5 days in Sudan

Operations Vice President, Ray Schmidt spends 5 days in Sudan scouting a medical project on Aba Island, attending the dedication for the Dereige Primary School and getting eaten my mosquitoes.

Sunday, August 23, 2009 – Khartoum, Sudan

I arrived in Khartoum last night. The original plan was for my colleague, Steve Savelich, and I to travel to Sudan together to look at a potential hospital project and to commission a school in Darfur that Assist had built with funding from a generous donor. Unfortunately, Steve did not receive his visa in time. He was red listed/black listed and it will take a couple of days to work through that. Since I received my visa, I went ahead and traveled to Sudan and hoped that Steve would be able to join me Tuesday night.

Monday, August 24, 2009 – Kosti, Sudan

It rained last night. No, it poured last night. It was a first rate storm: thunder, lightening, strong winds, and buckets of water. I didn’t expect to experience this type of a storm in Sudan. The water was pouring through the ceiling into my room and I had to put out bowls to catch the rain. As we were driving out of town today we saw large billboards that had been blown over by the wind. I spoke with a man this morning who said he had never experienced a storm like last night’s. It was a good show.

I am being hosted by Dick Brogden of Aslan Associates, which is an NGO in Sudan that has partnered with us on previous medical projects in Sudan. Dick has lived in Khartoum for the past 14 years and speaks Arabic fluently and has an amazing understanding of the culture and the people of Sudan.

This morning we drove down to the South Nile Region, which includes Aba Island, Rabak (30 km south) and Kosti, which is across the river. We are looking at a potential medical project at the Abu Island Hospital. The island is about 35 km long and 3 km wide and has about 100,000 residents. There is remarkable history to the island dating back to 1870 when the first mahdi came to the island to seek Allah. He was a religious/revolutionary figure that led a revolt against the British that ended in the defeat of General Gordon. Aba Island is considered very important and sacred in the history of Sudan.

The Aba Island Hospital is a small hospital of around 80 beds and is the only hospital on the island. We were warmly welcomed by the hospital director and some local officials. As we toured the facility, I noticed that there we very few patients. I asked the director why there were so few patients and he informed me that the hospital is actually closed for renovation. The outpatient portion of the hospital was still open and there were also a few patients that required close attention. The renovation should be completed by the end of September.

The operating rooms had just been redone with new floor tile and paint. They were in very good condition, but the equipment was old. The two operating tables dated back to the 1950’s. They do not have anesthesia machines and so patients are put to sleep using the old hand applied method. The hospital needs a lot of help and I hope that we will be able to provide assistance in some manner.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

We went back to the hospital this morning to ask a few more questions and to meet with some additional hospital staff. Yesterday, a local politician had taken the tour of the hospital with us and every time we asked a question he would give us an exaggerated answer. So we went back to get real answers to some of our questions. It went very well and I think that we could help this hospital improve the quality of healthcare that it provides.

A professor from the medical university next door to the hospital took us on a short tour of the island. We visited the site where the mahdi had dug a hole in the ground and spent time praying and seeking Allah. There is a small mosque built over it now. People will come and take a handful of the soil from the hole, and pour it over themselves or family members, believing it has healing power.

Later in the evening, Dick and I went to the Khartoum airport to pick up my co-worker, Steve Savelich. We had Steve’s visa and had to deliver it to the passport control office prior to Steve's landing. The security had us sit down and wait for someone to walk us to the passport control office. This is a fairly new procedure and the sole purpose is raise money for some official. For this walk to the passport office it costs about $10. Previously you could just walk to the office on your own. We sat in the waiting area for 45 minutes and Steve’s plane was to land at 10:35 PM and it was 10:40. Dick asked me if we should go on our own. Sure. Why not? And so we walked confidently to the passport control office without being stopped and questioned. The plane was late and so we sat in the office. One of the officials gave us a glass of cold tea and we chatted awhile. After about 30 minutes, the original security guard who had told us to wait found us and he was angry. He marched us out of the office back to the original waiting area and he threatened to call the police and so on. I don’t understand Arabic but Dick and the guard had a nice conversation after which he finally settled down. A couple of minutes later, he let Dick walk back to the passport control office—on his own.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 – Nyala, Darfur, Sudan

I woke up this morning to pouring rain. It was raining as hard as Sunday night. Unbelievable. I’ve been in Sudan for four days and each day it has rained, at least a little. No one was in the streets. Standing water reached at least two feet in some places.

That morning, Steve and I were scheduled to depart for Nyala, Darfur at 11 AM, but Steve first had to register his passport and get a travel permit for Darfur. Normally it takes a couple of days, but a friend of Dick’s was able to get it done in two hours. We arrived at the airport (still pouring rain) and waited for the airline to open the desks so we could begin checking in. Around 11 they opened the desks and there was rush for the desks. No lines, no aisles, just a mass of people streaming to the desks with tickets in hand trying to get the attention of the agent. There was no rhyme or reason on whose ticket was processed. The agent would look up and grab one of the tickets being waved in front of his face. Meanwhile it is still raining outside but there’s water coming through the ceiling tiles into the room.

We finally received our boarding passes and then waited to depart. The 11 AM flight finally left at 3:30 PM and we arrived in Darfur around 6 PM. Steve’s suitcase didn't arrive and since he is 6’6”, my clothes wouldn't fit him. Surprisingly, Nyala isn’t too hot. It’s actually pleasant with temperatures in the high 80’s with minimal humidity.

Thursday, August 27, 2009 – Nyala, Darfur, Sudan

It was a rough night. I spent most of the night batting mosquitoes and flies. There was no mosquito net so I just had to make the best of it. I woke up this morning and there was little blood spots on the sheet from where I had killed mosquitoes that had been banqueting on my blood. I then looked at my feet and they were covered with red spots. There were hundreds and hundreds of little red dots that went from my toes up to my shins. They kind of look like freckles or like someone had spattered red paint on my feet. A little while later the red dots started to get white circles around them. Very bizarre. I was told that they are all mosquito bites. I guess I was the main course last night for hundreds of mosquitoes.

We went out to the Dereige Community Primary School for a school dedication ceremony. This was a school that Assist built with funds from a generous donor and through a local organization called EDOOS. What an experience. As soon as we stepped out of the car the students surrounded us and started shaking our hands. I think I shook the hands of every student two or three times. Then the students started giving the thumbs up gesture. It was a lot of fun. The dedication ceremony was nice and the students, teachers, local officials and the sheiks expressed their gratitude.

The Dereige school sits on the edge of an IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp of about 30,000 people outside the town of Nyala. The three classroom buildings are for grades 1 through 4 and plans are in place to add the 5th grade next year. The parents and the community were so effusive with their thanks.