A New Country - South Sudan

I had packed Friday night so I was up at 5.00 am for a 5.30 am taxi ride to the airport and a flight to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, a country that is only two years old and one that has been racked by war for many years. An American woman and her son unexpectedly joined me in the car because a friend had not arrived in time - it turned out that his car had broken down the week before and had been repaired, but had broken down again that morning - he had borrowed a friends car but that had broken down as well - he was on his way in a second borrow vehicle but we were half way to Entebbe!

Juba Airport Waiting Area

Juba International Airport was a small building - immigration and customs were both in one small room and visitors mingled with the arriving passengers - John Chol, an Anglican pastor and my host, was there to meet me and help me obtain my visa - for some reason I was last out of immigration! We went to book our tickets an were told that there were no seats that day or the next. We went to another company and they said they could take us that day but were not sure when. So we waited in the waiting area in the heat and humidity for nearly 3 hours and then they cancelled the flight and told us to be back at the airport at 6.30 am the next day!

My Room!

So we went to our hotel, The United Citizens Hotel, not far from the airport.The cost was 60 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) which is about A$16 per room per night - pit toilets and bucket baths, but each room had a fan. You don't exchange US$ into SSP at a bank because the rates are so low (about SSP 3.30 per US$1) - instead you just find anyone who wants some US$, and they give much better rates (about SSP 4.20 per US$1). There is no fixed electricity anywhere in South Sudan, so Juba has thousands of generators which come on about 6.30 pm each evening.

New Friends

I spent the rest of the day watching locals from around the hotel play cards and dominoes - both of which they play expertly. John and I had spaghetti bolonese at a local restaurant for A$5 per plate for dinner.

The Mighty Nile

We were back at the airport at 6.30 am and arrived in Bor at 9.15 am. The flight was in a 14-seater and only took 30 mins. I had great views of the Nile on the way, the river having a great flow of water at the end of the wet season (mid-April to late October).

We were taken directly to the local Anglican church which has partnered with Live Connection Aid, the organisation I was making this trip for. Please check out www.liveconnectionaid.org for more information. The church was a simple affair but the people were typically welcoming and gracious. After the preacher had finished, I was asked to address the congregation which was a great privilege. You can see 30 seconds worth of how they give their offerings here.

And if you ever think of complaining about the chairs at your church, please think again!

Finally, the kids were as cute as ever and absolutely loved getting their photo taken! This shot shows just some of them with Pastor Elizabeth.





After the service, we headed off to the Live Connection site. More on that in the next post!