Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Welcome to Kapoeta



This is my first blogging experience, but I thought that living in a place where most people only think of the images of war and violence that they see on TV I should try and show another side of Sudan that most people rarely get to see. My goal is to show a little of South Sudan to the outside world. I will be adding stories and photos of the people that I come across, the work that I’m doing, and the small steps of progress (or lack of progress) I see towards peace in South Sudan.

The town I’m living in is called Kapoeta, about two hours from the Kenyan border. It used to be a garrison town, but slowly this is changing. During the war days, it was fought over between the North and the South. You see remnants of war everywhere in the town.

The native inhabitants of the town are called the Toposa people. They are pastoralists and their cattle are everything to them. They are friendly people although many of them have guns as so many weapons flooded the area during the war. There are problems here between tribes stealing each other’s cattle as they are one of the only means of wealth in this area.

Here is my short introduction to Kapoeta town, more stories to come soon. Let me know what you would like to hear about…

2 comments:

Ioli said...

Helen!

I am so glad that you started this blog! It's already on my favorites! very much looking forward to reading about your experience and also about the places you travel to, the people you meet, your impressions and the reaction of those you meet.
I really hope there will be longlasting peace in Sudan... So proud of you being there!

Thanks for keeping in touch!
Ioli

Anonymous said...

I will be headed to Kapoeta in September and was just looking for a little more info on what to expect. What type of work are you doing there? You have a great site have not found anything else like it.
Blessings-
MJK