Sila Returns To South Sudan
On Saturday, Sila Joshua (Worga’s Co-Founder) left from Toronto’s Pearson Airport to return to South Sudan for his second trip home since he left as a boy. He flew from Toronto to Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia), and onwards to Juba, landing Sunday evening local time (the time in Juba is only 5 hours ahead me in Fredericton, NB and 6 ahead of those of you in London, ON).
While the purpose of his first trip was somewhat broader, the primary purpose of this trip is to meet with South Sudanese political leaders to bring forward perspectives about how to support the people of Maban County. The timing of his trip coincides with the availability of the leaders that he is hoping to meet.
While he is in South Sudan, I’ll be acting as one of his advisors and points of contact in North America. That means that we’ll be exchanging messages and getting on occasional video calls when network availability permits. It also means that I can relay messages to and from people who are curious about his work and his trip.
There are parts of me that wonder what possible use I can be as an advisor to Sila while he’s in South Sudan, but when I calm those feelings it makes a lot of sense. Sila and I have worked together for a decade and we’ve let our relationship grow through shared meals, language lessons, car rides, family visits, trick-or-treating, storytelling, and so much tea (and sugar). We dream up plans and projects — some of them even happen — and we share our hopes for each other and our communities. Sometimes we say that we feel “like family” and then pause to correct ourselves — “we are family.”
When Sila’s left for his first trip home to South Sudan, I was in Newfoundland with my partner Kelsey. While waiting in line at the Port-aux-Basque ferry terminal I spoke with Sila about his plans and the parts that he couldn’t plan until he got there. It all felt like something out of a movie: me on the edge of an island in the Atlantic and he on the way across multiple oceans to visit a place that I’d only ever imagined.
Some of you know the story: Sila returned home for the first time in 25 years and traveled between the capital of Juba and Maban County where he was born. He came back to Canada, after an extended stay, on Christmas Eve. The trip seemed momentous to me. The thought of another trip wasn’t exactly at the top of my mind; I was still basking in the glow of the first one.
It was different for Sila. While the urgency of a second trip drifted down my priority list, almost no time passed before Sila started to imagine what needed to be done when he returned. I wondered how he was going to make it work.
In the intervening years, I’ve watched him invest considerable time and energy into relationships with people in Maban County and South Sudan and with supporters around the world. His work with the Worga Foundation is only part of it. Hardly a day goes by where he isn’t interacting with someone about resolving a conflict, exploring an idea, pursuing a goal, or building a future. This all happens alongside his roles as dad, nonprofit employee, second job worker, and many others. If I’m being honest, I alternate between pride at what I see him doing and frustration that we haven’t been able to make it easier for him to do everything that he does.
I intend to share some of my insights about his time in South Sudan on this blog because I want to be part of documenting the contributions that Mabaan, like Sila, are making to communities around the world. There are limits to my abilities as an observer; I can only show what I’m able to see. There are things that I’ll miss and things that only Sila can communicate, but there’s something valuable in my view and my experience.
The last time that Sila was away we spoke whenever the network allowed us to connect. I remember the background of his hotel in Juba; our efforts to speak more generally than we might otherwise; the mosquito nets at his accommodations in Maban County; the dreams that came to him during his sleep; and the stories about the people he met in markets, on streets, and at tea stands.
I won’t be able to tell you what Sila is seeing, but I’ll do my best to share something of my experience of his time in South Sudan
This article is written by Adam Fearnall, a member of the Worga Foundation Executive, executive coach, writer, and personal advisor to Sila Joshua.