 Many South Sudanese families came to the western hemisphere predominantly as refugees. The refugee life prior to coming to the west did not provide stability and therefore many children missed out on their primary education from the ages of one to six. But the patterns of neglect in early childhood education repeats itself even though we have all these services available to us. The intergenerational traumas the parents inherited and endured from their parents are lingering here in the west. Costing young people an opportunity to be fully invested in. Lueth Tutoring is about investing in young people for a brighter tomorrow. Empowering parents and caregivers to meet the unique needs of their own child. There are so many different learning styles and Lueth Tutoring is committed to you and your child to best equipped the young one in their education journey. website: https://luethtutoring.com/ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Lueths-Private-Tutoring-Service-294685397812361/
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Maketh Ajak, is the founder of Athieide Mission from Canberra, Australia. A pyscho - spiritual transformative platform. Thank you for allowing me to share your story. Today, we are focusing on the topic of blood memories in the South Sudanese context. What does your name mean in your mother tongue? Maketh means yellow in Dinka. What is blood memory? You see, a human being has a body, a mind and a soul. The mind is an umbrella term for emotions and thoughts. Except for the soul, both the body and mind are bundles of memory. Now, to answer the question… blood memory is basically the memory of physical and mental experiences in the blood, in the DNA. It is a large reserve of memory that goes way back to the creation of the universe. In other words, our ancestors' experiences - - what they liked and what they did not like, their pleasures and their pains, their achievements and failures and dreams--are within each one of us. What we call a child is nothing but an extension of their parents' dreams. What are the symptoms of blood memory in the South Sudanese context? The part of the blood memory that needs our attention here is the part that stores negative emotions. The most obvious symptoms or manifestations of negative blood memory, also known as a pain body or just bad blood, include greed, fear, anger, vengeance and hatred. As you know, there are very few instances in which our people have not been at war. Going back down the memory lane, history tells us that, when we were not fighting with Arabs or Europeans, we were fighting among ourselves. The government against its people, tribes against tribes, clans against clans. And this is still going on even today. This is too much investment in pain. In fact, whenever people invest in some pain-causing ventures, the interest they earn is fear, anger, vengeance and hatred. And that becomes the inheritance they leave behind for the future generation. In today's Jonglei state, for example, we can still see and feel the anger, the bitterness among the three communities of Dinka, Murle and Nuer. Likewise in Eastern Equatoria state, we can still see and feel the anger, the bitterness between the Didinga and Toposa. These are just a few examples but there are more such cases of bad blood memory among many South Sudanese communities. I have only mentioned 5 of the 64 tribes. How does it show up in national issues? At the national level, bad blood shows up in the form of aggression, injustice, and discontentment by various groups, parties or organizations. How does it show up in communal issues? You see, pained bodies are not limited to living things. Lands, cities and water bodies too have pain bodies. Because a pain-body is basically a memory of pain, of suffering. And pain is just a form of energy, which cannot be created or destroyed… but can be transformed, can be healed. So when looking at the effect of the painbody at the community level, one cannot turn a blind on the pained body of Juba and the Bari people on whose land our national government is hosted. Then we look at the Nuer and Dinka pain bodies. Actually the current ongoing national conflict has its roots in the Nuer and Dinka pain bodies. You see, before everything else, a politician is first and foremost an individual with a blood memory. And like they always say, blood is really thicker than water. So what we are seeing is a battle of the tribal pain bodies. It is not really a personal thing between General Kiir and Dr. Riek. We have not yet become a nation. How does it show up in family formation? The most important ingredient in the formation of any family or just anything for that matter, is love. However, a family with a strong pain-body is ruled by anger, violence, abuse, hatred, etc. If individuals love themselves but there is a history of bad blood memory between their families, they may have a hard time forming or raising a healthy, happy, prosperous family. How does it show up in individual issues? An individual with a heavy pain-body can struggle a lot in life in the areas of health, wealth, career and relationship. You must have heard of very good individuals who died so young or individuals who work so hard but live a miserable life. Those are a few examples in which bad blood memory shows up in an individual life. How can we heal ourselves from blood memories? There are many ways we can heal ourselves from bad blood memories. However, I will only talk about the two simple ways here. Since the bad blood memory exists in the form of negative emotions such as greed, fear, anger, vengeance and hatred, all solutions are about the healing of the concerned emotions. This is why the first step is the acknowledgement of the truth. We first need to admit that there is a problem, that there is bad blood within and between individuals, families and communities. Most people will be surprised at the healing power of the sheer acknowledgement of truth. Next, we need love. And by love, I mean the heart that feels both the happiness and suffering of others as if they were it is own. How can we heal our psyches? The health of our psyche depends on the condition of our blood memory and mind. So the remedies that I have given above also apply here. In addition to love and understanding, one can also practice prayer and meditation. In prayer, one asks God for a solution; while in meditation one simply thanks Him. They are very powerful tools for the healing and transformation of human consciousness. What would you suggest to bring about collective and individual healing? For individual healing, I suggest that individuals make an effort to know who they are, not just personally but spiritually. Once you have discovered who you are, have the heart to fully accept yourself with all your painbody. Admit that you have fear, that you have anger, that you have hatred, etc. Then take the responsibility to heal yourself. Even if you may not be the cause of the hatred you have towards yourself or others, you have the responsibility to heal yourself because nobody else can. Only that person who has healed themselves can heal others. This is because a painbody is like a bush of thorns inside a person's heart. It is a two-edged sword that hurts both the one within and the one without. As with regards to collective healing, I recommend group prayers and meditations. When a group of people with one pure intention gathers in one place, so much healing can be experienced.  Dobijoki Emanuela, is currently enrolled in an Ed.D program, which is a professional Doctoral program centrally focused on Education and the founder of Dobijoki Personal Development. Dobijoki Emanuela,
Is currently enrolled in an Ed.D program, which is a professional Doctoral program centrally focused on Education and the founder of Dobijoki Personal Development. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share your story with the young people. You are doing tremendous work and it’s only right they know their role model. What is the meaning of your name in your mother tongue? The meaning of my name in my mother tongue is ‘From God’. The meaning that sits behind my naming is even stronger and speaks to the strength and resistance of my family from the violence that followed them from Sudan to Egypt. It is a privilege to carry the name as I know my ancestors are always in front of and behind me. What are the reason and motivations behind the #YouArePower Radio platform? You are Power Radio came about because I recognized the internal strength that I carried after overcoming many adversities. I then began to reflect on the Power of those around me; my elders, my friends, strangers that I witness so forth. I came to the realization that we are all-powerful through our unique life experiences - and once we own that Power, then we come to realize our full potential. I wanted to create a safe space for folks to speak with me about their Power, and if they were unsure about their Power, I wanted them to know that I was there to remind them of their strength. You are Power Radio is an extension and is powered by Dobijoki Personal Development. Why did you get into personal development as a career? I have always been into personal development, I just did not have a term to describe it. I have always been an understanding person, a reflective person and someone who appreciated introspection. What changed a couple of years back that lead me to begin sharing my personal development journey with others, was my life-changing experience when I went to work in South Africa back in 2016. Going to South Africa was my first visit back to the continent since 1997, and although I did not visit my native country, I was still able to experience my mother through Azania. I had a spiritual transformation due to the deep connections I made with the land, the people and the Higher Power. You are currently enrolled as a Ph.D. student. Why did you choose to pursue your doctorate? I am currently enrolled in an Ed.D program, which is a professional Doctoral program centrally focused on Education. I once thought that I did not have the capacity to pursue higher education. This thought and idea developed due to the poor and false narrative imposed on me during my primary and secondary years of schooling. I rarely had educators that believed in my capabilities and were encouraging. When in high school and ready to begin looking into college programs, I was encouraged to go into the workforce (trade). Although I had nothing against trade work, I was never interested and had other goals for myself, however, when I was not offered the support I needed to believe in myself I began to doubt my knowledge. I persevered and was able to complete a community college program and then an undergraduate program. After completing my undergrad is when I went to South Africa to work. The reason why I consider South Africa to be such a sacred place for me is that it has a lot to do with where I am today. While in South Africa I was working in my profession as a Social Service Worker in a township school, I later began to teach and realized the potential in all of the students; even those that many expected to fail. I quickly began creating safe spaces and started alternative after school programs for the troubled boys who would otherwise be in their version of “detention”. While many saw these boys as trouble, I saw them as love and far beyond what they saw of themselves. I then began to see the similarities in my experience in school and the discouragement I faced, yet I saw my privilege because my teachers did not look like me. The dynamic was very different. When I came back to Canada I contemplated applying for my masters, but I told myself that if I built the courage to apply and be accepted then there is nothing stopping me from my greatest fear; my own success. So I applied, and while writing my masters application I did just as much searching on what doctoral program I was going to pursue, I found it. I wrote applications for my masters which I used to apply and I also wrote my application for my doctorate of which I kept it saved in my archive. I got into all the master’s programs I applied to, and because I knew what the end goal was after my masters I was very strategic about the school, program and supervisor I chose. Now I am here, doing my doctorate, passing, but struggling (in a good way) - because I know my Power. What are your tips for success for anyone looking to become their best self? My tip for success is to know your heart, your heart should lead your intentions and your intentions will lead you towards your success. Owning our stories through self-reflective work is the best way to come to realize your best self. Most importantly, what are your words of encouragement for the youth in our community? Once upon a time, I thought that the idea of home meant experiencing the pain that home has left me over and over and over again. As I work toward bettering myself I have come to love my pain and use it to love those who have caused me pain, because without them we would not realize that we carry some of their traits. We are not perfect people, none of us are - but we are people with such a powerful and beautiful history which has been taken over by our current battle of the lands. Don't allow the pain of your brother and sister to make you cause the same pain to yourself if not, it is only you continuing on the cycle. Website: https://www.dobijoki.com/ . |
AuthorNyabuoy Gatbel is a South Sudanese Canadian currently living in Calgary, AB. She was born in Ethiopia in 1993 and moved to Canada as a refugee in 2002. She's currently a undergraduate student at the University of Calgary. Besides her studies she's a social entreprenuer focusing on the, ''Paarman Centre project,'' a fashion model, writer and author of the book, ''The Fire Within poetry in Thok Nath and English.'' Archives
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