TWO KILLED IN LOKICHOKIO RAFTING ACCIDENT...
Anne Dufrey, a MEDAIR staff member, died on 27 April when she was caught on a fallen tree during a rafting excursion. A group of three OLS staff (two MEDAIR and one ACROSS) were rafting on innertubes at 1.00pm on the swollen river that flows behind the UN compound, when the river, which was reportedly calm when the trip began, became rough and unmanageable. Anne became marooned on a tree in the middle of the river then was trapped by another tree that swept into her. The water, which had large waves and a current of some 25-30 knots, made rescue efforts perilous and a security guard, David Kamari, was swept away and drowned during the initial attempts. The situation worsened when the first tree turned and moved further mid-stream, pulling Anne under the water. Rescue efforts continued, but her body was not recovered until 4.30pm, using a WFP inflatable raft. David Kamari's body was recovered further down river by a search team. Anne's body was flown on an AMREF plane to Nairobi the same day and will be flown to her family in Holland as soon as possible.

MEDAIR thanks the OLS Security Officer Jim Aberlee, Mr. David Jennings of Save the Children Fund-UK, Buffalo aircraft pilot Gary Allport, Chris Gerber of the UNICEF water team and the countless others who put themselves at great personal risk during the rescue attempts.

BOMBINGS CONTINUE IN YEI...

Bombs were dropped on Yei for the fourth time since 10 April, where UN and NGO staff are working to bring emergency relief. A total of eight bombs were dropped (four each day) in the latest incidents reported on 21 and 22 April. Information on damage and casualties was not received although all OLS staff were reported to be safe. These bombing attacks follow two others on 10 and 20 April also in Yei County. UN and NGO staff remain in the area despite the bombings in order to continue bringing emergency relief to a vulnerable population of over 70,000 people that have been returning from camps in northern Uganda since mid-March.

EPI ACTIVITIES BEGIN IN YEI...

Expanded programme of immunization (EPI) activities have begun in Yei with UNICEF and Aktion Afrika Hilfe (AAH) making a combined effort to cover all areas in the county. A UNICEF EPI centre has been established and training begun following the arrival of a start-up team on 25 April. Vaccinations, which began on 28 April, are being carried out jointly by AAH and UNICEF. AAH will also establish nine new primary health care centres to assist with ongoing health needs. Work in the local hospital continues under the supervision of a non-OLS NGO, with reports that most of the patients have been discharged and the situation in the hospital is stable.

TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMMES UPDATE...

Significant progress was made this month in Yambio County's teacher training programmes through two training courses that have just been completed. The courses were a Level I training organized by the Diocese of Yambio and Tambura (with 40 participants) and a special intensive training in English for young women wanting to become primary school teachers (with 28 participants). The second course was organized by UNICEF and SRRA to address the disparity between the numbers of male and female teachers in southern Sudan. (Of 4,600 teachers, only 185 are female) The 28 participants graduated on 25 April with the level of English required for entrance into the Level I teacher training programmes which will commence later in the year. To date, 200 primary school teachers in Yambio have been trained in Level I teacher training modules and 40 teachers in Level II modules. There are over 800 teachers in Yambio.

OLS STAFF RELOCATED FROM THIEK THOU...

Two WFP and three Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF)-Belgium staff were relocated from Thiek Thou on 24 April after consultation with SRRA counterparts regarding heavy weapons fire to the west of the area. The WFP staff returned two days later to resume operation, but were forced to move into the bush on 27 April due to insecurity. They were relocated again to Lokichokio on 28 April and will not return until security clearance is given.

MSF-BELGIUM STAFF RELOCATE FROM BARARUD...

Three staff of MSF-Belgium, on the advice of the SRRA, relocated from Bararud to Mapel on 26 April, as a precautionary measure due to the reported movement of a military train near their area. They will return when the train has passed.