Postscript

The adventure is over and all four of us are safely back home shovelling snow. The impact of this trip will not leave us quickly. From our getting acquainted with the culture in Egypt (the pyramids, the museum, Cairo traffic, Alexandria scenery, YMCA hospitality, etc) to the impact of the schools and dedication of the staff and volunteers in Khartoum, we are much wiser. The people we have met in Sudan are, in many cases, heros. They are extremely dedicated, work under extreme conditions, and never lose faith. Alfred Taban is an example - he owns two daily newspapers in Khart0um (one Arabic and one English), was awarded the "Democracy Award of the Year" in 2006 by President Bush for the National Endownment for Democracy and who also was presented an award by the British House of Commons in 2005 in recognition of his work exposing the slaughter in Darfur. Yet Alfred's role as Vice-chair of the Khartoum YMCA Board of Directors is important to him and you will see him present at the graduating ceremony at the YMCA school or attending meetings to help advance the work of the YMCA in resettlement areas outside Khartoum. Dr. Wageeh William is another who sacrifices important time at his own business to ensure that the children in Gavarona, a resettlement area on the outskirts of Khartoum, have a place to go to school and learn and that the downtown trades school can use real computers in their education rather than the old manual underwood typewriters. The list could go on and on. It was important that we could see and learn from these many heros in Sudan. While our support is instrumental in facilitating the work of the YMCA in Khartoum, we have the easy part. Their dedication and neverending hard work is what makes it happen. We have been the real benefactors of our adventure. Our thanks to CIDA for helping us provide support to the Khartoum YMCA.