The Man from South Sudan

In the midst of our breakfast one morning at the Baro Hotel in Gambella, a tall man with the characteristic horizontal forehead scars of the Nu'er people and clad in a black suit approached our table.  "Good morning," he said in a jovial manner.  "My name is David and I am the ambassador from South Sudan to Ethiopia."

It turned out that one of the Nu'er men who had joined us at dinner the previous night had spotted David at the restaurant and explained the goals of the eye team to him.  "My son is also from America, visiting here with his mother," David explained, gesturing to the young boy sitting at the table next to us. "This is his first time in Africa and he hates it here," he laughed. "He's asking for hamburgers, complaining about the heat, and refusing to eat his food because there's so many flies on it."

All was not well with the two-year old nation of South Sudan, which David reminded us was the youngest country in the world.  Though Ethiopia and many other countries were supporting her, the new country lacked the necessary infrastructure to achieve anything resembling stability.  After living through decades of fighting, the South Sudanese people knew the culture of war better than the culture of peace and couldn't fully comprehend the needed shift in mentality to build South Sudan into something prosperous.

As we later found out, conditions deteriorated even further in the weeks after our meeting with the ambassador- land disputes and historic rivalries between people groups in the eastern South Sudan province of Jonglei, the province bordering Gambella, eventually led to mass violence and the displacement of over 100,000 South Sudanese from their homes into the wilderness.

And shortly thereafter the president of South Sudan fired his entire cabinet in what was interpreted to be the final move in a power struggle between him and his vice president.

Amidst the discussion of political issues, Dr. Samuel piped up.  What was the level of medical services available in South Sudan?  Inadequate, came the answer.  The capital city of Juba possessed decent but insufficient medical services, and the rest of the country fared far worse.  As we headed out, a few members of the group asked for David's contact information.  David assured us he would stop by the eye camp at the hospital later that day and provide the information then.  When night fell at the hospital we realized David hadn't made an appearance.

Perhaps he got caught up in his official business, or perhaps he never truly intended to visit us at the hospital.  Nevertheless, the figurative door was open.  South Sudan was in need of ophthalmic services, and Dr. Samuel and team were only too ready to serve should the opportunity arise.