SUDANEXTRA
A supplement to The Sarum Link
2010
A CRUCIAL TIME FOR THE PEACE AGREEMENT Canon Ian Woodward, Vice Chairman of the Salisbury Sudan Link writes:
The past six months or so have seen even more activity than usual in our Sudan Link. The year began with an intensive advocacy campaign when Archbishop Daniel came over to London and Salisbury. Working closely with Christian Aid and a consortium of NGO’s with special interests in Sudan, the fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was marked with a campaign of ‘drumming around the world’. This was followed by a comprehensive programme of media briefings including the BBC Today programme and BBC World TV as well as many interviews with BBC World Service Africa, Al Jazeera and CNN. A press conference was held with the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, followed by a session with the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary. Joint presentations were held with the Sudan Ambassador in London at Chatham House. All this intensive activity was reminder that Sudan had just a year before the peace agreement was set to expire. Followi� Sudan) with a view to mounting a similar campaign to our January activities in London, this time in Washington DC, in Congress and the White House and the United Nations in New York, when there will be just 100 days to run. In Sudan, the first national elections in more than a generation were held throughout Sudan with many Sudanese, including some bishops voting for the first time. The elections were to elect national and state leaders and followed a three year preparation period starting back in 2007 with a disputed census, a variably supported voter registration process and then a recognisably flawed election in April this year. All these events were key elements in the CPA signed in 2005 that theoretically ended the fighting between North and South Sudan and is due to expire in January with a grace period of six months in July 2011. International observers, including the European Union and the Carter Centre in the United States together with the Sudan Troika – the USA, UK and Norway – recognised that the elections were not conducted to satisfactory standards. The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) whilst recognising the many failings in the election process has decided to move on with its focus very much on the referendum in January next year which is likely to see the independence of southern Sudan, by July 2011. An independent South presents great risks to the fragile peace that the CPA has sustained. Worries centre around the likelihood of mass migration from the North with all the human misery and insecurity that this could cause. There is concern for the protection and freedom of worship of non-Muslims with the risk of imposition of Sharia law universally in the North; Christians and other faiths currently enjoy freedom to worship guaranteed by the CPA. Then there is the likelihood of continued tribal conflict within the South. This could increase as the lack of development in the South’s roads, hospitals, schools, employment opportunities and housing is not reversed. Prior to this, all the outstanding agreements in the CPA must be settled before January 2011. These include implementing border agreements in the area of Abbyei where there has been much fighting and Southern Kordofan, including the Nuba Mountains, where there are supposed to be separate consultations on how the State is to be administered, with a disputed border that would determine the ownership of disputed oil reserves. Meanwhile, although not so high profile as before Darfur remains an ongoing sore. Though separately supported by a specialist UN force known as UNAMID, Darfur could still be a tinderbox in the wider context of an enduring peace and effective development programme for the whole country. At home we continue to work closely with our own Government through the Sudan Unit – a joint facility based in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and staffed by both diplomats and development experts in the Department for International Development (DfID). We also have close links and are members of the Associate Parliamentary Group on Sudan (APGS) made up of MPs from the Commons and Peers and Prelates from the House of Lords. Following our general election we have a new Minister for Africa in the Foreign Office – Henry Bellingham MP, Parliament�e also have a new Ambassador to Khartoum – Nicholas Kay CMG, he was previously our envoy in Kinshasa and before that in Afghanistan.
On behalf o� their unfai� inspirationally re� priorities and values and helps us see Jesus Christ in one another.
BISHOP DAVID SAYS FAREWELL The Bishop of Salisbury, Dr David Stancliffe visited Sudan in March for the last time before leaving his post at the end of the summer. Dave Lewis writes... Dr Stancliffe travelled first to Juba, the capital of south Sudan, where he visited Bishop Gwynne Theological College and taught for two days. BGC is the main ECS college for training ministers and priests. It is currently in need of relocation and rebuilding, after the 21-year civil war and because it needs to expand. The Bishop has recently launched an appeal for £66,000 to fund the first phase of the project. Dr Stancliffe then travelled to Rokon to lay the foundation stone of Trinity Cathedral with its Bishop Francis Loyo. Moving on to Wau, he attended the enthronement of its new Bishop, Moses Deng Bol, who recently visited Salisbury during his induction course at Lambeth Palace. Aged 34, Bishop Moses is the youngest Bishop not only in the ECS, but in the Anglican Communion. Dr Stancliffe said, ‘We had a marvellous visit, in spite of a temperature – even at night – of more than 40 degrees! Teaching the students in the Bishop Gwynne College about celebrating Holy Week Sudanese-style, and how to read St John’s gospel were only two of our encounters with the work Canon Trevor Stubbs is doing, as he re-builds the college and re-equips it for the future.’ He added, ‘I was honoured to have been given a dinner where I was able to say goodbye to so many of my brother bishops gathered with Archbishop Daniel. Our Link is in fine form, and remains the best thing about the Diocese of Salisbury.’
Growing Through Partnership Juba Model Secondary School Founder Richard Dean writes...
Her Excellency Dr.Rosalind Marsden, the British Ambassador to the Sudan, together with Dr.Daniel Deng, Archbishop of the Sudan, officiated at the opening of the School on 12 June 2009. It was exciting to see all the classroom blocks completed and the security fence erected around the site. Signing the new visitors book the Ambassador wrote: ‘A wonderful school which the British Embassy is proud to support’. The programme included excellent contributions from the school choir and from the drama group. The school is designed for 360 students in 9 classrooms covering 3 school years (equivalent to years 9, 10 and 11 in the British system.) The first intake of students joined in May 2007. These students have now taken their Sudan School Certificate (SSC) and are awaiting the results. (see photo). Some are eager to go on to Juba University where courses are available, but to do a degree passes in 7 subjects at SCC are necessary, a very big challenge indeed. The educational statistics in Southern Sudan are scary. Fewer than 2% of children complete primary school and 85% of adults can neither read nor write. As Archbishop Deng forcefully reminded the students at a school assembly in January, the future of the Country depends on young men and women gaining a good secondary education. One 19-year-old student, Juru Jane, who was orphaned at the age of 12, is the leader of the school choir. In an open letter to a church in Salisbury diocese she wrote: ‘I want to send my gratitude and great thanks to you for all that you are doing for us here in the Sudan. Through prayers I thank God for bringing me out from the deep muddy soil to a very pleasing life that I now have at this school’.
“Through prayers I thank God for bringing me out from the deep muddy soil to a very pleasing life that I now have at this school” Another student, Thomas Sala, gave the students speech at the Official Opening. He said: ‘We would like to thank in a special way the Diocese of Salisbury who really made itself concerned with the education of sons and daughters of southern Sudan…. However as the School is still in its infancy we are experiencing some few problems ….’ And he goes on to mention the need for computers and science equipment. Wa�vercrowded town like Juba these two arrangements are not compatible on health grounds. Several students have suffered from Typhoid fever. Funds are being raised for a proper water and sanitation system. We are grateful to a Charity in England called: ‘Christian Engineers in Development’ for their assistance and to Nick Gardner, a civil engineer from Salisbury, who is working for the UN in Juba and helping locally. We would also pay tribute to two others whose help on-the-spot for the school has been invaluable, Nic Ramsden and Tina Stubbs. A girls’ boarding house is being considered. Some girls are at a big disadvantage in their studies, being expected to undertake many chores at home. They are also vulnerable walking to school in this garrison town. A site next to the school is available, and a design (for 30 girls) is underway. Successful application to charities in UK is the only way this can be funded. Like Southern Sudan itself however, Juba Model Secondary School has reached a critical stage of development. The enrolment level is not yet high enough to provide sufficient fees to fund the staff who have been employed. The school has capacity to take 360 pupils but currently has less than 200. Slow recruiting has been mainly due to staff problems now, in the main, resolved, (though there is a current shortage of full-time science teachers and female teachers). We expect the School to be up to strength and to balance its budget by 2013. In the meantime we anticipate a deficit of some £50,000 over these 3 years. The Support Group in partnership with the Governors is seeking to ‘plug this gap’. We already have the invaluable support of 90 sponsors, each providing bursary support of £100 p.a. for three years, for individual students like Juru Jane and Thomas Sala. The recently appointed, new Headmaster, Gasim Philip, carries a heavy leadership responsibility. We trust that with God’s help and the support of all those in partnership, the School will be much more firmly established in the coming year. Your interest, gifts and prayers are vitally important.
The Medical Link An update from Mike Maclachlan
Last year’s piece confirmed that we were sticking to our staples – the supply of medicines and training of medical workers. I hoped, too, that the ECS would begin to ‘own’ its clinics, its workers and the health care of its people. My visit last autumn to Juba and surrounding Dioceses offered considerable encouragement. Archbishop Daniel was plainly determined to energise the ECS Health Commission into taking on responsibility across the Province for primary health care: he had ‘borrowed’ Dr Katie Rhoads (from her lecturing role at a teaching hospital in N Uganda) to carry out a survey of clinics and advise on the structure and function of the Commission. The Medical Link funded the survey and will contribute towards the salary of a co-ordinator. Early days, but the right direction.
ABOVE: Mathiang ECS clinic, Rumbek. Salisbury-funded medicines RIGHT: Trainee ECS Community Health Workers at Jalimo, Kajo Keji with Principal looking on.
Another encouraging sign: ECS clinics in Rumbek Diocese were working together with regional government on immunisation programmes for youngsters against polio, TB, measles, tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. And in Kajo Keji the clinics to whom we supply medicines and training were combining with HIV/AIDs-focused NGOs to offer medication, counselling and support to those living with HIV/AIDs and their families. Perhaps a bit obvious but, besides caring for members of their immediate community, ECS facilities are increasingly being enlisted by health ministries and NGOs alike as a base from which to launch wider initiatives. No single health organisation can solve every problem on its own and it is heartening to see the ECS willingly pooling its resources. Where next? The referendum is early next year and our forthcoming bulk consignment of primary health care kits is being finalised to ensure delivery well ahead. We continue to seek opportunities to fund the training of medical workers, joining forces with other like-minded charities where appropriate. Grass roots community training is another cost-effective way of promoting basic healthy living. And, resources permitting, we still want to engage in the maternity and neo-natal services that are so sorely lacking. Last, with better road links further north, we will be seeking to extend our reach to Dioceses inaccessible in the past. That’s about it. Pray for us, won’t you!
AMAZING GRACE, HOW SWEET THE SOUND
by Richard and Claire Budd
On a blistering hot day, with 3,000 people gathered and great celebration, Grace Secondary School was officially opened. Many of the visitors had travelled for hours to be a part of this extremely important ceremony. Local primary school children and choirs spent the best part of a month preparing and the scorching air was filled with the sound of excitement, and hope. As a choir of women dressed in red robes swayed in procession toward the doors, the Minister for Education cut the blue ribbon and the crowd erupted. Dancing, singing, pipe blowing, walking on stilts, costumes made from palm leaves and white paint adorning legs and faces. The movement created a swirl of red dust on the baked land beneath their springing feet. There were speeches, thank you’s and handmade gifts to bring home. And, in a place that has seen the destruction and horror of brutal civil war, the sound of laughter. The school has taken on 120 young students, male and female, Christian and Muslim and we are committed to support them with fundraising to assist with teachers’ pay and students’ food. We are asking people to join us and become Friends of Grace, by paying monthly standing order. Our aim is to find 150 people to give £300 per year - that’s about a fiver a week. But any amount would be extremely welcome. Every single penny donated goes straight to the school. We do not take a penny for administration or expenses of any kind. Please email Claire@GraceSecondarySchool.com or telephone 07854-173244 if you would like to find out more. And thank you so very much for your support, you are changing lives.
the scorching air was filled with the sound of excitement and hope More information at www.GraceSecondarySchool.com
THE HEART OF THE MATTER Right Reverend Bishop Moses Deng, a former World Vision Sudan Christian Commitments Coordinator, was elected Bishop of Wau Diocese in October 2009. Bishop Moses was enthroned on 14th March this year, at Good Shepherd Cathedral Church in Western Bahr El Gazal State Capital Wau: He writes… Abyei has always been part of Wau diocese and is one of the three disputed areas between the two main paties to the 2005 peace deal. The SPLM and the NCP. Abyei is composed of the nine Ngonk Dinka Chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan due to Administrative difficulties, because their Chiefs could not reach Wau easily. The people of Abyei will be given a chance in a referendum to choose whether they want to be part of Southern Sudan and Northern Sudan according to the CPA. If they choose to be part of Southern Sudan then they will again vote together with the rest of the Southern Sudanese whether they want to remain as part of United Sudan or separate as another country. All these things will be done 2011. Abyei is in the border between the North and the South and it has a lot of oil reserves. Because of this there has been lots of tension in the area between former enemies the Sudan People’s liberation Army SPLA and the Sudan Armed Forces SAF and between the Northern tribe of Messryiah and the Dinka Ngok.. Many people believe that Abyei posts a major threat to the CPA because they believe that if the war starts again it will start at Abyei. Serious fighting broke out in Abyei last year between the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) Forces. (You must read the CPA for you to understand some of these terms because I am afraid you may not find them in your Dictionary) As a result the whole Town was destroyed and the issue taken to the International Court in the Haig which made a decision on the area of the 9 Ngong Dinka Chiefdoms. This fighting almost brought the CPA to an end but God was gracious and the issue was resolved. Please remember Abyei in your prayers.
Canon Ezra Moved
by Bishop Bismark Avokaya of Mundri diocese Here in the diocese of Mundri we had proposed since last year, that the remains of the late Canon Ezra Baya Lawri (whose statue was installed at Salisbury Cathedral in 2008) was to be exhumed from Rokon and reburied in Mundri. I had constituted a committee to plan and work out the details for this. Hence based on our work plan the team from Juba and Mundri travelled to the Diocese of Rokon on April 1st, where we spent the night. The following day, on GOOD FRIDAY, we dug and exhumed the bones. We had short prayers there at Rokon Parish Church and then drove to Mundri. Canon Ezra originally came from Lanyi Village and on arrival at Lanyi we found a lot of people waiting beside the road to pay their last respects and prayers. Later, on arrival at Mundri, the coffin was taken to his home estate for his wife to see before taking it to the Cathedral for the night and reburial the following day. One could wonder, why exhume on Good Friday? This was because he was killed on Good Friday in 1991 and the family felt the remains should be exhumed likewise. On April 3rd, we had a special service for the reburial from 10.35am until 5 pm! Bishop Francis came with his dear wife, Linda, a number of clergy and Christians about 25 people. Following the reburial the builders continued with the building and decoration of the grave, pictured here.
LINKING DEANERIES AND DIOCESES
- A request from Canon Bridget Trump
The relationship between the Episcopal Church of the Sudan and Salisbury is a significant part of our being. It is that distinct relationship that we want to encourage and grow, both in depth and area. My role is to co-ordinate all of our links, personal, parish, group or deanery and to encourage all links wherever they are. However, these links have grown up in a somewhat ad.hoc way. There has been no process for co-ordinating what is happening, and learning from experience. I now have the chance to connect all these links and with this in mind every Deanery is being asked to form a link with a diocese in ECS so that our skills, resources and information can be shared. The Sudan Committee has no � e to offer more support and be able to connect folk. We believe the nature of genuine Partnership needs careful thought and prayer. It is not first of all about problem solving and doing, but about relationship. Coming from a well developed country with lots of material resources, there is always the danger that we will see the link in terms of “what can we do for them”, and relate from a position of power. Ours is a mutual relationship between fellow Christians in which power and advantage is laid to one side, and each tries to learn from the other, to support and give and receive Christian love. For example, Sudanese visitors here may give us a lot, but we should also be sharing our needs so that they can pray for us back in Sudan. Financial help may or may not be a part of this – if it is involved, the relationship needs to be established on a mutual footing first. We would like to hear from those of you who have established links as well as those who would like information on how to begin. Please contact me at Sudan.link.co-ordinator@salisbury.anglican.org or Sudan Link Co-ordinator, Mothers’ Union Office, Church House, Crane Street, Salisbury, SP1 1EQ.
SUDAN CARDS 2010
Please continue to support the Sudan by buying and sending these original designs, suitable for both general occasions and Christmas. This is the 16th year that they have been available and 2009 provided the best result yet – more than £1400 profit for the Diocesan funds was raised. Many thanks! There are, or will be, many new designs for 2010 and they will be on sale at many diocesan-wide Sudan events. They may also be obtained by contacting Keith Whittock on 01305 871217 or by email kwhittock@aol.com Further details, including samples of a few past designs, can be seen on the Diocesan Sudan website.
To raise funds to support Grace Secondary School in the remote Nuba Mountains, will take place on Saturday 18th December 2010 at Kingston Maurward College near Dorchester. Email Claire@GraceSecondarySchool.com or Tel: 07854 173244
This year’s Sudan Study Day will be on Saturday 18th September 9.30am-4pm, Shaftesbury School. For a booking form, please contact Creddy Hart on 01963 23035, e-mail: ronhart1@yahoo.co.uk
Make a Donation
To: The Sudan Secretary, Church House, Crane Street, Salisbury, SP1 2QB Cheques should be made payable to: Salisbury DBF (Sudan General Fund) or Salisbury DBF (Sudan Medical Fund) Completing the details below will enable us to claim back tax already paid using the Gift Aid scheme. Name .......................................................................................... Address........................................................................................ ...................................................................................................
Swords into Ploughshares? Sudan Study Day 2010
Saturday 18th September 9.30am-4pm, Shaftesbury School Our Sudan study day this year focuses on the political developments in Southern Sudan. The national elections are now over, and we await the referendum next year which could lead to an independent Southern Sudan. Will the transition be peaceful, and will the result be good for all the north and south? To help us explore the issues, are keynote speakers are Paul Akaro, liaison officer with the Government of Southern Sudan Office in London, and Rev. Dr. Joseph Abulemoi, an academic and writer on Southern Sudan. Cost £7, concessions £5. For a booking form, please contact Creddy Hart on 01963 23035, e-mail: ronhart1@yahoo.co.uk.
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Design and Typesetting by Richard Budd of Lionheart Graphics Ltd www.LionheartGraphics.co.uk Tel: 07000 345670
Published by the Sudan Committee Editor Claire Budd - Claire@LionheartGraphics.co.uk