Animal farm

Our office house is slowly turning into a real animal farm! The plentiful birds are flying in and out of our house while our new cat is naturally doing the same. As soon as you walk out of the door, the cows and goats are there to welcome you, while the dogs are resting in the shade. The donkeys in the area provide an interesting wake-up call and they are also there to wish you a good -IA IA- night as well. But unfortunately one of the young donkeys that was owned by our neighbour had a tragic accident yesterday. Somehow the electricity company had made a 'mistake' and put voltage on one of the cables next to our house. The poor donkey felt like scratching his back against it and died instantly because of the strong electric shock. It was actually also a shock for us to find this animal lying lifeless on the ground, and to realize it could have well been one of the children who often play in this area (-or us?). Hopefully the neighbour will be able to get a new donkey again, as a new source of income. And, besides that, to provide us with our beloved morning wake-up call on our animal farm.

Figures

Here in Sudan, it is no secret that ‘a little bit of extra meat’ on a woman’s body is considered more beautiful than a skinny twig. Some of the women I have spoken to here in Kosti, explained to me that about a month before her wedding, a woman is even being fed as many fat products as possible in order for her to gain some weight for the wedding night. It also became clear to me that not all women are happy with that particular cultural custom. Last week, I visited a local ‘gym’ for women (-that by the way doesn’t in any way look like the gym you are imagining now-). There were 5 women there, who welcomed me very kindly and observed me from top to toe. “We are very happy you have come to visit us in our small gym! But what are you doing here? You are not fat like us!” They all shared their stories of gaining weight after marriage and the fact that it all started with this particular feeding-month before the wedding. “At first, my husband wanted me to be fat, but when I became too fat and started to get medical problems, he told me he wants to marry a second woman! So, I visit the gym now and hope to lose some weight!” I  straight away felt a feeling of injustice, but the women assured me that these kinds of statements from men, really motivate them to work on their health and figure. While the tape in the small ghetto-blaster played the 90’s beats it had obviously played many times before, the women were jumping up-and-down on the colourful carpets. The scale was standing in front of them, ready to be stood on at the end of the session. All together this gym and these determined women really made me feel like visiting again and join in. If it was just to coach them on their weight-loss journey..

Night swimming

Sometimes the nights here can bring some unexpected surprises. A few nights ago, I woke up in the middle of the night. I felt like drinking a glass of water, so I gently put my feet outside the mosquito net which is permanently hanging above our bed. While my first foot touched the floor, I was still half asleep. But it only took a split second for me to be completely awake: I was standing up to my ankles in the water! The night rain had come through the spaces underneath the doors and windows. While we were fast asleep, the water had slowly filled both our bedroom and living room floor. It looked like a perfect opportunity for a true indoor night-swimming activity! Although it was tempting, we finally decided to just get rid of our excessive floods. After spending more than an hour on hands and knees, using all our sheets, blankets and towels to absorb the water, we were able to continue our well-deserved sleep. I obviously didn't need my glass of water anymore ;)

International Youth Day

Yesterday we celebrated International Youth Day in and with the various communities on the outskirts of Kosti. This event was actually celebrated worldwide a few weeks ago, but because of Ramadan it was postponed. This special day aims to focus more attention to the youth in the world and here, specifically to the youth in Sudan. The venue was the Safe Learning Space that has been established for the children in one of the communities. All children and youngsters were clearly over-exited that ‘something special’ was being organized for them. As soon as we entered the premises, a group of children started to follow us everywhere we went; they were so curious to know more about this 'different looking' man and woman. And, you can imagine that we shook uncountable hands! There were performances like dancing and telling- poems, all done by children and youngsters. Of course, after all we are in Sudan, there were also several speeches (one presented by Frank) and thank-you words to all. The ‘hit’ of the evening was a young local singer who made everyone dance, and click their fingers until they dropped. More and more people from the area gathered to see this interesting event and (-as you can see on the photo-) it became very busy! The sign for the closure of the event were the first raindrops from the sky; everyone quickly headed home to secure dry feet and clean clothes. For us, this was an evening to remember and treasure. And, more importantly, the voice of the Sudanese youth has definitely been heard! 

Medical assistance

The White Nile State of Sudan is almost as big as The Netherlands. But while the hospitals in The Netherlands are so plentiful that they can even compete, the people in this Sudanese district have extreme limited options when it comes to medical assistance. There is a small hospital for civilians here in Kosti that can perform some basic medical procedures. But when you want to be sure about your diagnosis and be more thoroughly examined, you should be ready for a 5-hour-drive to Khartoum. You can imagine that the situation for people in need of immediate medical care doesn't look very colourful. The drive to Khartoum (-if you have a car, otherwise you have to go by bus-) is not something you look forward to when you are not feeling well anyway. Frank's colleague introduced us to her sister who currently studies in Khartoum to become a surgeon. She is determined to come back to Kosti to work in the small hospital here, even though the salary and facilities will be far less than elsewhere. "I want to do something for the people in Kosti and the White Nile District", she said determinately. I am sure the people in this district will be more than happy with some extra medical attention from this ambitious and idealistic young lady!

Dining experience

Options for eating-out in Kosti are extremely limited, to say the least. Locals here tend to go out for tea and coffee, but take their food at their or someone else's home. So far, we have managed to find two places that come closest to being a restaurant. And yesterday we visited one of them: an old hotel with a green garden next to it. While entering the premises we noticed that we were the only customers and so we had the option to choose the best seats on their 'terrace'. We sat down under a nice tree and enjoyed the breeze. After a moment of observation we both agreed that this place surely has a lot of potential and our fingers started to itch to cut the grass, remove all the plastic and empty tins, paint the building and to wash the cushions on the chairs. But because we were there for a nice unwinding diner after a long day of work, we just decided not to look at the details too much.  The menu was simple and clear: 'chicken'. Frank had had the 'chicken experience' before and he asked if this time, the chicken could be grilled instead of fried. While explaining, Frank tried to show how he always grills his chicken on the BBQ. The waiter looked at him with a clear question mark on his face and slowly nodded his head to show he somehow understood. To be completely sure, Frank called one of his Sudanese colleagues to ask her to explain our dining wishes to the waiter. After we had finally ordered, we took the games we had brought with us, out of the bag. While we started playing, our drinks were being served; not exactly what I had ordered, but it did taste nice. After an hour-and-a-half wait (yes, it was indeed 1,5 hours..) our chicken with bones arrived! It was grilled and looked lovely. All the waiters (-we were still the only customers-) enjoyed the view of us eating our fine dining Sudanese meal. We finished the chicken to the bone and finally promised to come back again soon for another interesting Sudanese open-air dining experience. "Inshallah!"

Rural street view

When we talk about ‘traffic’ in Kosti, we don’t just talk about the vehicles and bicycles. Here, the donkeys, cows, sheep and goats also have to be included, since they take a major part in the day-to-day traffic on the streets. Apart from 2 main roads, all the roads are unpaved and sandy so it is very comfortable for the animals to walk on. Kosti is considered a small rural town without any facilities or traffic jams like you see in a city like Khartoum. There are no such things as traffic lights, but the donkeys, cows, sheep and goats somehow have the same effect when it comes to slowing down your speed. Many donkeys are also used to transport goods (- really anything you can think of!) from one place to another. The other day, we were talking with one of Frank’s colleagues about the differences between the towns Kosti and Rabak, a nearby town on the other side of the Nile. She said: “Oh, Rabak is very busy!” I tried to remember my images of Rabak when I drove through it on my way to Kosti. Somehow I couldn’t recall it being ‘very busy’. After a short pause she finished her statement, which made it all clearer: “I mean, there are just too many donkeys in Rabak!” Talking about a rural street view ;)