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An Interview with Mamer of
the Southern Sudan Fellowship
by Ashley Poling
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mamer of the Southern Sudan Fellowship at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church. Some of you may already know Mamer as one of the Global Missions "gleaners," and he is standing to the far left in the picture below.
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Fig. 1. Mamer Maku Aew Ngong, Marsha Flueckinger, Marjorie Northcutt, Virginia Lange, Phyllis Cheeley, Louis Abram, Jerilyn Seitz and farmer Aaron Goode in cabbage patch gleaning for the Global Missions Veggie Sale!
Brief biographical information. Mamer is a Dinka-Agar from Southern Sudan, he is 37 years old, and has a wife Sara, who is still in Uganda. They are expecting their first child at the end of this November! He is the first person in his family to receive any kind of education. Before coming to Raleigh on July 4, 2004, from Chicago, where he lived for 4 ½ years, he attended school at Truman College, the city college of Chicago. He was sponsored by the Highly Baptist Church of Chicago and an agency called Well Relief (this agency is similar to Lutheran Family Services). Prior to coming to the United States he was living in Cairo, Egypt. In Chicago he also worked at the Hotel Intercontinental.
Question 1: Mamer, what has brought you to Raleigh, NC, from Chicago?
Answer: I became lonely for my people.
Follow-up: You mean that there were no other Dinka in Chicago?
Mamer: Oh no. There were many Dinka, but no Dinka-Agar.
Follow-up: You mean there are different groups of Dinka?
Mamer: Yes. Just as you have northerners and southerners in the US, we also have different groups of Dinka in Sudan. My people are the Dinka-Agar, but then there are also the Dinka-Bor (Bor meaning lots of water), Dinka-Abia, Dinka-Riek, and Dinka-Malual (meaning big bull).
Question 2: I could not help but notice from the photo of the gleaners (fig. 1) that you have four names!
Mamer: Yes that's right, but we only use our first name. In this country, you go by two names, like Ashley Poling. For signing official documents and my passport, I use my four names: Mamer Makur Aew Ngon. You see, Makur is my father's name; Aew is my grandfather's name; and Ngong was my "second grandfather" (what we call great-grandfather).
Question 3: So, how do you like it here so far?
Mamer: Chicago is a big city, and as I said, there were no Dinka from my section of Southern Sudan there. Here in Raleigh, I am living with other Dinka-Agar, and that is very nice. I am also quite pleased to join in with the Southern Sudan Fellowship (SSF), a nonprofit organization that was founded here in Raleigh, and is being so wonderfully assisted by your church (HMPC).
Question 4: Mamer, can you tell me more about what it means for you to be in America at this time?
Mamer: My being here in America is very important for the future of my country. My people are really counting on their sons in America to help them establish schools for the children of Southern Sudan. You see, many years of civil war, raiding, bad weather and famine have tragically cost the lives of 2 million in center and south Sudan, and left our economy devastated. We have not had any schools in my area of Southern Sudan for more than two decades.
Question 5: My final question has to do with the Malengagok Primary School, is it progressing well?
Mamer: Yes, the children in Maleng Agok are now able to attend a real school from the months of April through October, thanks to Hudson. Most Southern Sudanese children must go to school beneath a tree, outdoors. Hudson and the SSF have become a great source of hope to our people in Southern Sudan. I don't think you realize how much the people of Maleng Agok appreciate what Hudson has done to help them build a primary school in their village - we hope to make this a model school for the whole Rumbek region.
Thank you so much, Mamer!