Dilling / Happy Birthday Miriam!

Dilling is in central Sudan – to get there you take a nine-hour bus trip from Khartoum. The ride itself is an experience, with Arabic music blared across the bus speakers and only one washroom stop. Then again, if the police at the checkpoints are bored, you may stop far more often.

Possibly the greatest highlight of the entire month-long trip, was seeing my sister Miriam at work. She positively excels! With baffling confidence, she crosses barriers of culture, language, class, and gender to offer her cheerful but powerful management ability. Most impressive is her interpersonal aptitude. After only two years, her Arabic has the sophistication to joke, tease, empathize, and comfort. I delighted in watching as she often talked animately with co-workers, her face all lit up – in her element. Her organization does fantastic work: development projects that involve the entire community in building wells, starting irrigated farms, and keeping schools open. This is done in the face of political turmoil and environmental stress from the encroaching desert. Miriam comes home next week to begin a Master’s at the University of Guelph in Rural Development and Planning. Miriam, I love you a lot and am so very proud of you!!