May 31, 2023
It has been heartening that many people got in touch over the last month to see how things were here, due to the ongoing civil war in Sudan. The situation there is dire, as rival leaders seek to gain as much power and wealth as possible, regardless of the suffering they cause. The only time they think of their people is when they look down to see who they are standing on. The loss of life in the conflict and the subsequent humanitarian crisis have sent shockwaves around an already fragile region.
Tens of thousands of the people now fleeing Sudan into northern South Sudan are themselves South Sudanese refugees who had fled South Sudan in 2013 because of the civil war here. Over the past few weeks they have arrived exhausted, carrying their meagre belonging, and uncertain what will happen next for them or their families. They have come at the worst possible time, as the rains have just started. Flooding usually cuts off the roads around the country, making it far more difficult to transport aid to impacted regions. To complicate matters further, by now people have used up most of their stores from last year’s harvest and it is a waiting game to see how long they can hold on for before they are forced by necessity to harvest what they have just planted. Finally, South Sudan’s largest export is oil from the north of the country, pumped through Sudan to Port Sudan. With the civil war this has all come to a sudden halt. This has fuelled hyperinflation nationally, making basic food and medicine prohibitively expensive in the market. The rains, which are seen as a real blessing, also unfortunately bring with them mosquitos and malaria. A single treatment for a family member can cost almost a month’s wages.
Uncertainty, however, is often the norm here and the South Sudanese are nothing if not resilient. How they manage continues to be something of a mystery to me. They have little alternative though. Within Loreto School and the University things are continuing as normal for the moment. In the school we have just welcomed a whole new group of first years students the Sunday before last. As part of our policy of cooperation and integration, they have come from all over the country, from different backgrounds and ethnic groups. They will be looked after through a fantastic system of school families, where students in second, third, and fourth year will act as their mother, grandmother, and great-grandmothers. Judging by the dancing and singing around the school last Saturday night I think they will be fine.
In the University we are coming to the end of our first term and are due to finish exams on Saturday. The number of students enrolled has almost doubled this year and there is already a healthy interest among people hoping to apply for our next academic year. Our focus remains on raising up business leaders, who will build the South Sudanese economy, and training teachers for secondary school. We hope to begin a new Bachelor of Education programme this year in commerce, religious education, and citizenship. In addition, we will continue growing the Catholic ethos aspect of our curriculum, with courses on ethics, theology, and introduction to the Bible as part of our ongoing human formation.
When trying to learn how to play the guitar years and years ago, one of the first songs I practiced was by the Beatles. The lyrics are known by practically everybody and they seem relevant to where I find myself today: Obladi, Oblada, life goes on, brah Lala, how the life goes on. As I said earlier, how things go on here at times, I’ll never understand, but people have no choice, so they just get on with it. Self-pity is a luxury no one can afford. They do the best they can with what they have and they do it better than I ever could. Let’s continue to pray for the situation in Sudan and to pray for each other.
Nhialic ke yin ( God bless),
Fr. Alan.
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
Mar 9, 2023
Juba International Airport is chaotic at the best of times. It is only for the hardiest of travellers, with a sense of reckless abandon, and the sturdiest suitcases. On Friday, the 3rd of February, though, it reached new heights. As I flew back into Juba, the Pope was beginning his ecumenical pilgrimage to South Sudan, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Scottish Presbyterian Church just two hours later. The crowds were heaving with singing and dancing, officials were everywhere waving arms and shouting, and (ironically for a peace pilgrimage) there were plenty of military to make sure everything went without a hitch.
The Vatican, and Pope in particular, have been involved in promoting peace in South Sudan for the last decade. When he met the President and Vice Presidents in Rome in 2019, the Pope stunned those present by getting down on his knees, kissing their feet, and begging that they would work for peace in the world’s newest country. This powerful act of humility demonstrated more beautifully than words ever could how committed he was to building a different future for a people in need of hope.
After dropping off my bags, I joined the group from our Loreto school lining the road to welcome the Pope. If I was tired after my flight, it was nothing in comparison to what they must have been feeling. Over the previous nine days, they had walked as part of a pilgrimage of peace from our school in Rumbek to Juba. A group of ninety students, interns, Religious, and youth walked from village to village on the way to the capital, witnessing to peace. Each evening they performed a play in the marketplace on the theme reconciliation and nonviolence.
“Brothers and sisters, it is time for peace!”
With all the police cars racing up and down the official route, we almost missed the Pope as he drove from the airport in his usual understated Fiat. He was to spend the first day meeting with the President, politicians, and the diplomatic corps. His message was encouraging, but given that twenty-seven people were killed the day before in a vicious revenge attack just three hours outside of Juba, uncompromising:
“Years of war and conflict seem never to end and recently, even yesterday, there have been bitter clashes. At the same time, the process of reconciliation seems stagnant and the promise of peace unfulfilled. May this protracted suffering not be in vain; may the patience and the sacrifices of the South Sudanese, this young, humble and courageous people, challenge everyone and, like the seeds sown in the soil that give life to plants, allow peace to blossom and bear fruit. Brothers and sisters, it is time for peace!”
The following morning the Pope met with priests and religious working around the country in the Cathedral. He remembered those sisters and priests who had been murdered in recent years, but also offered words of encouragement. Immediately afterwards, our youth who had walked from Rumbek had an opportunity to meet the Pope and have their photo taken with him on the steps of the Cathedral. He had heard their story and wanted to meet them personally. To say that they were on cloud nine afterwards would be an understatement. It would be something that they would never forget.
Later that day, the Pope met with internally displaced South Sudanese living around Juba, only a small group of over 2,000,000 people who have had to leave their homes due to flooding or fighting. Many have been living in camps for so long returning will be next to impossible. Mapourdit, where the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart minister, was a refugee camp before Independence, but has not become a permanent settlement. Pope Francis agreed with many of the local leaders that this cannot be the way.
“Only with peace, stability and justice can there be development and social reintegration. There is no room for further delay: great numbers of children born in recent years have known only the reality of camps for displaced persons. They have no memory of what it means to have a home; they are losing their connection with their native land, their roots and their traditions. The future cannot lie in refugee camps.”
On Saturday evening the Pope joined Archbishop Welby, the Rev Iain Greenshields, and church leaders from around South Sudan to pray for peace. In particular, they identified the problem of violence against women as a pervasive reality and spoke of the role women have played and will play as peacemakers, justice seekers, and future leaders. The response of the people there was joyous, even if many had to wait hours in 40C heat just to witness it.
Finally, on Sunday, we celebrated Mass with the Pope in the John Garang Memorial Park. It was a capacity congregation, and if you weren’t there by 4:00am, you weren’t getting a seat. When the Pope drove around the site at the beginning giving his blessing, he was greeted by cheers and ululations. In his homily, he spoke of St Josephine Bakhita, one of the patron saints of the country, and her fight from slavery to freedom, overcoming some of the worst challenges imaginable. Instead of becoming embittered by her struggle, she used it to inspire her and those around her to witness to her faith.
“Hope is the word I would leave with each of you, as a gift to share, a seed to bear fruit. As Saint Josephine reminds us, women, especially here, are a sign of hope, and in a special way I thank and bless all the women of the country.”
As the Pope started his journey back to Rome, we hopped onto the bus and joined our rag-tag collection of cars on the drive back to Rumbek. Only last year, this journey would not have been possible due to insecurity, but things are more settled now – hopefully a sign of things to come. Fourteen hours, one flat bus tire, and one broken down car later, we arrived back in Loreto Rumbek. An amazing journey for all of us, but for South Sudan one that is continuing.
Nhialic ke yin,
Fr Alan
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
Jan 5, 2023
“Growing up in Ireland, it was impossible to get through December without hearing Do They Know It’s Christmas? repeatedly. Like crackers with bad jokes, or recipes that try (in vain) to make brussels sprouts tasty, the song was an essential and important part of festive season. It electrified people and called them to act in solidarity with the people of East Africa who were suffering from famine in 1984. As I wandered around the Loreto convent in Rumbek almost forty years later, I could hear it again – repeatedly. One of the sisters in the community is a keen Christmas music aficionada – and when I say keen, I mean really keen!
The run up to Christmas in Rumbek has certainly been busy. We finished up work in the Catholic University on the 16th, concluding the first half of our bridging course with our new students. Due to conflicts that eventually led to South Sudanese Independence and the civil war of 2013, levels of education remain stubbornly low. Consequently, everyone beginning our degree programmes must undertake six weeks of intensive maths and English to prepare them for third level studies. We are hoping to welcome almost forty new students who are planning to study a degree in either business administration or English and English literature. We have a record number of women joining our courses, which is a real gift. They benefit from a scholarship programme supported by the Mission Support Centre that reduces their fees and supports their studies. In our small way, we are looking to redress the gender imbalance in education that excludes that vast majority of women.
This last year has been one of the most peaceful in Lakes State, but it does not happen by chance. Initiatives on many levels in both Church and state work to create a safer, more secure environment. Just before Christmas, Sr Orla planned a peace walk with the young women from the Loreto internship programme. Over twenty of us began before dawn and walked towards Cueibet, a parish some 50km away. We got most of the way there, before the temperatures went up to the high thirties. Part of the reason for the walk was to model how young women from different ethnic groups all around the country journeyed together in solidarity and encouraged people they met, especially young girls, to pursue a brighter future.
We all went to a local parish where I was celebrating Mass for Christmas Eve. It was to begin at 8:30pm, but, based on my experience from being there last year, I settled on a wall outside and welcomed people as they gradually arrived. In no time at all, the church was packed to the rafters, and we all welcomed the birth of Jesus with joy and song. Previously, it would not have been possible to have so many people out that late at night, but now the streets were busy with groups of people on their way to their churches. They absolutely know it’s Christmas time.
For Christmas Day, the girls who stayed with us for the holidays cooked the food, while I was off for another Mass. Each year a group remain in the school, either because they live far away from Rumbek or they cannot go home due to a forced marriage issue. Either way, we all sat down to a lunch of pork, sakumawiki (like cabbage, but not really), tamalaka (a peanut and greens like sauce), paper food (not sure how to describe that one), and Irish potatoes (which are just potatoes, but in the market that’s what they are called). We were joined by our Bishop and some guests, including boys from the La Salle school who also couldn’t make it home. The day ended with Sr Orla introducing the girls to Monopoly, which in retrospect, based on years of inevitable conflict in Irish homes, was not the best idea. Still, good fun was had by all, even if the Bishop’s team cheated.
So, we are looking forward to the New Year with a sense of anticipation. The new library renovation for the University supported by the MSC benefactors will be completed in January. I won’t have to worry about the bat droppings landing on my desk anymore through a ceiling that looks like Swiss cheese, and the students will have a place to study and do group work. The Pope is planning to come to South Sudan in February as part of an ecumenical peace initiative. The Loreto team and students will lead an eight-day walking pilgrimage to Juba for the event. It should be a wonderful occasion. Please do keep us in our prayers, as you are most assuredly in ours.”
Wishing you and your families every blessing for 2023,
Fr Alan
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
Dec 2, 2022
It’s Advent in South Sudan, which means that everybody is busy with endings and beginnings. It is a beautiful time here right now, as the rains ended in October and the land is still green. We have been enjoying a time of relative security for the last few months, which has allowed us to harvest the groundnut crop in peace.
This week in Loreto Secondary School is taken up with the end of term exams, so all of students are diligently going over their class notes, working in study groups, and preparing as best they can. I usually go for a walk around 6:00am, as the sun comes up and before the heat of the day sets in. Already, there are students sitting under trees or in classrooms getting ready. However, this is nothing unusual. It happens right throughout the year. The girls know that education is their best way of ensuring they and their family have a better future. School is serious business.
It’s not so serious though that they can’t take time to have fun or get involved in important extracurricular activities. Last Friday, a group participated in a local government project around the rights of women. On Saturday, our Peace Club staged a roadside play in the local village. Before a group of the chiefs, families, and school children, they debuted their new drama on the need for peace in South Sudan. There was also poetry, traditional dance, some speeches, and plenty of laughter. It was the first time that they, as a group of young women, addressed the chiefs about their hopes for the future. The Benydit, or head chief, was delighted with the work and encouraged them to continue.
In the Primary School the kids have been busy too. Last week, we had a fancy dress competition, where kids created wonderful papier mâché lions and cows, along with weather conditions, mathematical symbols and shapes, fruits and vegetables, and traditional costumes. On Thursday, the focus was on arts and crafts, again related to their studies. They drew pictures of insects for biology, model villages and farms for citizenship, and the water cycle for general science. Everything was made from scrap paper and reused cardboard. Their creativity was extraordinary.
While things are winding down for Christmas in the schools, we are only getting started in the Rumbek Campus of the Catholic University of South Sudan. We have had a new intake of students for our degree programmes in English and English literature and in business administration. Right now, they are taking part in an intensive six-week course in English and maths to improve their basic standard and prepare them to begin their classes at the end of January.
It is an exciting time, because it is hoped that from this group we will have a new generation of well-trained secondary school teachers and business leaders. We are carrying on with our partial scholarship for women to encourage greater participation. We already have quite a few enrolled and a number of these are mothers who are returning to education, something that rarely happens here.
In addition, we are refurbishing our library and student centre. Previously, the building we used was dilapidated and bats were in the process of eating through the ceiling. The entire power supply came from an old solar unit and a couple of second-hand car batteries. The floor was cracked and pockmarked, although potholed might be a better description. As I write, the builders are putting in a new ceiling. Once that is finished, they will plaster the walls properly and we have sourced a durable, but inexpensive, tile for the floor.
Some may argue whether this is the most urgent need. However, education is the essential foundation of a country that, if done properly, will ensure development that is sustainable for everyone. It is about giving someone a rod, instead of offering them fish year after year. Our students make real sacrifices to be here, whether they are in primary, secondary, or third level, but with their energy, vision, and commitment the future is bright indeed.
Ben Nhialic areer kek a yin,
Fr Alan
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
Jul 21, 2022
Soon after arriving in South Sudan in November 2020 for my current appointment, I received a WhatsApp message from Fr Abzalón, the Superior General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, wishing me the best with the new mission and saying that he would like to visit one day. In the height of the pandemic, travelling anywhere seemed unlikely, and the possibility of coming to Rumbek would test even the most credulous of believers.
Less than two years later, though, I was in Juba to welcome him early on a Wednesday morning. When I first arrived in 2017 on a research trip, the airport was a simple tent, with no chairs that worked, and a length of runway. Now we have graduated to a building with one carousel, a sort of Central African Knock International Airport if you will. After a brief prayer to St Jude, he successfully negotiated the labyrinthine entry visa process, and we were off.
Challenges and resilience
Part of the Superior General’s mission was to see what was happening in Diocese of Rumbek and to explore if there was a need for a greater MSC presence. To that end, we spent our first day meeting with the head of religious missionaries in the country and then the coordinator of the Jesuit Refugee Service (both coincidentally Irish) to get the lay of the land and a sense of the reality of the people. That evening, we had dinner with Christian Carlassare, the newly ordained Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek. He returned to the country just last March to be ordained, following an attempt on his life in 2021. Over cremated nyama choma (a speciality of grilled meat), the Bishop told him of the many challenges the Diocese faced, but also about the resilience of the people who persevered through a long fight for Independence and the Civil War of 2013.
Before sunrise, we were back to the airport for our flight to Lakes State. The closest approximation to the domestic departures experience is if you imagine the chaos in Dublin Airport earlier this year, then squeeze it all into one-tenth of the space, occasionally switch off the power, raise the temperature about 20C, and then you’re about half-way there. However, our guardian angels were working time and a half, and by 8:10am we had arrived in Rumbek and were heading to Loreto, which would be Fr Abzalón’s base for the week.
Exploring Loreto and beyond
Fr Abzalón had the opportunity to explore the Loreto compound, beginning with the Mary Ward Primary Health Care Clinic. In addition to looking after all the students and staff, it has responsibility for nine local villages encompassing 27,000 people. Most come for vaccinations, nutritional support, and especially malaria treatment. In the primary school, there are 1,400 day pupils, with a further 340 boarding girls in the secondary school. We are coming to the end of the first semester, so everyone was intent on their revision for exams. That afternoon he came to the Catholic University of South Sudan, Rumbek, where I work as principal. There, he met the young men and women who are training to be the teachers and the business people of the future.
It’s hard to believe in recent years that to drive into the east of Rumbek would mean that you were taking your life in your hands. It would be highway robbery, except there was no highway and if you got away with just being robbed you would be doing well. With the arrival of the new governor last year there have been far fewer problems. On Friday, we joined the final-year students and some of the staff to be part in a peace walk to the Parish of the Good Shepherd in Thonaduiel. We started off like good pilgrims at dawn and arrived eight hours later and 45km away, finishing with a short time of prayer. It was a witness for the villages we walked through of the country that could be built together if peace were to flourish.
South Sudan celebrated its Independence on the 9th of July 2011, and every year since then it has been a day for processions, speeches, and sports in Freedom Square. They have an understandable sense of pride over the establishment of their nation, but are conscious too of the outstanding issues that remain, most notably peace building, the rights of women, and the first elections that are due to take place next year. The Loreto students were out in force for the day and their marching was featured on national TV, to the great excitement of all the girls.
Pioneering work
The next few days allowed Fr Abzalón the chance to visit some of the local villages in Maker Kuei, where we are based. People live in simple conditions with a quiet dignity and have a genuine warmth for visitors. He took a cooking class to learn how to make combo (a type of stew containing vegetables, peanuts, and meat) over a charcoal fire. He also attended some of my CRE classes in the secondary school and shared what life is like in Guatemala, his home country. It was a special blessing to have him celebrate our Sunday Mass for the students outdoors under the shade of the neem trees.
As his week came to a close, Fr Abzalón still had a lot to see. On Tuesday, we went to visit the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Mapourdit. The Daughters are the trailblazers of the Chevalier Family in South Sudan. They have been here for over twenty-five years and they endured many hardships before the country won Independence. Today, they continue their pioneering work in education and healthcare under the most challenging of conditions.
Thursday came around quicker than anticipated and Fr Abzalón headed back to Juba to get a COVID test and an onward flight to Rome. Looking back on his experiences he wrote to us that same week:
“The mission … is a wonderful and prophetic project of education and integral promotion, especially of young women. The community there struggle day by day to build and transform this challenging and complex, but at the same time, beautiful reality. The Chevalier Family is present in South Sudan.”
– Fr Abzalón Alvarado Tovar MSC
Superior General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
Ben Nhialic areer kek a yin,
Fr Alan
Read more from Fr Alan’s missionary journey in South Sudan:
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
