Radio Tower Foundation Completed in Tonj

Over a two week period in late January and early February, a pair of guys from a Christian non-profit organization called Diguna traveled to Tonj to lay the foundations for Aid Sudan’s next radio tower. We are building the tower on the compound of our ministry partners called In Deed & Truth Ministries. They have been doing some amazing work in Tonj for over 10 years, training pastors, planting churches, and operating the only medical clinic for miles around. In advance of the Diguna team traveling in, I had been working closely with IDAT’s compound manager Albino to make sure that cement, gravel, and sand were on site for the foundations. All of this went smoothly except for the gravel, which proved to be difficult to find. Fortunately, this didn’t delay things much as they were able to bring small truck loads in each day as the Diguna guys worked. What did cause a delay was the digging of the foundations. It hasn’t rained in Tonj in about 4 months so the ground is dry and very hard. The holes had to be 1 cubic meter, which meant that they would be over 3 feet deep. In all, seven holes needed to be dug. IDAT had hired a group of local men to do the digging. After the first two holes, the men decided that the work was too hard for them. They threatened to quit and demanded more money. Albino agreed to pay them more, but the men quit anyway. As the days went by, the digging was finally completed. Then the cement, sand, and gravel was mixed together and poured into the holes. About 700 blocks were also made that will be used for the building that will house the transmitter and other electronic equipment. The foundations now need about 3 weeks to cure. At the end of February, another team from Diguna will travel to Tonj to construct the actual tower which will be over 200 feet tall. Please give praise to the Lord for the successful completion of the foundations, and pray for everything to go smoothly with the construction of the tower. Also, please pray for us as we seek to get the radio frequency and license from Juba over the next several weeks so that broadcasting can begin in Tonj as quickly as possible.