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Toys and Clothes

The children liked the toys especially I think, real luxuries for them.












Everyone seemed to want something, although it was hard, because there was so many more children than clothes to give away......










A smile, even with front teath missing, to melt anyone's heart.
This little girl was very friendly, but her little sister really wasn't sure what to make of me!

Everything we do here, we hope, shows the people a little, that they do not have to alway fear soldiers......

Visiting the Local Church in Melut

There are a few churches in the town, usually recognizable by the fact that they are actually buildings and not just grass huts!

I took some clothes to give away, donated by David Coupland and Stephanie Pinnacle - of course, all little girls clothes from their two daughters, Amelia and Michaela!

It took a bit of organanizing though, with about a hundred kids and I only had one bag! Everyone seemed pretty happy though, and were obviously excited!

Handing Out Izzie Dolls

Hi Mom, when you said you were taking some pictures from the blog, I thought you would like this one - of your Izzie Dolls in action!

Some of the Children In Our Town

Many of the places we visit, we see lots and lots of children. After years of conflict, it seems there is a missing generation, with people in their late twenties or early thirties being rare indeed. South Sudan has a high birth rate too, although it also has one of the highest infant mortality rates as well. An up hill battle.

These kids were all dressed up to attend a rally in town, during the visit of the State Governor. The elections are coming, so like in any country, the politicians are on the move.

This little girl walked by crying and crying (seemed to be fighting with her brothers) but as soon as she saw me with my camera, wanted her picture taken. Cute, cute, cute!

Most of these children have not seen themselves in a picture so always want us to take their photo and show them on our cameras.

A Few More Izzie Dolls

On a foot patrol in MELUT town, a chance to hand out a few more of the "Izzie" dolls from my Mom Anne and Teri's Mom Irma. A few more happy kids, who a few minutes early, really had nothing.

The local bus!

OK, nobody complain again about OC Transpo or any other mass transit system back home!

The Road Along the Way

Its always amazing to realize how far "out there" we really are on these trips.


Always an opportunity to pass out a soccer ball or two. No game boys or toys of any sort really. Handing out a soccer ball to these kids is like "handing out fun".

My friend Pelle had to demonstrate how it was used, at least in Sweden!

Long Range Patrol to MALAKAL

This past week I was part of a patrol to escort Indian Armoured Fighting Vehs (BMP1s), part of our force protection, to our Sector Headquarters in MALAKAL. They were moving on large flat bed trucks, so quite a big train to move.




You can see the road conditions, and the dust these things raised, caused some difficulties.....







The best part was getting an invitation to lunch with the Indian force protection troops. Fried flat bread, curry, and cold scrambled eggs!