Rumbek

Christian Health Association of Sudan (CHAS) is a private NGO head by Joy Mukaire, a personal friend of my family and me. The goal of this agency is to provide quality health care to all individuals. Within the organization there is a team of highly qualified doctors that visit many different cities/villages to lead workshops and educate people on health awareness.

It was my father, The Rev. Cannon Milton Cole-Duvall, who established a good relationship with Joy, before she and I had ever met. When she heard that I will be in Southern Sudan for 1 year, it was only a matter of time before we would meet. In our first encounter of each other Joy was on her way back to Juba from Nzara, and I met her at the Airport. Being the extremely hospitable person she is, within minutes of our meeting she invited me to stay with her for a couple weeks in Juba.

Once I arrived in Juba, I met the half the team of doctors in the CHAS agency, the other half was in Rumbek leading workshops on HIV aids. I quickly learned that the doctors still in the office were heading out to Juba and I was going with them. The few days I spent in Juba before going to Rumbek were filled by talking to political people, asking questions regarding the development of Southern Sudan, politically, economically and culturally.

The plane trip from Juba to Rumbek was 50 minutes and the view of the land was magnificent. Once there we settled in to our hotel, we stayed at Afex, (AfricanExpedition). This hotel was unlike anyother because Afex builds its hotels in a forrest area, each room was a very large tent with a bathroom, sink, shower and toilet in the back section of each tent. The following day workshops started, educating the community about HIV and also preparing to test villagers the next day.

Last year the health leaders of Rumbek only tested 14 people for HIV, and in their defense they stated, “The people here dont want to be tested for HIV.” On the first day of our testing more than 150 people showed up, and this was without broadcasting it. It was evident that there was in fact a desperate need from HIV testing. At first I was very apprehensive to testing villagers but came around in the following days. The next day we broadcasted over the radio that we, (CHAS) would again be testing villagers for HIV. People form all over came to be tested, and there was an estimate of over 300 people. After I worked up the courage, I was able to test more then 20 people, adults and children.

Every night in Rumbek is always celebrated. Each night the villagers gather in the Freedom Square for Traditional dancing. The dance is simple, it looks as if theres a massive mob of people jumping for joy. The objective of this dance is to find a wife, but also to find a mate for the night. In Rumbek as well as in the majority of Africa marriage is viewed as a source of income. 

With the teachings CHAS brought to this village, and the supplies given, the people of Rumbek will be able to lead their own ministry in health.

“The goal of CHAS if for everyone to have access to quality health care, and the vision of a healthy Southern Sudan in the future.