Lainya diocese, ERD partner to support Sudan's returning refugees
Lainya's visionary Bishop Peter Amidi hosted a group of U.S. Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans who toured the diocese's former educational complex destroyed during the 21-year civil war that ended with the signing of a 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Amidi outlined his plans for using the remaining structures as a foundation for building a rehabilitation center to train refugees returning to the area, primarily from camps in Kenya and Uganda. ERD has committed to funding the multi-year project through ECS' Sudanese Development and Relief Agency (SUDRA).
So far, 423 refugees have registered as prospective beneficiaries of the program and many will assist with the rebuilding necessary to get the training center up and running. Some have already trimmed and removed some of the overgrowth to clear the way for the next stage of development.
"Life is starting again from absolutely nothing," said Janette O'Neill, ERD's director for Africa programs. "The whole area was thrown away during the war and even the structures that you see now are still incredibly temporary and will be gone within a few years. To put up the infrastructure of buildings, particularly schools and offices, is a huge challenge but is essential for the future stability of this region."
O'Neill said that ERD will stand with the Diocese of Lainya over several years to see this program through to completion. "Our first challenge then is to put together a program of training that really meets the needs of this community and helps people who missed out on any formal training to develop the skills that enable them to look after their own families and plan for a future."
The Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan is committed to empowering people from all over southern Sudan through vocational ministry, "equipping them with skills in carpentry, in bricklaying, in technology, in agriculture," said Adimi. "Through this ministry, the lives of individuals, families and communities will be improved."
On the journey from Juba to Lainya, the group representing the U.S.-based Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada was offered a glimpse of the daily transportation challenges in southern Sudan. Serving as the primary goods route from Uganda, the road is nothing more than a dirt track with potholes, abandoned vehicles, overturned trucks, and trash piles littering the way, a sign that waste management in the country is not an immediate priority. The 63-mile trip took three hours to complete in a sturdy Toyota Landcruiser, provided to ECS' development officer, the Rev. Wilson Khamani, with ERD funding.
Along the road, the group witnessed a landmine-clearance program, part funded by Canada's Diocese of Ottawa through the CAMEO organization, which came as a pleasant surprise to Ottawa Bishop Peter Coffin, who was not expecting to see this diocesan initiative in action.
The Diocese of Lainya runs programs committed to capacity building for women, adult literacy, theological education and clergy training. Some of the diocesan initiatives, such as a tailoring program, are currently suspended due to lack of funding. Lainya is one of ECS' 24 dioceses, which collectively include some 4 million Episcopalians throughout Sudan.
Amidi acknowledged a huge educational gap in Lainya and throughout southern Sudan. "There are parents and many children who have never gone to school because of the war, so the level of literacy in this diocese is extremely low," he said.
In partnership with SUDRA, ERD is implementing an integrated development program that focuses on education, primary health care, and food security in four dioceses in southern Sudan. The partnership is also focusing on primary health services and building vocational skills in the dioceses of El Obeid, Port Sudan, and Malakal in northern Sudan.
For the past two years SUDRA and ERD have been involved in capacity building programs, such as training diocesan administrators and development officers throughout ECS' 24 dioceses.
Later this year, SUDRA will offer courses in financial management and organizational governance.
Khamini said the work of capacity building is essential for providing people with the necessary skills "that equip them to become agents of change."
Khamini appealed to the international community to join the people of Sudan and the Episcopal Church in prayer and support so that they will "be transformed in all aspects, spiritually, economically and socially.
"People here should be changed so that they can finally feel stability in their country after so many years of war."
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