The mission continues....

So it has been a very long time between posts....apologies for that but I do have a good reason - I have been very very very busy!!!!

In late May, just as I got back from my last holiday there was an incursion into Abyei from the Northern troops of Sudan.  I say an incursion as it isn't an invasion as the countries have not yet technically split.  And by incursion I mean mortars and shooting... As a result 100,000 people fled from their homes (which have mostly now been burned to the ground) and have moved south.  We are the closest unicef office to all of this so it has been 34 days straight now of dispatching blankets, tarps, medicine and food.  As well some of these IDPs have made their way to Wau so we have been involved in setting up the camp and distribution of supplies.  So all in all a pretty crazy and amazing experience at the same time.  In one day we recieved so many trucks into the warehouse that there was more supplies on those trucks than all our total warehouse space put together - crazy ;-)  

This also means that we have been on a pretty high security alert.  We have had a couple of trucks commandered by various forces which wasn't fun.  The city electricity ran out a couple of weeks ago as the fuel ran out to power it.  Fuel was pretty much non-existant as it came from the North and the borders were closed the day the troubles started.  At its peak if you could find it you were paying $7 USD for a litre of fuel if you could find it.  Food has also run short as most of it came from the North.  However the bigger problem is that Coke is now not available - I can handle many things but not having my daily Coke has almost pushed me to breaking point!  So needless to say life in logistics has been a challenge...thank goodness for generators so that the occasional cold beer can be found ;-)

What this also means is that I haven't had time to do anything but work and sleep - so apologies for being off the grid - I am trying to return emails but there isn't really much to say unless you find logistics stuff fascinating (see previous posting!). This also means that my return home has now been delayed.  All going well I will be back in Melbourne in mid September.  But this does mean that I get to stay for the independance celebrations which are due to occur on the 9th July - it should be one hell of a party!

So moving onto to our regular segment...Question Time!!!

Ben from Footscray in Melbourne asks - What sort of toys do the children in South Sudan play with?

Mostly footballs or bike tyres.  Volleyball is also really popular here - everyone seems to be over 6 foot so it is a natural fit.

Randa from Hawthorn asks - Where do you get your hair cut?
Sadly International Cutz for Boyz does not take female clients so no haircuts as yet Randa.  But I have really long hair now, an easy way to skip the ackward going from short to long hair - move to Sudan ;-)

So no more questions now just some photos...till next time!

Those of you who have been subjected to my yearly Meredith tarp construction project please note - I have been learning from the IDPs and I am ready for this year, rain or shine :-)

Me at my first distribution for NFIs (Non Food Items).  Each family recieves a kit of sleeping mat, cooking set, two mosquito nets, a tarp, blankets, gerry cans and soap.