Ethiopia Blog Ten: Friday
by Frank Dimmock
Greetings friends. I had no internet connection last night, so there’s extra news today.
We completed our final lesson in trauma healing this morning and reviewed action plans for following up healing groups in each of the six refugee camps and Gambella town. It was a very good exercise and will help the new trainees to collaborate with others trained during the children’s trauma healing and audio trauma healing sessions. We are getting a core group of trained folks in each camp who can continue the work in their camps. On Monday next week we will be meeting with three representatives of the camp relief committees to orient them to the trauma healing work and seek their endorsement.
We enjoyed handing out the certificates to the new trainees (see photo), then spent the afternoon in Kule refugee camp. There we visited three Presbyterian preschools. There are MANY children in these camps! At the first preschool there were 350 learners, the second had 835 and the third only about 150. The children welcomed us with songs and we met their teachers. They have a giant task with so many children. Each school has a table, several blackboards and chairs for the teachers (except the last school). They need more materials and want to roof several classrooms that are unfinished. It rained before we arrived and the camp was very muddy.
We will leave town early tomorrow for visits to two camps and six more schools. It is a privilege to be working in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan and staff like John Jock (education coordinator for the camps). Please continue to pray for the refugees and for peace to come in South Sudan. The refugees are very eager to return home. Today they said that when peace comes, they will not wait for the UN buses to carry them back across the border, they’ll walk.
Blessings in Christ,
Frank Dimmock
Africa Mission Specialist