Monday 12 September JOY AND THE SERIOUSNESS OF LIFE First of all …  … it’s great to be back in Loki and I praise God for all of you, churches, relatives and friends, who make it possible to spend yet another year working with MAF and the Turkana community. From the very first day we were both in full swing. KeA went head on into the MAF-work. He also spent last week in Juba, southern Sudan and will be commuting between Loki and Juba (one week here one week there) for some time since they are short of personnel over there. As for me I got right into the work with the school, bakery and bead work, women’s meetings in the village and demands and needs of all sorts. Our neighbour's little son Josia had prepared this nice sign for us. The seriousness of life on a little note  Three persons helped for less than $10!  I have mentioned before about the great medical need among the Turkanas. Here in Loki there are two private clinics. There is also a clinic run by the Government at the outskirt of town, however, because of lack of resources, it is not functioning so well. In regard to Western standards the prices are VERY low but for people with no money it is expensive: a nurse consultation (there are no trained doctors) $ 0, 5, lab test $ 0,5 – 1,5, and the most common medicines $1-3. With funds received from friends we are able to help many. Ever so often I go to the AIC clinic to clear my bills. It is touching to see that three people get help for less than $10. People diagnosed with TB, amoeba, thyfoid, worms, malaria, eye problems, skin problems and infections of all kinds. A great encouragement! Yesterday I was taken to the clinic myself. After four days of fever and increasing diarrhea KeA thought it was time for a stool test. It showed to be amoeba dysentery plus malaria. The malaria was in the beginning stage but the amoeba was +++. Now I’m resting in bed with the computer in my lap. The medicines have started working as well as prayers. Yesterday afternoon the whole gang from the women’s cooperative came. Silently the sneaked into our bedroom, where I was laying pretty miserable, and started praying for me. What an encouragement! A precious asset and Holiday School     Together with two of the three teachers (the head teacher Lucy is doing a teacher’s course during holidays) we organized three days of “Holiday School”. We decided to divide the children into three groups since the challenge to handle 210 children at the same time is not a joke. But it wasn’t that easy. Rumors had it and we had to ask the guard to help us chase away children not supposed to be there. Some colour on Pinky’s nail solved the problem of identifying who had already been there. Food – best of all! We were taken by the children’s joy and enthusiasm as we played games, sang, danced and coloured. To colour with jumbo colours was new to them and we were surprised how quickly they learnt and how nicely they managed. The game “Put the tail on the pig became”Put the tail on the donkey” since the Turkanas don’t have any pigs. There were many good laughs as the tail was put both here and there. But the best thing of all, I believe, was the food. During holidays many children are hungry. Now they got a big plate of rice and beans sponsored by Wiebke’s friends. Yammy! Washing of hands, eating on clean plates and drinking from clean mugs is a big step forward.  Before going home they all got a balloon with some sweets at the end of the string. What a joy! Seeing the children’s joy was worth all the work it took to blow almost 200 balloons. A new term  Now the school has opened and Lucy is back full of joy and enthusiasm from what she has learnt at the course. Wiebke is at the school every day from 8 am to 1 pm. She is trying to manage 70 children in the “baby class”, teaching them various things together with their teacher Esther. It is a real challenge to say the least. However, she is doing great! The food sponsored by the Government has not yet arrived so we have had to buy some while we are waiting. This is possible thanks to generous givers in Sweden. I had intended to write much earlier but our Internet connection has not been working. This is VERY frustrating since communicating via e-mail and Facebook has become part of my life. I hope the people dealing with the problem will find a solution soon. I will have to write soon again because I just have to tell you what’s happening at our women’s cooperative, the bakery and beadwork, the women’s meetings and the shop we are planning to open. So … a tout à l’heure! See you! / Birgitta    |
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Kort om... Briefly about... Location of work - Lokichoggio - a small town in North Western Kenya, - for more than 20 years a crucial bridge head for humanitarian aid to the war stricken people of Southern Sudan. MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) aircraft fly daily missions out of Loki wiith life saving equipment and key personnel for missions and relief organisation. KeAs uppdrag - Platschef för MAF:s bas i Loki. Koordinera flyguppdrag in till Sudan. Kontakt med uppdragsgivare. Personal- och ekonomiansvar. KeA's role - Base Manager for MAF in Loki. Co-ordinating flying activites into Southern Sudan. Liason with customers. Personnel and financial responsibilities. Birgittas uppdrag - Behjälplig i MAF:s arbete. Byutveckling i Turkanabyn Emuriakin med bl.a. ett skolbygge och coaching. Birgitta's role - Assisting with MAF activites. Community development in Emuriakin Turkana village. School project and coaching. Om oss... About us... Birgitta - Music and English teacher. KeA - Pilot and aircraft engineer. Vi träffades i Belgien sommaren 1970. En vecka efter bröllopet 1972 åkte vi ut för en tvåårsperiod som lärare i Bukavu, Zaire i Pingstmissionen. We met in Belgium in 1970 and one week after our marriage in 1972 we set foot in Bukavu, Zaire, for a two year teaching assignment with the Swedish Penticostal Mission.Efter avslutad pilot- och teknikerutbildning i USA 1980 började förberedelser med MAF och fyra år i Tchad. Following completed pilot and engineer's training in the USA in 1980, we started preparing for a four year assignment with MAF in Chad. Några år i Vimmerby och flygjobb i Sverige gav lämpliga erfarenheter för nytt MAF-uppdrag i Kenya med början 1989. Svenska Skolan i Nairobi blev Birgittas arbetsplats som musiklärare under sex år. Some few years in Sweden added flight experience for service as Training Captain with MAF in Kenya starting in 1989. The Swedish School became Birgitta's place of work as music teacher for six years. Örebro har varit vår hemort sedan år 2000. KeA har arbetat som flygkapten på Skyways och Birgitta som engelsklärare på Hannaskolan. Vårt senaste uppdrag för MAF var i början av 2008 med bas i Loki. Örebro has been our home base since the year 2000. KeA has been flying as captain with Skyways and Birgitta has been teaching at the Hanna School. Our latest short term assignment with MAF was in 2008 based in Loki.  We're blessed with 6 children and 8 grandchildren. |
Joy and the Seriousness of Life |
