Moving to and through Chukudum

Fr. Lawrence, Br. Diego, Br. John Baptist and I arrived in Narus last Monday, May 24, at around 1 pm – just in time for lunch. After we ate, loaded the trucks and settled our account there, it was around 3 pm by the time we finally got on the road. The scenery was beautiful as we travelled west across the diocese. Because of recent rains, most of the usually dry river beds had flowing streams we had to ford.

Fording a river between Narus and Chukudum in the late afternoon.

What most concerned me, though, was the road to Chukudum. Even though it had been repaired just last year, it was clear from the preparatory trip we made there a few weeks ago that it had already begun to deteriorate from the rain. The river we had to drive through was pretty strong and deep, but still passable for the Land Cruisers, thank God. The worst point on the route, however, is a dip in the road shortly before arriving in Chukudum. The natural course of runoff water from the heavy rains runs right across the road and has already eaten away more than half the width of the road. We had to pause to decide whether to squeeze across the remaining third or take the very muddy and slippery makeshift uphill bypass some vehicles had already trodden alongside. Fortunately another vehicle made the choice clear; they tried to take the bypass and got stuck. Boosted by prayer we made it across the narrow stretch in four-wheel low without a problem. Fr. Dario Arite, pastor in Chukudum, was very glad to see us when we finally arrived in the dark after 8:00 pm.

The road to Chukudum (left) eroded by heavy rainfall; "bypass" on right.

The team walking through Chukudum.

Br. John Baptist and some friends he met along the way.

The next day we teamed up with some local parishioners to walk through Chukudum and invite the townspeople to join us for the evangelization program that evening (Tuesday, May 25) and the next. Since we are a fairly large team (14 total, including those based in Sudan) and many of us are obviously foreigners, we generated a lot of curiosity as we walked along the roads and through the market, chatting with those whom we met.

Interacting in the market.

Fr. Lawrence teaching the Sign of the Cross to Didinga children.

It was wonderful to see corn, beans and other crops flourishing because of the recent rainfall, but the reality is that Chukudum will have another two very lean and dangerous months before these crops are ready to harvest. We are trying to do what we can to provide them with some extra food to carry them through. The next day (Wednesday, May 26) most of the team made the short trek to the local waterfall and up the hill beyond for a beautiful view of the countryside.

The corn is flourishing but will still take two more hunger-stricken months to be ready for harvest.

The path to the waterfall.

The Didinga Hills - the backdrop to Chukudum.

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