OD visits Nimule

In November 2003 Operation Day’s Work finally made it to Nimule in South Sudan. The visit took place in the shadow of war and insurgency

By Sine Schack Vestergaard, OD Denmark

The Nile is calm and blue, the air hot and moist. A man pushes our small boat into the still water. We are on our way to Nimule watching out carefully for crocodiles.

Nimule is a small town in South Sudan, near the Ugandan border. With the money from the Danish students’ organisation Operation Day’s Work’s 1999 fundraising, New Sudan Education Association (NSEA) operates a resource centre in Nimule. But Operation Day’s Work (OD) has never before visited the place.

Nimule resource centre

Reaching Nimule safely we are welcomed by the local management committee of the resource centre. Last time we met the committee, they came cycling to us in Adjumani. On behalf of OD, we are happy to be able to finally come to their place and see the centre with our own eyes.

Nimule resource centre is located in a new building on the edge of town about three kilometres from the secondary school. The committee and librarian explains that the distance do not cause problems for the users because many people do live in the area. And when the refugees resettle, even more people will stay near to the centre.

Peace under way

A lot of people are expected to arrive in Nimule within the near future. All over South Sudan people are optimistic for the prospect of peace. The leaders of both the North and the South have committed themselves to signing a peace agreement before new-year. And in Nimule, this means the return of thousands of refugees from Uganda. “When peace comes,” they say. Not if, but when.

“When peace comes, I’m expecting improvements in the business,” a local trader tells.

Business has been slow lately. The road passing through Nimule used to be the main route for transportation in Sudan. Starting in Mombasa, passing through Nimule, reaching Juba and eventually Khartoum, goods as well as development assistance and aid passed on this road.

Nowadays, the road is to a large extent inaccessible. Not directly because of the war between the North and the South Sudanese. The real problem is Ugandan: The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). LRA activities make the road impassable without military escort. This has of course affected the economy of Nimule. This is also why we came to Nimule on a small motorboat. The threat posed by the crocodiles appears to some degree preferable to that of the LRA.

But the people of Nimule are optimistic still, and it seems likely that the threat of the LRA will fade if the Sudanese peace takes root.

Plans for the future

The staff and committee of Nimule resource centre has a lot of spirit and many ideas: Plans of establishing a book lending scheme under which the secondary school can have books for the students for a limited period of time, and vocational training. Also some committee members are very much concerned about girls’ attendance in the library and plan to take initiatives to improve it.

From OD-Denmark, we send our best wishes to Nimule Resource Centre and the people of Nimule. Keep up the good work and hope to see you soon.