Christmas Greetings from sunny South Sudan!

by Lindsay

While many of you are wrapped up, sipping mulled wine and lighting candles, we are entering the dry and dusty season in Juba where temperatures brush up to 40ᵒ during the day. We have tried our best to bring the spirit of Christmas to our base in Juba, with endless fairy lights and a lot of fake fir-tree tinsel, and carols can be heard being hummed through offices. But it does feel like a unique and special Christmas – far away from the ‘normal’ presents, office parties and travelling to see family. It is a bit of a gift to be experiencing wildly different circumstances and the same Christmas story – reimagining what has been Anglicised, and what remains throughout cultures and history.

Last week, we celebrated our annual Christmas conference for all Medair staff based in a Juba, and a handful travelling in from various field locations. We booked out the conference room of a very swish, new hotel in Juba and had a jolly good time thanks to the Games Team who organised a lot of fun! The morning was dedicated to hearing from different departments through their Christmas presentations, through songs, poems, games and stand up comedy. There was a ton of food, and some really nice time outside by the pool. The afternoon was lent to playing games in groups (I was an orange, Steve was a banana) which led to the classic make-a-costume-out-of-newspaper competition.

2022 competition winners

Looking to the weekend, we have Christmas Day lunch booked at a restaurant, for the 12 of us who are remaining in Juba, followed by a few days off before work begins again on Wednesday 28th December. Thankfully, there are plenty of restaurants around, and a couple of hotels with swimming pools, so it should not be a hardship to spend the time resting and enjoying. Steve and I are due to go on leave in January, which feels like it is coming up pretty quickly, and is most welcome! We will make the most of Medair’s team house in Nairobi, Kenya, and spend a couple of weeks based from there.

A big thank you for keeping up with us and for staying in touch. It has been an extraordinary 6 months and it is really encouraging to know friends are not that far away (thanks to technology). Whatever your Christmas looks like – we hope it is a special time for you to rest and remember, and look to 2023 with hope.

 

Celebrating Steve’s birthday earlier in December

   

Evening glow on the roof

 We wish you a very happy Christmas and good start to 2023 - please do stay in touch! 

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