Africa Vision 23

Africa Vision 23

N’Djamena, December 17, 2007

Youth takes lead.

The sentiment I had in the USA I went through again today. Three young American reaching out and traveling to Chad to assess and find how they can best help out this country. For Caesar it is his third visit. Victoria has been twice and it is the first visit for Dawn. Two are medical students from San Antonio and one is interested in Public Health. They shower me with questions about Chad, Sudan and the health system in Chad. Tomorrow we will go out to meet some medical students at the faculty. I need to go there as well to arrange some teaching dates for my classes.

Their website is www.thegreatestgood.org

As we dine in the Carnivore I recognize the eagerness to learn, to be part of the solution, to undergo the experience. It also showed me that the world is a small place. They have met Gabriel Stauring my buddy from Los Angeles, who tours the USA with an exposition of tents on genocide. Several other names of Darfur activist past through our conversation as well. They told me of a documentary maker and Rosemary whom I had the pleasure of meeting already in Bahai (www.) who will both come by before March.

One of the things they wanted to do is hook up with medical students in N’Djamena so there can be an exchange of ideas and start up a link up with their medical faculty.
Another thing is a need assessment of what can be done for Chad. I need to tell them about Benjamin Plener as well tomorrow (www.24hoursfordarfur.org)
They will visit an American doctor running a hospital in the East near Abeche. A doctor I would like to meet. Then they are off to some refugee camps. Some revisits and some new visits. If they get all the paperwork done.

I am happy today. Happy that the youth is taking issues in Chad and Sudan serious and are even traveling down to visit and see with their own eyes where they can contribute. There seems to a genuine interest to do something about crises in the world and doing it self and not necessary by donating money to existing bigger ngo’s.

As I started the day today I had seen a large quantity of medication and materials in the storage of our office. To my delight I met the driver I came down with from Bebedja and the medication is for the hospital of Bebedja. Good news indeed!

Tomorrow a day of paperwork. Collecting stamps and visa so I can stay another year in Chad. I almost forgot to tell about another dear friend. A former associate of Hissen Habre (former president) and the current president (Idriss Itno Deby) and a true intellectual. He must have been too honest to climb further up in the ranks. It is great to hear a critical and honest opinion for that matter about the current state of affairs in Chad. We ended talking about the role France still plays in Chad. According to him Chad is technically independent but it is clear who decides what happens in Chad. The French still have Mirage fighter planes and several thousand troops in the country. And there are large economical investments. He will be off to the USA to visit his son who studies there and I will be happy to meet him after two months when he comes back.

Ade

Ashis