Fred’s trip to the seaside

On Saturday (2nd April) Fred Taban from South Sudan joined us for a trip to Poole where my son-in-law and his brother have a boat at the Yacht Club. The boat was out of the water for maintenance, but for Fred, this was all a totally new experience.

WoW’s all round

There is no leisure industry in South Sudan, so to see people relaxing on the beach and on the water was a real eye-opener to Fred. It was his first trip to Poole and he wasn’t sure whether he had ever even seen the sea before so his reaction to his first sight of Poole Harbour and Brownsea Island from Rockley Point was “WOW”!

More ‘wows’ followed when we drove along Poole Quay and saw a huge Sunseeker Yacht moored alongside all the other pleasure craft. “How many people does that take?” he asked. “Oh, probably just one family and a few friends” I replied. “WOW”!

We walked around the perimeter of the yacht club where we watched small dinghies being skilfully manoeuvred round a race course and then joined my wife, daughter and grandsons on the beach where we tried to get Fred involved in some sandcastle building.

Leisure time is good

When I suggested a swim, Fred was adamant that wasn’t going to happen, even in the summer! The day ended with Fred’s first experience of fish and chips which he said were “delicious”. His thoughts on the day were that “In South Sudan, we spend all our time and money on trying to survive. But God intended us to enjoy the beautiful world he has given us. Leisure time is good”.

Fred is in the UK until December 2016 being supported by CRESS while he studies cross cultural communications at All Nations Christian College.

Andrew Robertson, Operations Manager