Like hundreds of thousands of people around the world, you will wake this morning and twist a knob, granting you access to a stream of warm water. You might then proceed to make a call to your favorite flower shop and/or gift store and ask them to prepare something fit for a queen for your mother on Mother’s Day. You would like your mother to feel every bit of a queen today. If she is not that far from you, you may opt to take her the flowers yourself, topping the delivery with a lovely lunch or dinner in one of her favorite restaurants or with some jewelry. “It is her day” you will say, “…and beside, nothing is too expensive for my mother.”
What would we do without mothers. They are the backbone of any society. In South Sudan, mothers are more than backbones. They are the society. Their men—husbands and sons—went to war, and only a handful re-united with their families. So South Sudanese mothers have been forced to be both provider and protector of what was left behind. This Mother’s Day, she would love for her son who was killed in the civil war to call her and thank her for the nine months she carried him despite the unrest, thanking her for the mornings she carried him on her back as she made countless trips to the nearest water source with a bucket of water on her head. But her son is long gone and all she has are thoughts, thoughts of how to make things better for her, the children under her care, and her country.
She would not mind the flowers, the jewelry, or the expensive meal. But they would not be priorities to her. Her mind is constantly thinking of how to provide for her children and rebuild her country because no one else can do it for her. She is constantly looking for ways to make life better, bearable, and easier. All she wants this Mother’s Day is to be saved from those countless trips, each and every morning, and have easily accessible water. She too would like to wake up this and every morning, twist a knob, which will grant her access to a stream of water. She would be happy with cold or warm water, either would grant her access to clean drinking water; save her from countless trips to the nearest water source; and free up her time to grow food, start a business, and rebuild her country.
Happy Mother’s Day from the Hope Ofiriha family.
