We were very pleased recently to receive some very positive student updates from the Loreto School, Rumbek.
Mary Adut, pictured below on the left wearing blue, graduated from Loreto in 2013 before taking her place in the Nursing Program at the Catholic Health Training Institute (CHTI) in Wau, South Sudan. After her secondary school graduation she served as a trainee teacher in the Loreto Primary School. In 2014 she was among the first two graduates of Loreto to be accepted into this prestigious nursing program.
Over the last 3 years Mary has worked and trained to become a Registered Nurse in South Sudan. The Loreto Sisters now welcome Mary as a new team member of the Loreto Primary Heath Care Unit. Mary is returning to Loreto and to her home community and is the first nurse from this community to qualify and return to serve.
We are delighted to have an empowered and capable South Sudanese woman to complement our team and we are excited for our current students who will undoubtedly see her as a role model over the coming years.
Congratulations on such an incredible achievement Mary. We here at the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are very proud of you!
Our dear friend, Sr Orla Treacy, and the Loreto Sisters are celebrating 10 years of incredible, yet extremely challenging work in the Loreto Schools, Rumbek.Â
In February 2006, Sr Orla Treacy stepped off a plane in Sudan ready to set up a girlsâ boarding school in a remote region in the south of the country. She had been told the project was already under way and had reassured her parents she would be home in Ireland by the end of the year. However, the 33-year-old nun arrived at the site outside the town of Rumbek only to find an empty field with no buildings.
âWe were told not to worry, that everything would be ready by Easter. It took two years for the building to reach the point where we could actually start, and then we discovered we were also supposed to open a primary school and clinic for the local community.â
Sr Treacy also faced the challenge of convincing local families to send their daughters to a secondary school in a country where only a third of girls enrol in primary school. Of these, just 7 per cent finish their primary education and only 2 per cent make it into secondary education. Less than 1 per cent actually graduate. More than half of girls in South Sudan are married before the age of 18, and 17 per cent before they turn 15.
âIf you live in a culture where marriage is more popular than school, itâs very hard to change that mentality. The girl is married for a dowry of cows so sheâs considered a wealth to the family. Sheâs also the property of the extended family, not just the mother and father.â
Sr Orla Treacy
Sign an agreement
The Loreto sisters decided fathers would sign an agreement with the school promising to allow their daughters to complete their education. However, extended family members such as uncles would often turn up at the gates demanding their teenage niece be released for marriage. âWe have been threatened at gunpoint, we have been insulted, all number of problems because she is a woman and should be sacrificed for the sake of the greater good. Technically itâs a boarding school but I call it a womenâs refuge because youâre constantly trying to protect these girls from forced marriage.â
When Sr Treacy first decided to become a nun, she never imagined she would end up the principal of a school in a war-torn state in east Africa. In fact, when she first told friends and siblings about her decision to enter the church, they told her she was crazy.
âI thought I was crazy too. I realised it wasnât fashionable or popular to become a nun at that time. I talked to one of my brothers and he told me to travel the world and then see how I felt.â
Sr Treacy put the decision on hold and studied to become a religion teacher at the Mater Dei Institute. During the summer after her final year in college, she worked in Calcutta. âThat was a real changing point for me. There was a lot of hunger and poverty in Calcutta in the early â90s and that really struck me. I had accepted a job to teach religion with the Presentation Brothers in Cork City and worked there for two years but by the age of 23 I realised that life wasnât for me and I joined the Loreto sisters.â
Loreto School Rumbek – Class of 2017
New mission
It was only when Sr Treacy returned to Calcutta eight years later that she began to consider working overseas. She discovered the Irish Loreto sisters were setting up a new mission in Sudan following the countryâs 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It was believed the agreement would bring peace and stability following decades of conflict. âThere was a sense that great things were happening in south Sudan. And so three of us set out there in February 2008.â
Ten years later Sr Treacy is still running the Rumbek secondary boarding school, the primary school and the local clinic. The past decade has not been easy.
In 2011 South Sudan gained independence from Sudan. However, in 2013 civil war broke out in the new country, with some 200,000 people forced to flee their homes and more than two million displaced.
Hunger continues to be a huge problem in this country of 12 million people.
âWhen we started the primary school we used to not feed the kids, but weâve found over the past two years thereâs a great hunger, so now we feed everybody. We also need to provide healthcare because many of them canât afford medicine or access to good treatment.â
As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, the school is struggling more than ever financially. However, Sr Treacy remains hopeful for the schoolâs future and the education of girls in the Rumbek area. âI work with people who live very much on the margins: life and death, hunger and despair. Every day they live on the edge. And yet in that you can still glimpse love and hope every day.â
After more than two decades as a nun, Sr Treacy is also confident she made the right decision by joining the Loreto sisters. âIn life youâre always wondering what if or what might have been. Being a nun is not always perfect and there are moments when I wonder what the hell did I do? But I donât think any relationship is perfect and I have certainly found a peacefulness in myself. I donât worry about the future too much and Iâm very happy in the role Iâve chosen.â
The MSC are very proud supporters of the amazing work carried out daily by Sr Orla and the Loreto Sisters in South Sudan. If you would like to offer financial support to the Loreto Schools Rumbek you can do so by clicking the box below.
The following piece is an article we recently received from Sr Orla Treacy (Principal) and the Loreto Sisters who are working tirelessly at the Loreto School Rumbek, South Sudan.Â
Susan* does not know her actual age, but she thinks she is around 23 years old. At the moment, her age is the last thing on her mind. Susan and five children came to Loreto as a refuge from the violence facing their home community of Cuei-cok. When fighting ensued between two rival clans, the Ruop and Pakam, many homes in Cuei-cok were razed, leaving vulnerable women and children displaced. Susanâs home was razed during the fighting and now she fears for the safety of her mother who was too weak to travel with her.
“It is really a bad situation, the house is burnt down. [My] mother is sick and she cannot even manage to walk. I have been walking for two days on the way.” – Susan
Because Susan is from the Ruop clan, she was targeted for violence as she travelled towards Loreto, which is situated in Kuei territory, allies of the Pakam clan.
“The situation on the road is very bad. They were going to beat me and take clothes [and belongings] from the children and me, but a man from here [Maker Kuei] helped me. We have not been eating for 2 days.” – Susan
Susan was hopeful that she would find refuge at Loreto because the school is neutral territory. Her younger sister, Amok*, is a Loreto graduate and university scholarship recipient currently studying in Kenya. Susan and the children were warmly welcomed by Ajak*, a Senior 3 student who volunteered at the school to help women and children to survive the crisis. Ajak welcomed them and ensured that they received food and water, and a safe place to sleep. This family has a special place in her heart. Although, Ajak is from the Nyang clan (Kuei allies), she feels strong bonds of kinship for Susan and the children. At Loreto, Ajak is part of the same âChukudumâ School Family as Amok, Susanâs sister.
For Loreto girls, the School Family bonds extend across clans and bloodlines, even outside of the schoolâs walls. Ajak laughed with relief as the children received biscuits, their tired faces brightening with smiles.
“I am happy to help [them]. Amok is my great grandmother, we are family.” – Ajak
During this crisis in our host community Loreto Rumbek opened its gates for ~350 community women and children who were in desperate need of safety and support. Over the 5 day period of intense conflict before the government declared a state of emergency, Loreto delivered over 5,000 meals to these vulnerable community members, performed countless clinical consultations, and provided basic health and sanitation training to many of the community members. *Aliases used to protect the identity of women and children featured in this piece.Â
Reflection:Change of heart and believe in the Gospel
Gospel (Mark 1:14-20). Repent, and believe the Good News.
There is material for personal reflection and dialogue with any period in history in this Gospel reading. Jesusâ call in the Gospel to repent, for a change of heart, and belief in the Gospel, is addressed to individuals and society in any age of history. The repentance spoken of in the Gospel reading means a change of heart and a change in oneâs ways, and is practically the same as belief in the Gospel. That call was valid for every person and society of Jesusâ day, and later, and is still valid in our own day. All Jesusâ disciples, from Simon (Peter), Andrew and others onwards had to make that change of mind and direction. For the first disciples and the Jewish community of Jesusâ day it would  have meant a change from what was central to their lives directed by their tradition and the law of Moses to the Gospel and its values. The same principle held when the Gospel message was preached beyond Judaism, to Greek and Roman culture. There, too, it was a call to a change of focus and ways to the Gospel and its message, to the new community of believers created by the Gospel.
For us and the Church today the call still holds, but it is not always easy to determine what change of mind, of mindset, of direction, is indicated by Jesusâ original call. It will, however, always mean putting Jesusâ call and Gospel values first and turning aside from everything contrary to them. Todayâs first reading from the prophet Jonah provides material for reflection. Jonah was a grumbler, getting angry about many things, including Godâs mercy for the detested city Nineveh. Godâs reply to him, which serves as an ending to the entire book, is very telling. God says: âShould I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also so many animals?â
In our own day the Church is trying to find ways in which to enter into dialogue with contemporary life and culture, and how it should change its mind and ways so as to make the abiding love and mercy of God (made so clear to the grumbling Jonah) better known to the modern mind, while at the same time remaining true to the Gospel message. Pope Francis is particularly interested in all this. We can all reflect on these truths and pray to God that any dialogue will have a positive outcome.
Sr Orla was in contact with us this new year to update us on the ongoing struggles facing the Loreto School Rumbek and their local community in South Sudan.Â
December was a violent month in Maker Kuei (Mah-kher Kew-way). What started as cattle raids became overt attacks with both sides committing immense acts of aggression. Over a period of just 5 days, 173 people died, over 200 were wounded and 1800 were displaced. The main fighting area was just 8 km from where the Loreto School Rumbek is located and many of the communityâs young men were involved in the fighting. During this crisis, the Loreto School and its faculty was able to keep the spirit of the holiday and welcomed around 60 families (about 350 women and children) into the compound for protection.
“It is during these times, and especially during the Christmas season that we reflect on the year and give thanks for all that we have.”
The Loreto Sisters were able to provide essential meals to these displaced families, medical support to both families and wounded, and to provide a secure area for these families seeking shelter from the violence. Thankfully, with the help of the local Chief and assurances from the military for security, the situation stabilized and the community celebrated a peaceful Christmas.
From the 22nd to the 27th of January 2019 World Youth Day is going to take place in Panama in Central America and the MSC Vocations Team is going to be there. If you want to be part of the largest youth event on the planet read on …
What is World Youth Day?
WYD is an encounter of young people from all around the world with Pope Francis in a fun, faith filled atmosphere. It draws people from every corner of the world for an unforgettable experience. “WYD is much more than an event. It is a time of deep and spiritual renewal; its fruits benefit the whole of society” (Benedict XVI). It is an extraordinary way of sharing faith to strengthen youth in our Church. WYD is held every three years and the last one was held in Krakow (Poland) in 2016.
Great, so whatâs the point?
It’s a chance to be part of the largest youth event on the planet and to meet Pope Francis
The initiator and first promoter of WYD was Saint John Paul II, who started this movement in order to enhance our personal encounter with Christ, which is life-changing. WYD also promotes peace, unity, and fraternity among people and nations, commissioning the youth as ambassadors of this message. When you gather for the World Youth Day Vigil with millions (and I do mean millions) of other young people you are reminded that you are part of something global, faith filled and amazingly joyful.
It’s about making a real difference as well, like building a multi-sensory garden
What actually happens?
WYD is a multi-day event with two main group of events: the first one is related to the âDays in the Diocesesâ, during which the participants visit to different dioceses in the host country, and on this particular occasion, other Central American countries. During these days before WYD, pilgrims interact with local families (who host them) and strengthen their faith through activities with the communities in the parishes. In Krakow we built a multi-sensory garden for people with disabilities and helped to run a youth ministry programme in the local parish.
The second group is the âMain Eventsâ, referring to the activities planned in the host city: the opening Mass, the welcoming of the pope, the way of the cross, the vigil with the Holy Father and the final Mass. Itâs an opportunity to meet with other young people from all around the world. There were millions of youth at both Rio and Krakow and the atmosphere is incredible.
