Reunion

December 1, 2011 Cont'd

We had alerted Dau, the head teacher, and Manyok, our program director, that Moses had siblings in the area. Dau knew of the family. I thought they were in a neighboring village, but while I was busy greeting old friends, meeting new ones, and watching as our cargo was transported here and there, Moses was spirited off by Daniel, the 15-year-old boy who has assisted me on all my trips here. Daniel helps with videotaping, finding me people when I need them, and keeping my camera batteries and computer charged. What neither Moses nor I knew is that the younger brother and sister he didn't know—they were born after he was separated from the family—is that they now live here in Duk. Neither of these children were identified as orphans on our list because they were living in Poktop when we assessed the families.

I missed the reunion. His brother, Akol, is 11 in class three and his sister, Achol, is 14 in class five. He tells me there was excitement and tears, but I don't have a photo or a snippet of videotape to share. Moses has agreed to record his feelings about this reunion and to share his impressions of the village.