Helping the Less Fortunate By Showing Compassion

September 15, 2020

Caring for the less fortunate members of society isn’t only done out of abundance. As Mama Mary Aurupai of Juba, South Sudan, has demonstrated, simply showing compassion and some form of generosity can make a world of difference for most people.

After losing her parents at such a young age, Mary was adopted by her aunt, who raised her as if she were her own. When she finished high school, her friends offered their support to help her go to college. It was at this time that Mary discovered just how much of a difference compassion can make and how it can completely transform a person’s life.

Almost 10 years ago, Mary noticed a young man wandering the streets around her home. She struck up a conversation with him and learned that the boy was brought to the city to work with his older brother in their motorcycle business. But as they spoke, Mary saw in him a passion for learning and gaining a valuable education. She agreed to help pay for him to return to school via an adult education program in exchange for his assistance with work around her home. The man passed high school and is currently waiting to attend a university.

What makes Mary’s work so special is that she is not wealthy. She is a single mother taking care of her own children while also working full-time and assisting with the community subsistence farming. Above all, Mary is a Christian, and it was through Christ’s calling that she understood the importance of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. It is due to her compassion, not her wealth, that she is able to help the less fortunate, and she hopes to pass that message on to others so that we can continue to change the lives of the less fortunate around us.

To learn more about this story, read: https://rurugene.com/giving-a-helping-hand-to-the-less-fortunate-members-of-the-society-does-not-require-riches-but-a-compassionate-heart

Sudanese Government Signs Peace Deal with Rebels

September 2, 2020

For more than 20 years, a civil war has raged on in Sudan between the nation and various rebel groups from surrounding regions. Recently, the Sudanese government and the heads of this alliance came to an agreement to end the fighting which has already claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

This peace deal is considered one of the first major breakthroughs since the indictment of former Sudanese dictator Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was accused of atrocities in Darfur. After his ousting, a coalition of military and civilian personnel came together to form a transitional Sudanese governmental body that would help bring about peace and freedom. Unfortunately, battles were still happening as recently as July of 2020, and there was concern over whether the fighting would ever end.

With more 300,000 people killed in the fighting, and more than 2.7 million displaced from their homes, this peace deal, while not concrete, is seen as a major turning point in the turmoil in Sudan. There is hope that this will kick-start ongoing peace talks between the Sudan government and the rebel alliance so as to ensure that the fighting will end soon.

 

To find out more, read here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/world/africa/sudan-peace-agreement-darfur.html

Mursi

August 13, 2020

When he was five years old, Mursi, a boy from Karkarai, Sudan, found an unnatural swelling near his abdomen. This swelling began to grow at an exponential rate, and no medicine could stop it. By the third visit to the local clinic, the nurses recommended transferring him to Mother of Mercy Hospital, run by Dr. Tom Catena.

After conversing with Mursi’s father, who was a volunteer nurse aid at the local dispensary, Dr. Tom decided to conduct a hydrocelectomy to halt the swelling. Thanks to Dr. Tom’s expertise and the wonderful staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital, the surgery was a success, and Mursi now lives a normal, healthier life.

Dr. Tom would never have been able to save lives like that of Mursi without the help of the Sudan Relief Fund’s generous donors.

For more information about Dr. Tom and Mother of Mercy Hospital, click here.

 

Dr. Tom Saves Mother in Dangerous Birth

August 10, 2020

Soma Awad is a 26-year-old woman living Kurungu Abdallah, a small village in South Sudan. Recently, Soma was pregnant with twins and ready to give birth. Unfortunately, there were some complications that almost took her life had it not been for the actions of Dr. Tom and the rest of the helpful staff at Mother of Mercy Hospital.

When Soma felt labor pain, she was rushed to the nearby clinic, where she successfully delivered a baby boy. After four unsuccessful hours trying to deliver the second baby, Soma was referred to the better-equipped Mother of Mercy Hospital, more than seven hours away.

Soma arrived at the hospital at midnight, and Dr. Tom and his team immediately began their work. Sadly the second twin had passed away, but their work continued as their mission was now to save Soma’s life. She recounts how she was tired, weak, and on the brink of unconsciousness by the time she arrived at Mother of Mercy Hospital, and she didn’t think she would survive the night.

Because of Dr. Tom’s incredible commitment and expertise, he was able to save Soma’s life. Now, Soma regularly thanks God for bringing her to Dr. Tom, who gave her a second chance at life and allowed her to be there for her family.

For more information about Dr. Tom and Mother of Mercy Hospital, click here.

Let’s Congratulate South Sudan on Their Independence Day

July 6, 2020

The United States just celebrated its independence, and we’re reminded that we’re not the only country that has fought long and hard for its freedoms. South Sudan is the most recent country to do the same, becoming its own country on July 9, 2011, making it one of the youngest countries in the world.

Before seceding from the North, Sudan had a long history of conflict between the Arab and Muslim-dominated northern region, and the non-Arab, Christian south. A civil war raged across the country from 1983 to 2005, until a signed North/South peace deal granted southerners the right to self-determination votes. This led to an overwhelming vote for the secession of South Sudan in 2011.

Click Here to Watch a Video About the Conflict

While South Sudan’s people are happy to no longer be persecuted for their religious beliefs, they are still in dire need of help. Becoming a new nation without any real infrastructure or support has created many obstacles that need to be overcome. Each day, numerous people go without food, adequate medicine, clean water, and basic hygiene supplies.

For years, we have been doing all we can to help provide this kind of emergency relief for them, while also delivering long-term support through farming training, hospital building, and education. The needs are still crucial, but the good news is that freedom is working. Their nation is rebuilding. We are seeing small pockets of prosperity and hope every day.

We should celebrate with South Sudan since we were once in the same position. Remember, America wasn’t built in a day after July 4, 1776. It took our ancestors years to rebuild and prosper, so we know how difficult it is to be in that situation. We should congratulate South Sudan’s people for seeking and fighting for their freedom, just as our early American ancestors did as well.

Nurse Noeleen Feeds and Teaches the Hungry, Thanks to You

June 19, 2020

Nurse Noeleen Loughran has been delivering emergency healthcare to the South Sudanese refugees for many years, but her assistance doesn’t end there. In fact, she has also turned to farming to help produce food for the refugees.

 

When Noeleen began her missionary work on the border of South Sudan in a small village called Koboko, she bought a small, 4-acre plot of farmland. Because of the generosity of our donors, she was able to purchase a plow and an ox.

The land Nurse Noeleen bought is rich in nutrients and healthy soil, making it an excellent source for food. When she’s not helping refugees with their medicinal needs, she’s working on the farm, not only cultivating fresh food, but also teaching others how to farm. She hopes to teach the refugees and villagers crucial farming skills so that they can become more self—sufficient and less reliant on outside food sources in the future.

Nurse Noeleen’s farm has proven to be a blessing. She’s now able to feed people with the crops she and her team have grown, and with the help of generous donors, her hope is to buy more land and expand the farm even further in the future.

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Covid-19 Hits Sudan Displacement Camps; Return Pressure on the Rise

June 18, 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread across the world, and the South Sudan region has been hit particularly hard by the disease. Out of the six UN-protected displacement camps (known as Protection of Civilians sites), two have seen outbreaks of the coronavirus, prompting UN officials to encourage camp residents to return to their homes.

However, these displaced refugees, totaling at approximately 190,000, do not feel safe returning to their war-torn homes due to the threat of violence. In the last month alone, more than 200 people were violently killed in clashes in eastern Jonglei.

Displacement camp residents are now stuck in an unusual struggle: if they stay at the camps, not only do they risk being exposed to the virus, but an attitude of foreign hostility has also gripped the camp and caused many people to look down on the South Sudanese and blame them for the outbreak (even though the first cases were among UN international staff). On the other hand, they can’t return home for fear of violence from raiders, bandits, and other warring forces.

For now, it seems that the UN is doing what it can to mitigate the risk of Covid spread as well as violence in the displacement camps, but only time will tell if their measures prove effective.

Read more here:

https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2020/06/01/South-Sudan-coronavirus-UNMISS-conflict-peace

Bishop Kussala

South Sudan Seminarians Thank Donors for Generosity

May 8, 2020

Times are tough in South Sudan and the new circumstances surrounding the pandemic leave even more uncertainty for so many of the people in the region. Sudan Relief Fund continues to provide where we can and provide a glimmer of hope to those who benefit through our support. We recently received a letter of thanks from a seminarian at the St. Mary Seminary in Juba, South Sudan. He has extended thanks and gratitude to our donors on behalf of all the seminarians and the sponsored children at the local Comboni Boys Primary School. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, they are able to receive an education and hopefully leave their lives of poverty behind. See an excerpt of the letter below:

I am glad to take this golden chance to thank the Almighty God for giving us South Sudanese people the donors to rescue us from our ignorance and poverty.

I thank the brothers of St. Martin de Porres who have connected us to these donors, and we pray that they should not be discouraged in supporting us or stopping us on the way of education leading to dropout, since most of us have no way to support both in kind.

We also thank Brother James Othembi from St. Martin De Porres congregation for his struggle for us, especially we South Sudanese. May the Lord bless him and bless our donors in South Sudan so that they may continue supporting us in kind with school fees and also basic needs.

 

God first in our struggle

Your faithful in Christ,

Seminarian Francis Hutof Emphe

 

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