Since the start of the rainy season South Sudan has experienced destructive flooding across the entire country, cutting off many communities, particularly in Jonglei and Upper Nile States. The flooding has washed out a majority of the roads, impacting the people returning to the South who find their path blocked by the flood waters and need urgent assistance to support them in camps. Those same roads are also rendered unusable for vehicles attempting to deliver much needed relief items. In response the Logistics Cluster, in partnership with UNHAS, has deployed helicopters to operate out of Bor, in Jonglei State; these helicopters have been critical for humanitarian operations, and a large volume of requests from our partners in the humanitarian community have been accommodated to ensure that assistance reaches those affected.
The logistics constraints for all organisations working in South Sudan are daunting, and to ensure uninterrupted support to the humanitarian community the Global Logistics Cluster Support Cell (GLCSC) has deployed a number of staff throughout 2012; this helicopter operation was no exception. A logistician seconded to the cell from Save the Children (STC) UK was sent this time to back-stop the field cluster.
The operation must be coordinated perfectly in a very difficult and constantly evolving situation; the weather can change the plans, technical problems must be considered. In order to efficiently use the helicopter it must always fly with the maximum load [accounting for distance and fuel consumption]: the weight must be calculated at the kilo, and the time margin is limited due to safety requirements. Different organizations are in need of air transportation of their cargo and sometimes their staff: coordination is the key.
This time around, the helicopter was transporting 2400kg of Plumpy Nut [a super-nutritional peanut butter] for International Medical Corps (IMC) from Bor to Akobo, via the helicopter service. This was the maximum payload possible for the destination, it required 90 minutes of flying time to reach from Bor, and another 90 minutes to return. Once in Akobo the operation became much more of a challenge than expected. From altitude the village looked totally immersed in a whole swamp. The crew needed to land the aircraft, remove all the cargo on a mud-clogged landing strip as quickly as possible, and take off to complete the next rotation in good time. However as the helicopter began its landing, and the children from Akobo gathered to welcome it, it became clear that IMC had not yet arrived, but were held up by the treacherously muddy roads.
40 minutes had passed, and the pressure was mounting; suddenly the crew spotted two IMC staff sprinting through the mud towards the helicopter. The flooding had made it impossible to reach the landing strip with either a truck, or the personnel to assist with the offloading. There was a lot of disappointment, but the crew was convinced they would have to make the most of the situation and do their best to offload quickly, hoping to still make one more rotation of the helicopter possible, as originally planned, that same day. Then the team was presented with another challenge; a woman employed by JAM, the organisation managing the WFP warehouse in Akobo, was being carried towards the helicopter for urgent evacuation due to severe illness. This additional dilemma confirmed the need to take an immediate decision.
The Logistics Cluster and IMC logs officers did not wait, and quickly decided on the best thing to do: they asked if the community could help. Everyone turned out to be eager to participate, children being the most enthusiastic, and the offloading of the Plumpy Nut started. In fact, with the invaluable help of the children the helicopter was unloaded in a mere twenty minutes and amongst laughs and smiles; making it possible to complete another rotation, and to evacuate the ill JAM employee as soon as possible. The Logistics Cluster crew, JAM, and IMC are wholly indebted to the children of Akobo, who saved the day and made their community proud.