Peter Manyang Malang, manager of Malual-Chum project, chats with those stopping by his Arlington Town Day booth.

Many were surprised to learn that their friends’ family back in Africa doesn’t have clean water to drink. But we noticed that as Arlington grows more diverse, several of those who stopped by could identify personally with our project; they had the same situation in their homeland. Our donation jar filled up nicely, and many took our cards and bookmarks to learn more about the program.

Of course, the kids had to do Town Day, too: some bouncy house, some face painting, some fried dough and kettle corn. It was a great day to raise awareness from town to village and back again.

What’s Town Day without some face painting?

BENEFIT CONCERT

for The Malual-Chum Village

Clean Water Project In South Sudan

Gospel Music

Jazz

Traditional African Music

 Featuring

Paul White Music

Paul White has performed throughout the US and internationally as a recitalist, with his jazz trio, Paul White & Company and with music legends Nina Simone, Bill Gaither, Billy Preston, and Rev. James Cleveland.

Sudanese Musicians

And A Special Guest Choir

Date: Saturday, February 23, 2013, 7:00 P.M.       

Place:

Trinity Baptist Church

115 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA 02474

781-643-4771 – trinitybaptistarlington.org

All WELCOME! REFRESHMENTS! FREEWILL OFFERING & PLEDGES RECEIVED

Mention guinea worm to our Malual-Chum program directors, and they shudder. Both have  scars from where long, white worms have emerged with a pain like fire. Both have relatives who are still infected with guinea worms to this day. The larva lives in dirty drinking water. A year after drinking infested water, a blister forms on the body, and the worm comes slowly out. The only relief is to place the effected body part in water; when that happens, drinking water is infected again. There’s no vaccine or medicine that will kill guinea worm. The only solution is to stop the worm from re-infecting people.

South Sudan is one of the few places left on earth where the guinea worm still causes pain and suffering. The impact on economic growth, education, and infant health is significant; when you are incapacitated for a month or more because worms are burnng their way out of your body, you can’t really farm or go to school or take care of a baby.

The Carter Center has been doing fantastic work in eliminating guinea worm around the globe. In a fascinating walk at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Donald Hopkins, the Carter Center’s vice-president for health programs, showed where guinea worm remains: in South Sudan, mainly in Eastern Equatoria and Warrap States. The Carter Center has deployed thousands of volunteers in its years of working in South Sudan, and hopes to reach all of Warrap State soon. This video (which is graphic) shows the problem and the Carter Center’s work.

No health-care workers have come to Malual-Chum to talk about how to fight the scourge of guinea worm. But they may not have to. Dr. Brown pointed out that the best, long-range solution to eliminating guinea worm is clean drinking water from a well. With a well in Malual-Chum, no insects will be dancing on the water with their load of suffering. We can stop guinea worm ourselves in this remote part of South Sudan.