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Elders
[Elders overview goes here]
Gazing Agot Leek is John Dau’s aunt. John is the author of “God Grew Tired of Us”, and he is featured in the documentary of the same name. John built the Duk Lost Boys clinic in the village of Duk Payuel. He brought Aggot from Kakuma refugee camp to the village so that the medical mission group, which was soon to arrive from America, could examine and treat her skin which was losing pigmentation.
Profile A group of women gathered as we walked through the village. They carried sticks, poles, canes, and umbrellas, and they began to sing, chant, and ululate to celebrate our presence in the village. Several of the women wore hats with a…
Emotion We traveled to the nearby village of Pateunoi where Joseph Akol Makeer met his mother’s sister, Auntie Malual Deng. She didn’t know that he had survived the Lost Boy exodus and was overcome with emotion when she learned his identity.
Sight This gentleman used a large stick as a cane. He had some sight in one eye, which is likely scarred from trachoma, and he was able to use it too look at his image on my camera screen.
Elder with Pipe This elder was once a champion wrestler. Wrestling is the most popular sports competition between villages and tribes in South Sudan. Now he works organizing the patients who visit the Duk Lost Boys clinic in the village, from 70–90 people per day.
Village Chief We met Mulual Den when we traveled to Poktop to meet the commissioner of Duk County. Malual bought the first truck in the area, and he used it as a business to haul goods until it was confiscated by the Northern government during the war. Of his 12 sons, only 2 survived the war.
Pastor Mary Pastor Mary opens the children’s program in front of the huts that serve as schools. The program of music and speeches was held in honor of our presence in the village and Joseph Akol Makeer’s desire to help orphans. The front of Pastor Mary’s t-shirt sports a photo of John Garang, head of the rebel army, killed in a plane crash shortly after the Northern government agreed to peace with South Sudan. Mary is from Duk, but she travels around South Sudan ministering to many areas.
Felt Hat Chol Tuet is a village chief. Here he speaks at the children’s program held in honor of Duk Payuel.
Deacon This woman, Achol Ayuel, is a deacon at the Episcopal Church at the village. Very involved with children and orphans, she helped cook for the children’s feast we sponsored and spoke at the children’s program.
Woman with Hat & Hook This woman retained the plastic hook that once held her hat on a sales rack. I don’t know if she kept it because of her pride in its once-new status or because it was practical for hanging it up in her hut. From what I saw of Sudanese behavior, the latter is probably true. Nothing is wasted.