On my way

Today I have completed the first leg of my journey home.... 3 and a half hours on the Nile from Melut to Malakal.

I'm starting to allow myself to get excited now, coming home after a year is a big deal and I can't wait to see people.

So I'm ready for my last unbearably hot night for a while ... I fly to Nairobi tomorrow and then on to the UK on Friday night.

Happy Easter

We've been trying to make it a bit like Easter here in Melut. We painted some eggs and went out for lunch (a new place in town that does real chips ... very exciting!).

The clinic has been closed and we have been relaxing a bit for the bank holidays but its been really hot .. (up to 47 yesterday) so I have been melting a bit.

The countdown to home is definitely on ... less than 2 weeks now!

Beautiful Wellies...

You may remember my pictures from the rainy season last year... if you do you will know that by June wellies will be essential footwear. I'm a bit fed up with my boring black ones that I was wearing for months last year so I was thinking of getting some more exciting ones while I was at home. I've found a few nice pairs on the net I'd appreciate your comments on which ones you think I should get!

Beautiful Feet

One of the weekly routines of Melut life is a pedicure on a Sunday afternoon. Not only is it very pleasant to put my feet in a bowl of cool water on a hot day it also essential to look after my feet when I spend my life in flip flops. After a good scrub and some nail polish they look almost presentable again!

Interestingly when people were praying for me before I left for Sudan a number of people had words for me about having beautiful feet, a reference to being sent as messenger with the good news (see Isaiah 52 v 7).

I didn't know it would also be taken literally!

Countdown to home

For those of you who don't know yet I'm going to be extending my contract in Sudan until the end of the year .. but I will be coming home for a month in April. Splitting my time between Sheffield, Solihull, a week in Wales with my family and a week in France with Zac and Sarah and Nico. ... so email me and book in your appointment ....

I'm trying not to focus too much on counting down to my holiday and still stay focused on being here and getting some work done. I'm staying in Juba this week for a course and hopefully some networking with other nutritionists, then its back to Melut.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

A week in Uganda

I've just got back to Sudan after a week in Uganda for a Medair course on HIV. Its been a really good week .. I've learnt lots .. met lots of people from other programmes and enjoyed a bit of luxury .. hot showers .. room to myself and beautiful views .. unfortunately it was a bit of a packed week so i didn't chance to see much of Uganda ... I'll have to go back another time ....

getting christmassy

Once again i've been letting my blogging slide and find that i have lots to update you on ... its been 6 weeks since i last posted and quite a few things have happened. I had my last r and r in Nairobi and just relaxed and read books in the garden .. also stayed overnight at a nice hotel in lake nakuru national park .. it was a real treat and we had a great safari seeing rhinos and lions and the flamingos that the park is famous for.
I returned back from r and r just in time for the opening of the new clinic buildings .... this was a mixture of formal ... (with speeches from the minister of health etc) ... and crazy with dancing and singing and general mayhem, it was great to celebrate along with the local staff and community and its been excellent being in the new clinic. So much better than the tents .. i have a room for nutrition which we have tried to make child friendly with pictures and toys etc ... still very basic compared to what we have at home but a massive improvement.
We have remained fairly busy with new admissions to nutrition and carrying on the supplementary feeding programme ... i'm becoming a bit frustrated with mothers who don't seem to be bothered to turn up when there children really need help.
I've also been challenged by dealing with staff issues .... 2 of my workers have not been working much due to various women problems .... or rather getting beaten up by the girls relatives for getting them pregnant without having enough cows to be able to marry her! Also i never really appreciated how many problems bicycles might cause and seem to spend a large part of each week negotiating who can borrow them and sorting out what to do when they come back damaged .... and i thought i was here to do nutrition?!
Now i've only got 5 more days here until we leave for christmas ... we have a conference for all the team in kenya the week before christmas and i'm also very excited as lucy and ruth are coming out to visit. We are having christmas parties this weekend .. one for the staff yesterday which was fun with lots of dancing and today we are having a team party .. I iced the christmas cake this morning so maybe it will feel a bit like home ... we planning on carols by candlelight ...its a bit strange doing christmas things in the hot weather. I'll get some pictures up soon!