Into the Wild: A Journey to South Sudan
Part 2 of our interview with Harun Ringera takes us to the wilderness of South Sudan.
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Show Notes
Part 2 of our interview with Harun Ringera takes us to the wilderness of South Sudan as he describes his arrival in Warrap State more than a decade ago, with nothing more than a guarantee of some food, a place to sleep, and an opportunity to reach people living far beyond the end of the road. You will be captivated by his adventurous spirit, his heart to help, and his incredible stories, including escaping an attack on the town where he was serving.
Into the Wild: A Journey to South Sudan
Cathy:
Welcome to the End of the Road podcast. My name is Cathy, and I'm your host and tour guide as we journey together to some of the most remote, challenging places on the planet. Our journey today takes us to South Sudan, one of the hardest places that World Concern serves. I'm excited to welcome Harun Ringera back to the podcast.
Cathy:
If you haven't had a chance to listen to the previous episode about Harun's early life, and how God planted a deep longing in his heart to help others, because of the hardships and experiences he had growing up in rural Kenya, I encourage you to listen to that and find out what's so special about Harun's first pair of shoes. But today, you're going to accompany Harun to South Sudan, and I promise you're going to be amazed at the harrowing experiences that he's had there. So, let's jump right in with Harun.
Harun Ringera:
You asked me about one of the craziest places. It was Warrap State in South Sudan.
Cathy:
Okay. Tell us about arriving there. How did you get there?
Harun Ringera:
That time, I was not taken to South Sudan by anybody. I was put in an Antonov, those Russian cargo planes, in a place called Lokichogio. It was taking cargo to Warrap State. Because there was no flight then, I was told, "Enter this cargo." By the way, this was the first time I entered aircraft. There were no city belts, so I was put together with the cargo. Then I was told, "You land in Lietnhom Airport. The airport I thought is like Jomo Kenyatta Airport, only to land in a dirt airstrip. I could see dust going up.
Harun Ringera:
Then I ask myself, "Is this the airport?" At the airport, there was nobody to guide. Alighting from the aircraft, I met the two staff we had. They told me, "Welcome to Lietnhom." Then I asked them, "Where is the Lietnhom City?" I thought a city is a city like Nairobi. And those were small grass-thatched houses is what we're calling a city. And this place, number one, there's no electricity. When it is dark, it is dark. When it is day, it is day.
Harun Ringera:
By 7:00 PM you go to your bed because it's dark. There's no light, unless you use some fire-wood. Then there was no mobile connection that time, unless you use the radios. HF radios, then. That's the only way you communicate. The other thing, that place we couldn't get vegetables. We were getting vegetables from Kenya that time, because South Sudan was not independent yet. We were getting supplies from Nairobi.
Harun Ringera:
And it was my first time to taste dried cabbages. I don't know how they were dried. They were tasteless. Some of the basic things you couldn't find there is a simple thing like an handkerchief. By any chance you forget your handkerchief in Nairobi, you stay without or you cut one of your old clothes. You use that as your handkerchief, because there's no where to buy. Simple thing like a soap you couldn't get that, that time. Simple thing. If you have an headache, you couldn't get if even a pain reliever. You couldn't get a paracetamol in that rural remote area.
Cathy:
So not even a Tylenol for a headache. Wow. Were you ever scared of getting sick or hurt?
Harun Ringera:
One thing I found there, and it was very scary, one of the scariest I was scared is, if you had a fracture or a dislocation of your leg ... We had one of my friend, pastor. I think now he is a bishop, he had dislocation. There, there's no hospital to help you. I could see they have some expert, "medical expert" in the rural area who come and you are held by very strong men, then they twist your leg until they align it.
Harun Ringera:
If your bone is broken, they are the same guys who will come and assume this is the way the bone should be, then they tie you with some ropes. One of my prayers when I was there, maybe I've never told anybody this, is that, "God help me not to have a dislocation of any of my bones." And I can tell you, God protected me that none of my bone was injured like that of Jesus. None of his bone was broken. Because I found this pastor really breathing in pain.
Cathy:
Yes.
Harun Ringera:
They could apply some oil, then some strong guys they hold you then they tie you because there is no hospital in that place. Those are some of the hardest place I can say we have been, because that time, the only way you could move from one area to another is maybe use a plane. And that is chartered, which is a lot of money. Or you use your four-wheel drive to create your own road. Actually, we created many roads.
Harun Ringera:
We could say, maybe we are going to Tacoma Airport. Which is the direction for Tacoma Airport? Then with our four-wheel drive, we move and we create the road there. But there were other risks even as you move. Sometimes what people were doing, they could drive animals through that direction because there could be landmines. Because the country was in civil war, so you could go over the landmine.
Harun Ringera:
What I saw people doing is, before they use that direction, they ... You can't just move when you want. They could make sure that the cows, they move ahead of you. So if there is any landmine, they clear the road for you. That's some of scary moments, but God gave me a lot of confidence. By the way, I was getting a lot of excitement, and I think it's the Holy Spirit who was in me and telling me there is hope.
Harun Ringera:
Now, actually, when I see South Sudan is the biggest program in Kenya, I am really excited. Some places we were in when we went there, there were no organized businesses. We were able to help people, teach them business. Now many people have started enterprises. There were no banks. Now we have been able to establish more than three banks and several savings and loans groups.
Harun Ringera:
Those places, there were no churches. Actually, for us Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday, all the days looked the same. In Kenya, what differentiates a day and another is, people go to for Sunday services. There, there were no churches. For us, it's Monday, or Tuesday, or Sunday, days were the same. Because that time there were no schools.
Harun Ringera:
But now I'm happy, we have been able to plant many churches in South Sudan. Every Sunday, now you can hear the drums beating. You can hear people beating the bell. Still we call people in South Sudan using the vehicle rim. You use the rim for the vehicle to beat it, to tell people now the church service is about to start.
Harun Ringera:
You can now differentiate between days. Now, schools have been started in our OVT villages. Now, we have trained many evangelists. We could see now people are evangelizing.
Harun Ringera:
People were worshiping the local gods. Every village had their own shrine where they were going to offer sacrifices and pray. And every home had their own god. Seeing people now demolishing those and going to church, we are really, really excited about that.
Cathy:
Wow. So many really dramatic changes have happened in South Sudan since you started there. What kind of changes have you seen in people, in the culture there, in the village of Lietnhom?
Harun Ringera:
Seeing people coming together. That time, there was that law. It was called the Hammurabi law. A truth for a tooth. An eye for an eye. I think they had gotten that from the Arabs. But now you can see people now ... If you have some differences, you can hear them saying, "Let's talk." Because we have been doing so many trainings on peace and reconciliation, and showing people how to come and helping them understand it's going to agree on issues, because if you go to fighting, there's no winner in any fight. You lose and I'll lose.
Harun Ringera:
So why don't we discuss and ask ourselves, "Where did we go wrong? What could we have done differently? Is violence the solution?" I've seen those things evolving in South Sudan. That time we couldn't have even mechanics. All the mechanics, including just simple thing like changing engine oil, simple repairs for the vehicle, we were getting mechanics from East Africa.
Harun Ringera:
But when we went there, we were able to train mechanics. Actually, one of our drivers currently, and a mechanic, is the one we trained. I got him on a street, repairing bicycles. And I found this guy has a lot of potential. He has never been to school and he can figure out how to repair a bicycle. We took him, took him to school. And after finishing the primary school, we took him to apprenticeship. He was able to know to repair a vehicle, to drive a vehicle. Actually, now is one of our best in drivers.
Harun Ringera:
He calls me father. He says, I'm his father because I took him from a street. He was sitting down on the street. Being around 12 years, is when he went to grade one. And we have worked with him all through. And I've seen a lot of changes in South Sudan. We have been able to take even some of South Sudan to Kenya, like the gentleman leading microfinance. We brought him to Kenya to study business administration. And he's now the one helping South Sudanese on issues on microfinance.
Harun Ringera:
A lot of changes are there. The other interesting thing, Cathy, I have to share with you is, South Sudan, men that time, not now, they were leaders in everything. And for the first time to have a woman leader is in our first village bank in Lietnhom. Because after working with them, we showed them how human beings are the same. There's nothing like for a man or a woman. And we can take them and show them how women are able to manage the little resources.
Harun Ringera:
The little money you bring at home, the woman is able to organize it and she's able to buy some food, prepare a meal for the family, take the children to school. And then we told them, "Don't you think these women can be leaders even in the society?" And after that, during the elections of board members they appointed one of the ladies, as the first woman to be a leader in the community.
Harun Ringera:
It was an amazing moment that people were wondering, "How did it come about?" And it's after respecting people and knowing that God is in that place, and asking, God, "Help me to see you in this place. Help me God to see you manifesting yourself in this community." Actually for me, I call it a miracle because it had never been seen anywhere else.
Harun Ringera:
And when she could stand in front of the people, people were always clapping because she was a good orator. She was a good organizer. Their money was safe. Actually, when I was in Lietnhom in 2008, there was an attack in the village and everything was burnt down. But we didn't lose even a single coin from the bank. They were able to organize with some staff. They were able to wind that money. We didn't lose our documents.
Harun Ringera:
And that was leadership from this lady because they were calling them their mother. And I was happy to see the husband calling everybody and telling everybody in the community that, "My wife is the leader of the bank." She was a military commander and she could share the stories. And that brought, I can say, revolution in the community, because after that I found lady who was a governor. I saw a lady who was a county commissioner. Many ladies came up after that from 2007, 2008, 2009. After that, I've seen many ladies are coming up as leaders and they're really influencing their society.
Cathy:
Wow. How incredible-
Harun Ringera:
I can speak hours and hours when it comes to South Sudan when we had almost nothing. Those things were happening even before they became independent in 2011. And one thing I've learned, Cathy, if you go in any community, you tell God, "I want to see you here in this community. God, I want you to use me." And thirdly, you respect the people you find there, God is going to work. Just allow him to use you as an instrument, and God is going to use you in marvelous ways.
Cathy:
I wanted to just pause for a moment and thank our listeners for joining us today. If you're just hearing about World Concern for the first time and you're curious to learn a little bit more about who we are and what sets us apart from other organizations you might be familiar with, please visit worldconcern.org/podcast and learn a little bit more about what we do. And now, let's get back to our conversation with Harun.
Cathy:
I want to recap that last thing that you just said and then go back over a little bit, because there's just so much transformation in South Sudan that you've just shared about. But you were just saying, and I think this is important for the listeners who can apply this in their own lives, and in their own communities, and in their own families.
Cathy:
But you were saying, when you arrive in a community, it's important to approach the community with respect and then to ask God to show you him working in that community. You ask him to was you in that community. And then what was the third thing that you mentioned that you do when you enter a new community?
Harun Ringera:
That, "God, I want to see you at work."
Cathy:
Yes. Yes.
Harun Ringera:
Yes.
Cathy:
Okay.
Harun Ringera:
Because God is at work in every community.
Cathy:
Yes. Okay.
Harun Ringera:
It's only to ask God to open your eyes that you can see what he is doing. And you open your ears, that you can hear what he's telling you, because God is always speaking. In every moment to asking God, "What do you want me to do in this situation?"
Cathy:
Yeah. Yeah. Incredible transformation in South Sudan. I had not heard many of those stories about the early days in South Sudan. You arrived on that dirt airstrip in an area called Lietnhom, which is spelled with an L and just ... No electricity, no vegetables, no nothing out there, and basically just got to work right away on that initial six-month, five-month contract that you had.
Cathy:
And now many, many years later you're leading the work in Kenya, you've led the work in South Sudan for World Concern. So much transformation has happened. In fact, Lietnhom was really the birthplace of World Concern's signature program, One Village Transformed. It was one of the first, if not the first village. And you mentioned that you could see how it would replicate and that we would go from one village to the next village, to the next village and be able to have those villages model themselves after the changes that took place in Lietnhom.
Cathy:
And since then many, many villages and many, many people have been transformed in all the ways that you've mentioned in businesses, and savings, and kids going to school, and churches, and just all kinds of transformation happening. People burning their idols in front of their homes and getting rid of them and instead turning to God and worshiping God. It's incredible.
Cathy:
I didn't realize that you were the first one in Wau, which is spelled W-A-U.
Harun Ringera:
Yes.
Cathy:
In Wau, South Sudan, that you were the first one to arrive. Just asking for ... All you needed was a place to sleep and some food, and that you could reach more people in a completely different part of South Sudan, also a really difficult area in that Wau area. Again, an area now where World Concern is working in many villages in that area, surrounding out in the rural areas, going, not just to the end of the road, but beyond the end of the road.
Cathy:
And as you said, oftentimes clearing the bush to make a road, to reach these villages, to help people that are struggling just to survive and don't know the hope of Jesus, the hope of God. And so it's really powerful, incredible work. And to see it multiply like that, and to see so many communities being changed and really the entire nation of South Sudan changing, even though it's in the news recently for being a place that is really struggling with a collapse of the very weak political system that they have there in leadership, lots of drought, flooding, hunger, all of those things.
Cathy:
I think it's really important for people to hear the stories of families and communities, villages that are doing better, that are being transformed, that they're is hope that God is working in South Sudan. Things are changing. And so Harun, you've been a huge part of that in these areas, being oftentimes the first person as a young man with limited experience, but just saying, "Yes, God, I want to go. Send me and I will show up. And I want to do this." And so many lives have been transformed because of you and because of God. And so I really am honored to have this conversation with you today, and to hear these stories that you have to share.
Cathy:
I wanted to have you share one more story. This one just really blew my mind when I heard it the first time. And I just want to say to the listeners that, if you have young children with you that are listening, right now it might be a good time to have them tune out because Harun had to pretty ... He had multiple scary experiences in South Sudan, but I remember well because I was working with World Concern at the time, hearing the story, praying for you and the team.
Cathy:
But you were in Wau when the town ... It was actually attacked. And you and the team, and you were in charge, and you had to make a decision, which at World Concerned, the leaders of the programs are always empowered to make a decision, that if they need to evacuate the team, if that's the safest thing to do, and it rarely happens. But on this occasion, you had to make a decision in the middle of the night to evacuate the team. Tell us that story and tell us how that happened and what happened during that time.
Harun Ringera:
That time, it happened an evening. It started around there. The attack by the rebels. The rebels wanted to attack Wau town and overrun it. I didn't know. It was done secretly. For the first time, we didn't have much information. Other times we get prior information, but this seems it was done very secretly and we didn't know. We started hearing heavy guns, tankers shooting some just three kilometers away. And they were just approaching the town.
Harun Ringera:
And as they came towards the town... When they fire those heavy artillery, the building was just shaking. At night, you could see them firing those missiles. Actually, what you see in the movies is what we were seeing that night. And you could hear now the government tankers moving towards that direction because our office was in town and it was near a road. I can say it was a very scaring moment. Especially when you see them firing and you don't know if they would fire towards your side.
Harun Ringera:
Then the whole town was full of military. The biggest question is, how do I take my team out of this town? And you have to do it, because if by any chance a missile comes towards your direction, it's another story. The issue was, what do we do? We had to organize with the local staff, start negotiation with the people controlling sections of the town. Because the town now was controlled by different people.
Harun Ringera:
And that's why I learned the importance of being in good terms with all people, including the military. And when we moved out, we took that courage. We used one of the local staff, who was helping us negotiate because some of them were speaking in some of the local languages we couldn't understand. We told them who we are, how we are helping them. Some of them we had helped them when there was hunger.
Harun Ringera:
We had given some of them in their villages food. We started microfinance project in their villages. We were being stopped. After 20 meters we were being top. And those guys they are holding the guns and they're pointing them at you asking them, "Who are you? And where are you going? Are you the one supporting our enemies?" We negotiated until we had to take the team to the nearest town.
Cathy:
I remember when you were in the office in Wau, that you were talking ... The local staff arranged to get a vehicle to you guys, a car to get out. And so not only were you negotiating with the rebel fighters and those that were controlling that part of the town, but you had to negotiate to get a vehicle to leave. And you had to leave in the middle of the night when it was dark. Is that right?
Harun Ringera:
Yes.
Cathy:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Harun Ringera:
Yeah. We had to negotiate and leave because ... It was scary because we realized they are coming near our office, especially when the office started shaking. That time you had to take a decision because you don't know what will happen. And everybody is asking you, "What do we do?" Because when you are a leader, everybody looks at you. If you get scared, your team will be scared. So you have to be strong and take leadership and tell them that, "We are leaving this town and we'll be safe."
Harun Ringera:
And God is faithful as a leader, and you trust in him. When you tell them you'll be safe, actually we were safe. That's why we realized as a leader if you rely on God and ask him for leadership, he'll lead you and the team will follow you. And I also appreciate World Concern leadership for the training they had given us. We are given lots of training on security, on how to evacuate our team. Our listeners should go …
Harun Ringera:
We don't just risk our lives. We take our team through a series of trainings and refresher trainings on what to do, when and what, how to negotiate with armed people. How do you negotiate with them? How do you talk with them? How do you prepare for such eventualities? We ensure when there's such an eventually, you have enough water with you. You have food with you. You have a travel passport with you. Leadership really equips us. And I'm so happy with our the leadership. They tell you, "As a leader, if you are there and the situation happens, take leadership and ensure your team is safe."
Cathy:
Very good. Very good.
Harun Ringera:
The number one thing is your team, ensure they're safe before even you think about the assets. We really take care of our staff members.
Cathy:
Yeah. That's so good. So you escape in the middle of the night, you get a vehicle, you get out of town as the missiles are firing and guns are firing all around you. At what point did you realize, "Okay, I think we're safe." Was it on the road? Did you get on a plane? At what point did you realize, "I think we made it out. Okay."
Harun Ringera:
It's when we traveled outside of Western Bahr el Ghazal State. We had to move to the nearest state. Wau, W-A-U, is in Western Bahr el Ghazal State. We had move to the neighboring state, which is called Warrap State. And north of it, which actually boarders Sudan. We felt, now we are really safe. Nobody can come that side of the country.
Cathy:
And then those of you that were Kenyan experts at the time, you went back to Kenya for a brief period of time after this incident, didn't you? And then I remember again, caring for the staff, helping people process the trauma that they had experienced through this incident. One of the things that also blew my mind was, I don't remember if it was maybe six or eight weeks later, but things had calmed down in Wau, and I remember that I was on a call with you, and I remember you saying, and I was really surprised, but you said, "We thank God. We've been able to come back and we're back in Wau, and the programs are starting back up again, and we're getting back to work."
Cathy:
And I just remember thinking, that's incredible after fleeing such a dangerous situation that you were thanking God for the ability to be back in that place. And you went back, didn't you?
Harun Ringera:
Yeah, we went back. One, when we came back to Kenya, we were taken through trauma healing. We are counseled and we healed. We should not also forget the local staff. Some of them, they felt dangers too. We had to organize on where they can hide. So we had to hide a number of them and ensure that in their safe places they get supplies, food. We had also came up with a mechanism to help the local staff who were feeling unsafe.
Harun Ringera:
Number two, we felt we needed them to go back. Cathy, those are people in South Sudan, and people who have not been in South Sudan they don't know that South Sudanese are very friendly. They are very welcoming. Like me, they call me brother. I felt I need to go home. When I'm there, I feel I'm at home. Actually, I feel more safe than Nairobi because when I'm there, they say they are protecting their brother. Because I'm their brother, they make sure that my team and I are not injured.
Harun Ringera:
The people stayed for many years in South Sudan for 10 years. I've made friendships. Very deep, deep friendships. So I felt as if I'm going home. By the way, when I landed there, I felt as if I've been at home. And I really wanted to go back to the team I was working with to inspire them. Because if I stay in Kenya and I left part of my team in South Sudan, they'll feel that our leader doesn't care. So I had to go and cry with them because a number of them had lost their loved one.
Harun Ringera:
We had to go back, encourage them, give them hope, organize some more therapy sessions with them, because we also wanted to take care of them. Also a number of them had gone to internally displaced camps, which you call IDPs or refugee camps. And some of the people who are there, they are my friends, because one area was completely occupied by the rebels, so nobody could stay there. So everybody came in town.
Harun Ringera:
We had to come and ask ourselves, those people were in make shifts houses, shelters, how can we help them? And that one you can't do it when you are in Nairobi. And you are not going just to a beneficiary, you are going to a brother, to a sister, to a mother. The women there call me their son. So I was going home. And that's the connection we develop with our beneficiaries.
Harun Ringera:
When we work with them, we feel they're part of us. There's no boundary between us and them, so we were one. And that's why I told you, I'm so happy I am back because I know I will make a difference in their lives and I will give them hope. Because I remember my security guard asking me, "Harun, why is God allowing us to go through all this?" You know that you can't sort that with an email or a phone call, you have to go and sit down with them, cry with them and listen.
Harun Ringera:
And just listening, actually, I call it the ministry of presence, just being there it's ministry by itself and you give them hope. You tell them, "We thank God. We have something to thank God for. Thank God that you and I, we are breathing in and out and then God ensured that we are safe." Even you can see many people died. Actually 100 people died in that town that evening because of the shootings. Shootings was being done haphazardly. And some of them shot where people were settled.
Harun Ringera:
That's why I was so overjoyed to go and give people hope. Actually, I'm so much overjoyed. When I see somebody who is suffering I talk with that person and they start smiling. That's one of my therapy to smile. I tell them, "I can't leave this place until you smile." And it's biblical.
Cathy:
Well, people can't see me right now, but I've been smiling the whole time listening to you today. I love your smile. It just warms my heart, and I'm sure that you have made many, many people listening today smile even through the experiences that you shared at the end, just the hope, I love the idea of the ministry of presence, of just being with people in their pain and in their suffering. Sometimes there are no words to comfort.
Cathy:
Sometimes there's no explanation for what someone is going through, but to know that someone like you is just able to be with them. And I think that the listeners hearing this today can apply that to their lives as well. Maybe there's someone in their life that's going through a hard time, they don't know what to say, they don't know what to do, but they can just be with them and just be present with them. I think that's an incredible encouragement. And so …
Harun Ringera:
And before you close Cathy, we thank our supporters, our donors for sending us there. Because if it were not for them, I couldn't have been in South Sudan. I'm saying a big thank you to our supporters. And I pray that God will bless them and increase them for sending me to South Sudan.
Cathy:
I love that. I love that. Thank you. Yes. Absolutely, there are people who are in different parts of the world that can't go to a place like South Sudan. And probably, honestly, wouldn't want to but they can still be a part of what God is doing in South Sudan through their prayers and through supporting an organization like World Concern that does have people on the ground present with those people and helping initiate that change and carry that transformation all the way through.
Cathy:
We've seen it happen. We've seen those villages go from desperate, and hungry, and afraid, and spiritually blinded, to free, and joyful, and thriving and living in abundance. It's incredible to be a part of that. And we do invite people to join us in this transformation and to be a part of it because it is possible.
Cathy:
And so I want to thank you, Harun, for your incredible stories that you have shared today for taking us to the end of the road and really giving us a look, an incredible look inside a really hard place, South Sudan, to see what people have gone through and why a place like South Sudan is so near to your heart, and especially to see what God is doing in a place like that.
Harun Ringera:
Thank you, Cathy, for forgiving me the opportunity to share part of my story.
Cathy:
I want to thank our listeners for joining us today. I hope that your mind has been opened up a little bit, your heart has been touched through some of the stories that you have heard today. As I mentioned earlier, if you're curious about learning a little bit more about World Concern, about our work Beyond The End of the Road, you can visit worldconcern.org/podcast to learn more.
Cathy:
I want to thank CRISTA Ministries, World Concern's parent organization, for making this podcast possible. And I also want to thank Casey Helmick and the whole team at Terra Firma for their production, and editing, and consulting expertise for helping us bring these stories to life and bring them to you. Thanks again for joining us today. We look forward to more stories at the End of the Road next time.
