The arabic Red Crescent and Red Cross song

This song was sung to us on our third farewell party. It is a beautiful song about the movement, its work and principals. For those of you who does not understand arabic the song is still cool to listen to...

Our first good bye party

We have just had our first good bye party last night. And the volunteers in all parts of our city all want to throw parties for us. It is a true honor and we have no less than five parties like this one this week. Three city local branches, one headquarter and one we will throw for the volunteers.

Here follow some pictures of the people we have come to know so well. And the wonderful gifts we have been given. It is sad to say good bye. We feel it is to soon and that time has flown away really quick the whole mission. 
Some people say I will soon be back in Norway feeling the whole stay in Sudan as a dream. And I believe that they might be right. However we are making preperations to stay in touch with them after we leave. So a full good bye it is not.

Sitting in good company

Jokes, speeches and us being deeply grateful on the carpet throughout the evening. Delicious homemade snacks with tea and coffee circling around.

We got beautiful handmade gifts. Anine a pearl decorated mirror usually only given to newly married women. I got a Beja knife also decorated in pearls and some shells. We both also got a key chain pearl piece with our name on it. 

How do like us in traditional Beja clothing? 

Now we have only four more good bye parties to go and less than a week till we leave Port Sudan city towards Khartoum. We will take the old road to the capital Khartoum which leads us through Kassala. And Kassala is said to be green and beautiful. The old road is almost 1700km long I think. A good roadtrip. 

Our contribution to the Sudanese Red Crescent and Sudan

Our nine months has been a success. Our contribution has made a range of differences and in some ways changed the organisation we have participated in. And it feels great to think those two sentences. Here is how...

Our presence, according to staff in SRCS, inspired more activities overall and created a higher productive nine months for the branch, especially for the volunteers.
The sexual health programme is running better with more resources and initiative because of Anine`s contribution through countless hours of work and talk.
The International Humantarian Law (IHL) & Movement Structure activities trained over 100 more volunteers in basic introductions and had a deep IHL session with 25 IHL experienced volunteers.
The Street Children Centre has been opened and helps 10-20 street children every weekday (five days a week) with breakfast, free soap for washing clothes/ body and the hospitals have come together to help the children with basic healthcare for free.
A temporary private donor has been secured who funds half of what the centre needs for critical basics such as described above on what the street children recieve.
However the centre needs a fixed consistent donor. The children also need more support than just the critical basics. They need help on drug/alcohol abuse, education, reunion with family, older children proffesional experience for jobs, sexual health and more.
But the little the centre is open now, hope is there and the children do not starv or die of easily threated diseases. Maybe they are also able to stay out of trouble more because of the primary needs covered.

Our "mandate" or task description as youth delegate has roughly described been to participate in and support existing activities in Sudanese Red Crescent. The activities has been International Humanitarian Law, Sexual Health, the Street Children Centre and presentations of us and our national society and our methods of working.
Also we have participated in english and computer knowledge on the volunteers. We have witnessed vaccination campaigns, women and health centres, water and agriculture support schemes, first aid trainings, home nursing courses, water and sanitation trainings and organisational development.

Picture: From a dinner at the fishmarket with Disaster Manager Hashjim Saleh`s family. Here we are with Sohel, Hashjims daughter.

We have also, in the field of organisational development, had the joy of helping with the new strategy and structural documents for Sudanese Red Crescent and been around freshly established ambitious local branches in Port Sudan City.
While Anine was sick in hospital i Khartoum for a week I helped the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) with maps and latest geographical information on Sudan from United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
We have also had the pleassure of meeting all relevant SRCS, IFRC and ICRC staff in their head quarters in Khartoum and given introductions to our movements work through all these levels and parts.
We have participated in a UNDP initiative to collect information from all organisations in Sudan called 4W. This software might be adapted by UN to all post-conflict zones in the world if the program continues to succeed.

Picture:  This is from a rural community north of Port Sudan city called Arba`at. The community is facing severe dessertification.

Within a year or two it is said maybe volunteer elections will be held for the boards of the Red Sea State branch. This means new general assembly, which currently hasn`t been held for 6-7 years now. Creating a room for volunteers to make agendas, common goals and take charge of their organisation again. The documents I helped with on strategy and structure are the basis for such a general assembly and elections. Right before christmas these documents where used to train 60 volunteer community leaders. I wish the volunteers and staff at Sudanese Red Crescent Red Sea State good luck in realizing this ambition.

Picture: Volunteers having fun with my devilsticks (juggling) at Kilo Beach in Port Sudan.

Also the two foreign volunteers who joined us during this year: Our good friends Celine and Guillaume. Celine helped us train the volunteers in english and Guillaume provided computer skills, a private generous donation to the street children centre and helped us get a computer engineer (who helped us do maintainance on all office computers). Thank you so much for all your help and continued volunteering. 

So when we look at our rules and the fact that we were not supposed to start new activity, but rather support the existing activities and democratic structures inside Sudanese Red Crescent Red Sea State, we brooke the rules when establishing the street children centre. Any work we did had to be sustainable, rooted in the volunteers and financed from somewhere other than the youth delegate program. The street children centre is currently running on temporary donations and a single donation from Ullensaker Red Cross in Norway (not very sustainable), its volunteers are few and unexperienced (also not sustainable, but they are growing quickly in numbers and they will be trained). 
So with the street children centre I learned my most valuable lesson from my time in Sudan. A street child said it very well to Anine: "If you have money to feed me for òne day, why do you not feed me?". One less day for him to be hungry. My lesson is that our rules and procedures are there sometimes in the way of the point. That when we want something done we have to just take the first step and see what opportunities arrives along the way.
If we followed all the rules from our national society the centre would still be closed.

Picture: The beautiful sunset from our house (Bathroom window :p )

So that is all I remember for this little description on our work. There might be something I left out, but this surtainly covers the most important issues. So now the time is really drawing near for the time to head for home again. But not quite yet. We still have some things to do and places to see. Home ticket is currently set at 13.june.

The 15th of September 2009 two new youth delegates will arrive in Sudan and continue our work. I wish Anniken Førland Schwamborn og Ingvild Rørholt the best of luck.

So stay with my blog for the final words on my mission. 

All the best
Thomas

The latest norwegian newsupdate on sudan:

VG

Updates

Dear all readers

I have changed and edited quite alot lately and decided to let you in on what is new here on my blog.

As the Sudanese Red Crescent Street Children Centre progresses more pictures and picasa web albums has been made. The picasa web albums can be found through the link with the same name under the picture "My face..." in the right side bar. Also the two picture slideshows in the sidebar are from these albums.

I have created my own youtube channel, which on its own is not very well built for now. But the different birthdays I have been missing out in while in field, has been greeted with short movieclips from Port Sudan city through this channel. And more clips and presentations of work are very likely to occur there as well. These clips are added to the embedded movies on top of the sidebar. The movies are from Port Sudan in the morning sunrise and evening sunset and gives a glimse of the city life from our rooftop. And so it could be interesting to watch not only for my close family and friends. :)

On top of my blog, under the title, are selected movies from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Youtube channel. It gives a good presentation on work as delegate and on projects to help vulnerable people across the world. Some are well known crisis and situations with the movies documenting the work to improve conditions. So visit the IFRC Youtube channel and get to know the work of 115 million volunteers with belonging staff all over the world.

So it is Our World, Your Move...

All the best

Thomas

Al Jazeera`s Listening Post video of the day: Here is something for campaigners and activists to admire

Here is Al-Jazeera`s Listening Post Facebook page...

Days of low energy

The last couple of days I have been thoroughly reminded that I am but humble mortal. All my energy has been completely vacant. I think my body is signaling the time for summer vacation. So to all you friends out there in beautiful summer Bergen I am coming home in mood for sun basking.

While I was at home doing virtually nothing I have added and updated my Picasa web albums to this blog. You can find them in the links on the sidebar. If you wonder how the street children centre look like you can watch the slideshow on the top right of this blog or go into Picasa through my link down by the Facebook links.

And do not worry, many more stories and experiences await before our time here in Sudan is over, so catch them by popping by on regular basis or join my followers for automatic updates.

All the best

Thomas

Todays joke

We are sitting in our office at the headquarters of Sudanese Red Crescent in Port Sudan city. And some volunteers are about to leave the office after meeting the volunteer coordinator Mahmoud, so i say: 

Me: "See you around!"

Volunteers: "What?"

Me:"You know one can say; See you. And one can also say; See you around. Like in around the place and here".

Mahmoud:[The volunteer coordinator looks at me with a big smile in his face and says:] "See you in line! Hehehehehehehehehehe".

Sometimes when I explain and get understood it feels really great and then these sort of jokes become hilarious. Hehe, I am getting local I think.