chapter 17 A Long Walk to Water
Текст на Статията
- Southern Sudan, 2009
- What do you think we are building here?
- A house? Or a Barn? "A school"
- Sudan and Rochester, New York, 2003-2007
- To visit me?But who are you? Salva? Salva!My son, my son!
- Hello! I have come to visit you.I am your son. I am Salva
- Everyone was sure you were dead. The village wanted to kill a cow for you.
- Nya went back and picked up the plastic can. She felt as if she was flying. School!She would learn how to read and write!
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- I never gave up hope that you were still alive somewhere.She(mother) is back in the village.There is still wa in Loun-Ariik my son, If you went there, both sides would try to force you to fight with them...
- Salva stood at the foot of one beds in the crowded clinic. It has been nineteen years since they had last seen each other.
- On the plane back to US, Slava replayed in his mind every moment of his visit with his father. He felt again the coolness on his brow when his father had sprinkled the water blessing on him.
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- Mawien Dut sprinkled water on his son's head, The Dinka way of blessing someone who was lost and is found again.
- The first time Salva spoke in front of an audience was in school cafeteria...Salva's knees were shaking...
- There is so much to talk about. His father told Salva that his sisters were with his mother. But of his three brothers, only Ring ha survived the war. Ariik the oldest, and Kuol the youngest were both dead...He learned more of his father's illness, years of drinking contaminated water had left Mawien entire digestive system riddled with guniea worms...
- And...my mother?I must see her!
- An idea of what he might be able to do to help the people in Sudan...Back in Rochester, Salva began working on his idea...Chris and Louise gave him many suggestions. Scott, a friend of theirs, was an expert in setting up projects like Salva had in mind. He and Salva worked for hours and days...which grew into weeks and months...SAlva met other people who wanted to help...Salva had raised money for the project...
- All those eyes looking at him...every face interested in what he had to say.The audience had come to the school cafeteria because they wanted to hear him...A year passed and two...then three...Salva spoke to hundreds of people-in churches, at civic organizations, in schools...Whenever he found himself losing hope Salva would think of his uncle's words. "a step at a time...One problem at a time..."
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