A Day in the Life
My name is Khalid and I am ten years old. I live in a town along the Nile River in Sudan, and I want to tell you something, my country is older than almost any place you have ever heard of. Kingdoms rose and fell here thousands of years before many other countries even existed. I am proud of that.
Every morning I wake up before the sun gets too hot. My mother makes ful, which is a dish of slow-cooked fava beans mashed with sesame oil, lemon, and a pinch of cumin. She scoops it onto flatbread and we eat together on a mat in the courtyard. The beans are warm and creamy, and the sesame oil makes everything smell rich and nutty. My little brother always gets some on his chin and my father laughs every time.
After breakfast I walk to school. The streets near our house are sandy and the buildings are made of brown mud brick with flat rooftops. In the afternoon, when the heat is strongest, everyone rests. We call this time gaylula, the quiet hours when the whole town seems to hold its breath. Even the goats lie down in the shade. Do you have a time in your day when everything goes quiet like that?
My favorite part of the day is the evening. When the sun starts to drop, the sky turns orange and pink over the Nile. My family sits outside on angareebs, wooden beds with rope woven across the frame so you can lie on them like a hammock that does not swing. My grandmother brings out a tall metal pot of karkade, which is tea made from dried hibiscus flowers. It is deep red, almost the color of rubies, and we drink it cold with sugar. It tastes sharp and sweet at the same time.
On special days my mother makes kisra, a thin spongy bread made from sorghum flour that she spreads across a hot iron plate in one smooth circle. We tear off pieces and dip them into stew made with okra, dried meat, and peanut paste. The peanut paste makes the stew thick and rich. When my uncles and aunts come over, we spread a big cloth on the ground and everyone eats from shared bowls. My father says eating together is how you show people they belong to you.
At night, my grandfather tells stories. He tells us about the desert, the Sahara touches the northern part of our country and the sand dunes there are taller than buildings. He tells us about the two Niles that meet in Khartoum, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, joining together like two hands clasping. I have seen the place where they meet. The water on one side is darker than the other. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
What is the most beautiful thing near where you live?
My family is Sudanese Arab. There are millions of us and we speak Arabic, but our Arabic sounds different from what people speak in other countries. We are the people of the Nile, the desert, and the stories told under open skies. That is who we are.
Fun Facts
- Sudan is home to more ancient pyramids than Egypt, over 200 pyramids stand in the desert at Meroe, built by the Kushite kingdoms thousands of years ago.
- The White Nile and Blue Nile meet in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city, and you can actually see the two different colors of water flowing side by side before they mix together.
- Karkade (hibiscus tea) is so popular in Sudan that it is served at almost every gathering, cold in summer and hot in winter, and the dried flowers are sold in huge red piles at every market.
- Sudanese Arab families often sleep outside on angareebs (rope beds) during the hot months because nighttime temperatures in the desert can still reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit indoors.
- Sudan is one of the largest countries in Africa, about five times the size of California, and it stretches from the Sahara Desert in the north to tropical forests in the south.
How to Pray for the Sudanese Arab
- Pray that Sudanese Arab families who gather each evening to share meals and stories would one day hear the stories of Jesus told under those same open skies.
- Pray for Sudanese Arab children who live in areas affected by conflict, that God would protect them, provide food and clean water, and bring peace to their communities.
- Pray that more of God’s Word would be translated and shared in Sudanese Arabic so that people can read and understand it in the language they speak at home.
How Kids Can Help
- Pray: Pick one evening this week to pray for Sudanese Arab kids like Khalid, ask God to show them His love in a way they can understand.
- Learn: Find the Nile River on a map and trace it from south to north, learn where it flows through Sudan and into Egypt.
- Share: Tell your class or Sunday school about the Sudanese Arab people and the pyramids of Meroe that most people have never heard about.
- Give: Ask your parents about supporting organizations that provide clean water and Bibles in Sudanese Arabic to communities along the Nile.
Scripture to Remember
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, ESV)