Volume 4
July 26, 2004

Hello, everyone.

Yesterday afternoon, Allyson finally arrived where she will be working -- the town of Garsila. She left Saturday morning, traveling by car with three other Doctors Without Borders Workers, from Nyala, and it was a two-day trip to Garsila, which is in Western Darfur, the westernmost portion of Sudan. This map is the only one I could find that actually shows Garsila. Once you click on the map, look in the southernmost portion of the province of Western Darfur.

Ally and her colleagues spent the night between Nyala and Garsila in a DWB house in Kass (not on the map above), about halfway there. The trip, blessedly, was uneventful. They did travel through some of the villages that had been destroyed by the Janjaweed militias, which was a pretty sobering sight, she said. But she also saw some fun stuff along the way -- families herding their animals, with the grownups driving the camels and the kids driving the goats, and lots of baboons and other wildlife that is, to us, pretty exotic.

Communication with her now will be much less frequent, I'm afraid, but I do expect to hear from her again in a day or two. Now, the real work begins for her, and I'm sure the coming days will test her resolve and her skills. No doubt, she is up to the challenge, but again, prayers and good thoughts for her are welcome. When we talked yesterday, I relayed the messages I've received from many of you. She was pretty overcome by the outpouring of support. "Tell everybody I love them and miss them," she said.

That's all I have for today. More to come as I hear it.

Chuck

---

Links to Aid Organizations
Doctors Without Borders   UNICEF   International Red Cross

Informational Links
 CIA Sudan Factbook   United Nations   Passion of the Present  New York Times (Africa section)
NPR "Fresh Air" program on Darfur   The Guardian's Darfur Diary

Last updated Wednesday, January 19, 2005