Opity Changjwok

My dear in and school,

To stay and strong in South Sudan like in hot dusty , river with many mosquitoes, and , always wash your hands with soap before eating and after to kill .

Drink only , boil it or use good filter so no stomach sickness. Sleep every night under to stop from bites. Eat good food like and to make .

Keep , and clean, everywhere. Do this every day, you will not get sick and !

- | | Maljwok Bit Molana

In the heart of Juba, where the sun sets hot and heavy over the Republic of South Sudan, a terrible fire broke out last night at our Custom Market, turning dreams into ashes and leaving my people in deep pain, as Opity Changjwok, a simple citizen born under these same skies, I stand here with tears in my eyes to tell the world this sad story like the best reporter who sees every hurt and shouts it loud so no one forgets.

The main bad thing, oh it hurts so much, is how this big fire started around seven in the evening near the South Sudan Broadcasting place in Nyakuron area, eating up many shops full of food, clothes, tools, and all the little things families need to eat and live day by day, destroying goods worth millions of our South Sudan pounds that hard-working traders like my neighbors saved for months or years, wiping out jobs for hundreds of men and women who wake early to sell and feed their kids, and worst of all, taking the small life of a five-year-old child who died trapped in the smoke and heat while the flames jumped to nearby homes, burning roofs and walls where poor families sleep, making mothers cry for lost babies and fathers punch the air in anger because our fire trucks came too late, maybe because roads are bad or water is short, leaving smoke black as night to choke the air we breathe and fear to fill every heart in this busy market that feeds half of Juba.

This is not the first time-fires came before in 2015, 2019, and last year, burning shops again and again like a curse on our poor land, showing how we lack good rules for wires and stoves that spark easy, or big water tanks ready fast, or even a plan to build markets safe from such hell, and now with one child gone and so many broken, it feels like the government sleeps while we suffer, pushing more folks into hunger and street begging in a country already fighting floods and fights, where every lost shop means kids go without school books or milk, and trust in leaders turns to dust like the burnt wood we step on today.

But we cannot just cry and stop; for quick fix, the police must start their look-right-now to find if this fire was bad luck, carelessness from a careless cook or wire, or even someone mean who lit it on purpose, and tell us true in days not months so we feel safe again; the city bosses and University of Juba, who own this ground, need to give money fast from help funds or rich friends abroad to pay back traders a little for what fire stole, maybe half their loss in cash or free rent for new stalls, and build quick shade tents with fans and guards right there in the market so sellers can start work tomorrow and not lose more days; most important, bring in strong fire teams with big trucks and trained men who come in minutes not hours, teach everyone simple ways to stop fires like safe cooking spots and fire buckets in every shop, and make a new law quick to check all markets in Juba for dangers before another night turns red; the National Chamber of Commerce leaders already spoke worry, so let them join hands with us people to watch and push for this, and world helpers like UN or Red Cross, please send water pipes, blankets for the homeless families, and food packs now while we heal the little boy's family with doctors and kind words; if we all move fast like one big family under our flag, this fire's hurt can turn to stronger market rising from the black earth, proving South Sudan people are tough and kind, not letting flames win but lighting hope instead, because tomorrow our kids must play safe, not fear the dark.