"compound” or a “camp.” A compound, from what I can gather, usually refers to a building or a group of buildings (such as an office, toilets, housing, meeting room, etc) surrounded by a tall wall with barbed wire at the top. Entrance/exit to the compound is monitored by 24-hour watchmen. Similar setups existed in Vietnam and in Uganda. It seems to serve various purposes from avoiding theft and protecting confidential data to protecting staff/inhabitants in an insecure setting. I think I’ll be living in a “compound” in Yambio where I will be based.
However, while in Juba, we have no office or home so we are based at a “camp.” Until recently, camps were just that – a compound with a bunch of tents for people to stay because the country was so war-torn that there were no hotels, and no skilled workers to build them or supplies to build them with – or wait, even any infrastructure to get the supplies here should they have been imported along with the workers. But . . . since the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) . . . things here seem to be improving? This could be inaccurate assessment of the situation, but please forgive me, I’ve just been here 32 hours!
Oh yes, but back to my point, these places were named camps because they resembled campgrounds/refugee camps. Recently (from what I heard in the past 2 years or so), buildings have gone up in place of tents. They are still very basic by American standards, but a big improvement, and much nicer than where many locals live (sometimes stick frames with roofs and walls made of plastic, tarps and anything else they can find). We are at Camp Oasis, which is on the Nile River and has private bathrooms with running water (but not hot water), a TV, free Wi-Fi and aircon (A/C). For now – I’ll just share some photos to give you a better idea of what it is like here.
The Camp
(I don't know if you can tell in this photo, but that is a faux pond on the left with a gorilla statue that has water shooting out of its mouth. I do NOT get it . . . do gorillas do that? Not to mention there are droughts here, water shortages, etc . . . seriously, WTF?!)
(my room is at the far right. the light is on in the room next to mine - so the right half of that little bldg is where I am)
(the dining area/restaurant/bar is right on the Nile River!)My Room
(a stinky pair of socks and a phone charger were left in this little cubby . . . perhaps a long time ago??? cannot use it - smells sooooo bad!)
(hole in my mosquito net . . . kinda defeats the purpose)
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