Well as the week winds down, and the training comes to an end, I have some time to reflect. Tomorrow is our last day of induction training, I remember reading blogs from other officers who served in the Sudan, and they expressed there frustration with all the repetitive information that we receive, I think it is important that before we deploy to our team sites, we all have an understanding of what is going on in the complex country.
I will be deployed to team site Yei. This site is the most southern site in Sudan, it is positioned in close proximity to Uganda, and the Congo. The town is home to around 140,000 people, so it should be quite interesting, My partner and myself will be the first canadians to be posted to this southern town, so standby for photos. One last point to my buddy Dave, this city will need you expertise, so hop onto a flight and bring lots of paint.
Just hanging around
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
January 7 2011 Induction Training
Well we finished our clearing in yesterday, signed our lives away, and changed our money into Sudanese pounds. The question is what is next, well let me tell you all INDUCTION TRAINING 7 days of lectures on everything from the mission statement to sexual harassment, to what you do if you are taken hostage. I found the line up of instructors was more interesting than the actual topics. We had 2 ladies from my old stomping grounds in Namibia, the sexual harassment lecture was done by a Russian, we had a lecture on UNPOL (united nations police) from a Ethiopian police officer. I've met officers from Kenya, India, Sweden, Australia, Bangladesh, Turkey etc, etc. For those of you who have been on other missions, this one seems different right from the get go, first it's a African Union lead mission, with support from the international community. I was told today, that only Canada, and Australia are the only english speaking contributing countries, at least in the police side of things, so as you can imagine the diversity of people I will meet and work with is truly exciting. Next week we do our drivers test, and if you survive, then you will be issued a UN drivers licence, and then we would have a little more freedom. The weather today was Africa Hot, I think about 35 or so, till next time.......
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
January 5 2011
We started our first day on a bang, at 04:45 hrs, I was awaken by the call to prayer, this consists of several hundred speakers placed all over the city of Khartoum, the volume cranked up then the howling begins, this carries on for several minutes, then silence. This happens several times a day. The city of Khartoum looks like construction gone wild, all or most of the buildings are incomplete, this is done so the owners can forgo paying the required taxes. There is also the smell of burning garbage, that coincides with the lack of any traffic control.
Today was our first day of work, it consisted of clearing in, getting id cards made, filling out paperwork etc etc. The food is pretty good, and quite cheap, I had breakfast for about 7 dollars, or 20 Sudanese pounds. Were living in a rental house, for about 10 days, then we'll get or postings to the south of Sudan, and that's were the majority of our time will be spent. Tomorrow Thursday, will be spent finishing up with all the paperwork, then on Friday starts the United Nations training program. This training is a continuation of the training that I received in Calgary and Ottawa. The referendum for a independant South Sudan starts on the 9th of January, and will carry on for the following week, the UN has decided that they will not move us south until the vote is over, however they will not announce the results until after we are placed in our respective team sites. Tomorow I am going to get some pictures to better describe what I see everyday, I think this is important that all of you can see what I see, and travel with me over the next 12 months.
Today was our first day of work, it consisted of clearing in, getting id cards made, filling out paperwork etc etc. The food is pretty good, and quite cheap, I had breakfast for about 7 dollars, or 20 Sudanese pounds. Were living in a rental house, for about 10 days, then we'll get or postings to the south of Sudan, and that's were the majority of our time will be spent. Tomorrow Thursday, will be spent finishing up with all the paperwork, then on Friday starts the United Nations training program. This training is a continuation of the training that I received in Calgary and Ottawa. The referendum for a independant South Sudan starts on the 9th of January, and will carry on for the following week, the UN has decided that they will not move us south until the vote is over, however they will not announce the results until after we are placed in our respective team sites. Tomorow I am going to get some pictures to better describe what I see everyday, I think this is important that all of you can see what I see, and travel with me over the next 12 months.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Flight of the Argus January 3 2011
Well the journey starts, Calgary to Ottawa, Ottawa to Montreal, Montreal to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Khartoum, holly flight hours. We arrived in Amsterdam at 07:30 hrs local, say around 01:30hrs Ontario time, and 23:30hrs Calgary time. So here I sit in the Amsterdam airport, with the sweet smell of cheserfield cigarettes, and the cool europeon atmosphere. We leave for Khartoum in 2 hours so seee you later
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