapeutic feeding (to treat malnutrition). My organisation assists with these kind of programmes because we are all about Food. I wandered around (ashamedly looking for some shady respite from the 40+ temps, i am no tough Darfurian) and ducked into an empty tent. When my eyes adjusted I found I was looking a chair with some home-made 'stirrups' attached - I was in the birthing tent. A place of new life.

At first I felt a deep sadness. Lives entering the world - displaced. With no home or village. Born into a world with no food, into overflowing families. Born into the horrors of Darfur. But the midwives wandered in and were full of smiles. They made me smile. And made me see that the lives starting here in this tent were the lucky ones. With far-higher chances of survival, right from the first breath. It was clean and, most importantly, it was Safe. My perceptions of the world these days are far from static..

My first impressions of Sudan were rather blurred and uncertain;

I was so much more interested in myself than I was in my surroundings.

- Edward Fothergill, Five years in the Sudan 1910

Ten Things...

I recently lost all my photos of Sudan (not that I had many in a country where it is not permitted by foreigners, but still ..). One of those tragic moments where my harddrive was wiped and I had not done a back-up since I left Australia :( So in the absence of pictures..here are ten things..you may not know...about a fascinating country..

(1) Sudan is the biggest country on the African continent and the biggest in the Arab world.

(2) Sudan is the most Ethnically, Religiously and Geographically diverse country in Africa.

(3) The Nile River, bisects the country, (running South to North) and Southern Sudan is home to the worlds largest inland wetlands ("Sudd Marshes").

(4) Sudan was home to some of the oldest civilizations known to man, (Nubia, Meroe and the Kingdom of Kush - The first Great Black African Kingdom).

(5) South Sudan hosted one of the worlds longest civil wars, (50 years, with a short break in the middle) ending in 2005 with the signing a peace agreement. All people know in the south is war..

(6) Northern Sudan is governed under Sharia (Islamic) Law.

(7) The US has had trade sanctions on Sudan since 1997 and lists it as a state sponsor of terrorism. Osama bin Laden made Sudan his base 1992-1996.

(8) Darfur, a large region in the far west, was an independent sultanate for hundreds of years before the English & Egyptians made it part of Sudan.

(9) The Darfur region has been in a state of Humanitarian Emergency since 2003.

(10) In 2009, Sudan was ranked the third most politically unstable country in the world.

World Humanitarian Day

August 19th 2009 is World Humanitarian Day.

On August 19th 2003, the context of humanitarian work shifted markedly. That was the day of the terrorist attack on the UN compound in Baghdad, which killed 22 humanitarians and injured dozens. (hence a day of remembrance on this date). But something happened that day, something triggered a new trend and attacks on humanitarians has been growing steadily ever-since..

In 2008, 122 aid-workers were killed and 62 were kidnappned. Aid-workers are no longer viewed as 'neutral ground'. In the post 9/11 era, you are either on one side or the other it seems, regardless of your mandate. .

There are some sad but well-captured photo's here.

There is a saying in this industry, "Mercenaries, Missionaries and Misfits" - that people who do this work fit into to one of those categories. Most people I meet are certainly one of the three. But they are also all the same thing - passionate. Whether its passion for de-mining equipment and military convoys, or building churches, or school-feeding programs, or simply a passion for the adrenalin rush of 'being on mission', without passion I suppose this would all just be too damn hard. Living in remote places, away from family, lovers, support networks and well-equipped hospitals.. Often trying to pick up the pieces from broken lives that were shattered by Governments who in the end, are still supported by the first world if there is such lucrative family-ties as Oil... It can get a tad frustrating.

But the people I meet and the experiences they share with me in stories (Tsunami, Bosnia, Iraq, Pakistani earthquake, Somalia, Rwanda, Afghanistan), while at times heart-breaking, make the adventure a lot more interesting at the end of a long hot day.

p.s. for a slightly more entertaining version of life on a mission, check out "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures" (not that my job is anything like theirs, promise!)

Far to Here

The war in Darfur has exhibited both the cruelty and the beauty that exist within the human spirit. This man has captured the beauty..

Far to Here is an exhibition by Kenyan photographer Kabir Dhanji, which documents the lives of Dafurians who has made the journey to a new life - In Australia. He has also given a bunch of kids from Darfur camera's and allowed the rest of us to see the world through their eyes. ydney exhibition will be this month at the Blender Gallery in Paddington (dates to be announced). Let me know what you think of it..

The Girl Effect

I believe in this.

I have never felt more 'female' than when I began working in South Asia and Africa.  Initially my white skin earns me a little respect (she is rich, she is educated, she could help?). But generally I end up feeling a sense of shame, to be offering advice to people in need and only being 'a girl'. I see their eyes look me over and the respect drift from their gaze.. I see the instant respect and attention my male colleagues are afforded. I imagine my 6 foot brother standing in my place and the respect he would automatically be given, despite his experience level.

I am not losing hope though. Things are changing. Micro-financing and education programmes are targeting girls more than ever, inspired by people like Greg Mortenson, showing that a single person can make a difference to poverty through targeting girls. My understanding of this has developed greatly from travelling and working in poorer parts of the globe, with the realization that the gender imbalance is so heart-breakingly extreme and capable of having such a devastating impact on humanity. Now it is so painfully obvious, the facts speak for themselves. And what I see before my own eyes is reality. Schools full of boys and young girls outside collecting water, tending to the livestock, cooking the meals, babies strapped to their backs when they are but babies themselves.. Where did their childhood go? 


Women do not instigate the global conflicts, they nurture. They need nurturing too. And certainly not 40 lashings for wearing trousers to work... The professional women I have worked with in Cambodia, Nepal and now Sudan are amazing and inspirational given their success against the odds. But often they are the minority, and usually those born of the wealthy. The 'beneficiaries' to use an impersonal term, are still in desperate need - but with a little help, in the right way, its proven they can help themselves as well. I picture the opportunities girls are given in Australia and then imagine the girls of Pakistan and Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, DRC and Somalia and Sudan, Nepal and Bangladesh, those girls given the same opportunities, the chance to have an innocent childhood, to stay in high school, have a small business, the chance to vote, even the chance to influence politics. Would their still be so much conflict and consequential poverty and injustice and HIV in the world? Would we still be wasting so much money in aid that never seems to end with a generation but go on and on and on? Would the worlds natural resources be depleted and gasping for breath as 7 billion lives walk the planet? Lets see. 

Dear Plastic

My holiday in Zanzibar allowed me to witness the amazing marine creatures that call the surrounding reefs home, so I was super excited to hear the Island has been plastic bag-free since 2006. Good on them. All my purchases in the Stonetown market and lovely tourist shops were handed over bundled up nicely in a brown paper bag. And as you'll notice in my beach shots below - the white sands were pretty clean.

As a humanitarian worker, my job and focus is mostly about humans. Humans first, environment later. Theoretically. But of course, humanity needs a healthy playing ground in order to prosper. We all know that. But somehow this never seems to get converted into dollars by the world powers who decide who to assist and how. It does make me sad.

I was sad to watch the local villagers in Cambodia burn their household rubbish in the gutter everyday, next to the roadside ponds where they grow their fish, because they knew no other way to dispose of it. I was sad each time I rode my bike over the Bagamati River bridge in Kathmandu, as i held my nose so as not to be overpowered by the toxic stench rising from a river that begins in one of the most pristine places on earth, the Himalaya's. And now I am sad to watch the desert winds toss plastic water bottles around Khartoum, never to be reused and left for the donkeys to choke on.. sad to see every single foreigner here drinking bottled water all through the day and not using filters or the bulk 20 liter containers. Some people even look at me oddly when I pull out my bright pink Nalgene in a meeting.. I thought the rich countries knew about environmental awareness now..its 2009 for crying out loud?!

But I am certainly not sad every time I think of my wonderfully inspiring friend Yumi. Here she is below getting her shopping bag kit all sorted to leave in the back of her car - so she can still shop but continue with her goal - a plastic-free diet. Yumi is documenting her journey at her beautiful blog: Dear Plastic.

I LOVE it. It is fascinating to rethink your daily existence in an urban environment (and its been so long that i've lived in an Australian urban environment, that fascinates me too!). She has some wonderful tips but also some amazing links to environmentalists, artists and Ideas (sailing around the world on a boat made of recycled water bottles for example! Or a couple living for one whole year and only producing only small bag of rubbish!) And some startling facts.. such as this poor Albatross (which also happen to be my most favorite bird):

(An albatross found with more than half a pound of plastic... you can read more on that here and here) (taken from Dear Plastic - thx Yumi)

I think she demonstrates the point nicely that the power in changing the planet really lies in the hands of the consumer. Shop wisely, in both packaging and in seasonal, local fresh foods. The thoughts that go through our heads before taking the money out of our wallets can change the world. They say money talks, so we can tell manufacturers and supermarkets what we want by how we spend.  One third of the worlds population lives in poverty and do not have the choice to be a consumer. They lack the power that we have and therefore I see it as our responsibility to act.

Think before you Plastic.