long time coming

part 1

post•par•tum de•pres•sion

noun
depression suffered by a mother following childbirth, typically arising from the combination of hormonal changes, psychological adjustment to motherhood, and fatigue.

I know that it is common for mothers to experience postpartum depression. I wonder if there are any studies about fathers having this problem as well.
not sure if I am experiencing hormonal changes, but I think i got some psychological adjustments to fatherhood and the fatigue bit. Plus a number of other issues that seem to bring me down and weigh heavy on my shoulders. Or it could just be the depression & frustration that has been hounding my heels for the past few months and has finally caught up.

whatever it is I hope it goes away soon.

part 2

sudan

A few months ago I spent 4 weeks in a place called Malakal in Southern Sudan. I really enjoyed my time there and enjoyed the place. Good people (for the most part), interesting location and lots of potential. Click on the picture to see photos.

I heard last week that fighting broke out between a couple of military factions based in the city. its very sad because they estimate that at least 150 people were killed, and many more wounded. The fighting lasted for a couple of days until a temporary cease fire was arranged and efforts were put forth to bring things back to normal. Both sides were blaming the other for the starting the confrontation. This is old news now, but i thought I should mention it.

Here are a few more links to get more information if anyone is interested:

1. Google News Links
2. UN Confirms 150 Killed in South Sudan Conflict – Sudan Tribune
3. South Sudan leader warns militias

an unfortunate side effect is that this has the potential to further destabilize an increasingly fragile peace agreement. it has been almost two years since the peace agreement was signed for the south, but almost nothing has improved throughout the region. people are getting frustrated. all sides are to blame for the lack of progress. Khartoum is happy to frustrate the implementation of things while leaders of the south are happy to eat all their fruits before they do any kind of labour. Security is getting worse instead of better. there was so much hope at the beginning, but it is quickly fading away.

if something doesn’t improve soon, then it may never get the chance. and the sudanese will be back doing the thing that they seem to love the most in this life… fighting one another.

one last note concerning Sudan. Recently I have found a number of blogs from people within Sudan or from Sudan who are writing about a number of things. So far a guy called Black Kush is my favorite. You should also check out these others: Amanda in Sudan, Sudan Man, John Akec, Imatong and Precious World. All very interesting viewpoints to different things taking place throughout Sudan.

part 3

family stuff

Mary was back in hospital over the weekend. She had to have a small surgery. Apparently, she had retained a very small portion of placenta at the time of birth and this was starting to cause a number of complications. The surgery ended up being a bit more extensive than we had anticipated and she spent the next four days in the hospital. We are back home now and Mary is doing very well.

So is baby Abarizaa. He wasn’t very happy to have his momma in hospital for so long. He stayed there with her, but he wasn’t able to sit in her lap or be held to often by her. He wasn’t too impressed with his father’s attempts at being a momma.

MalakalSudanNileplacentadepressionNairobipostpartumfighting