My name is Jaco van Maaren and I have been involved in the work of the African Mission Foundation for a long time.
My name is Jaco van Maaren and I have been involved in the work of the African Mission Foundation for a long time. I can still remember my first trip to Sudan. We departed from Schiphol around the turn of the year 2001/2002. On January 1, 2002, our transfer was at 01:00 at Frankfurt Airport. During the switch I scored my first Euro coin; filled with Euro coins at exactly 00:00. So it happened that on January 1, 2002 I was able to issue the first Euro coin on the market in Khartoum, and that generated quite a bit of attention.
Sharing each other’s images and stories makes contact with people in Uganda and South Sudan so interesting. As a child I traveled a lot, through Europe but also through Central America. Difference with Africa for me is the mentality of the people. People in Uganda and South Sudan are very friendly, open, direct. The Moru are very religious people who have converted to Christianity since the 1920s. I myself was also raised Christian and that gives me an enormous deep connection.
My trip in 2002 was the start of a whole series of trips. With the forerunners of African Mission (Stichting Hulpverlening Sudan and Stichting Ephraïm Mission) we have financed projects around Khartoum. From 2005 we focused on South Sudan and later projects in the north of Uganda were added. In the years 2009-2013 I visited Lui, Mundri County a number of times. I immediately felt at home there. Hospitable people of the Moru tribe, beautiful nature, lots of history and successful projects. For me a great mix that taught me a lot about the beautiful country of South Sudan.
And yes, South Sudan has a low average age. Nature can be blisteringly dry or a large swamp. There are untapped landmines, serious illnesses and shortages of almost everything. Still, Africa has stolen my heart and I hope to be able to support great projects and gain great experiences for many years to come, together with those I love in South Sudan and Uganda.
