The Journey Begins

By: John Jefferson

The Journey Begins

The mission to Kau-Niaro started as a vision cast over a year earlier when representatives of South Kordofan [Part of Northern Sudan] asked the ENG (End Nuba Genocide) team if we could refocus our planned mission to the Nuba Mts. via Yida, eastward.  Though it was impossible to make that kind of shift given our time and resource constraints, the idea of revisiting the request remained on the minds of the team’s members.  After completing the shipment of the first five tons of CSB (Corn Soy Blend) via the Yida route in late 2012, the team assessed options for the next mission.  With the decision to venture to Kau-Niaro before us, the team was faced with the critical question of what its mission really was.  While there was clear need in other areas of Nuba, little was known about the Kau-Niaro region in terms of need, access, and communications.  In fact, its remoteness, in part, led to the discovery that there was little or no NGO activity and, of course, no UN presence there.   Since ENG was formed to go to where the need is greatest in order to counter the program of genocide where it is most effective, Kau-Niaro became the obvious choice for the mission.

Shortly after making this decision in early 2013, with the dry season almost over and the rainy season upon us, the team started to raise funds, cement the relationship with NRRDO (the Nuban government’s humanitarian aid wing) as a partner, and prepare logistics for making the journey.  With the help of a local NGO, the pieces started to come together for an emergency relief operation.  Critical to any mission like this is security, procurement of goods, and transportation.  The NRRDO and the NGO would be able to handle the bulk of those aspects of the mission along with special connections of ENG members like George Tutu.  George, a Nuban himself and refugee from Sudan with US citizenship, has been serving his people diligently for decades.

In addition to George, David Johnson, a pastor from California, and I would make up the US based team.  The go date was set for April 28^th and the team assembled in Malakal on May 1^st, though George had arrived some days earlier and made the connection with Pastor John, a local church leader with experience in aid operations.  Together, they formed the advance team and were able to get price quotes, coordinate transportation, and make security arrangements, though nothing was finalized until the entire team was assembled and funds were both brought in and arrived by wire.