Planting a Better Future
Breaking Free from Poverty and Crime
Once Grace and her friend Donaté were among the hopeless youth of western rural South Sudan – a place where most schools don’t go beyond sixth grade, and children grow up with little hope for further education or career prospects.
Sadly, some youth growing up in areas that offer little opportunity like the remote region of Wau, come to believe they have nothing good ahead of them. As a result, some resort to joining gangs – or something even worse known as charcoal burning, a form of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Franciscan Sisters partner with Sudan Relief Fund in Wau to minister to troubled youth. The Sisters were able to identify Grace and Donaté as “at-risk youth” – at risk of being preyed upon by organized crime gangs, who view young recruits as disposable tools that are easily replaceable. The gangs offer a place to “belong,” a “family” of sorts that the boy or girl lacks, and a twisted sense of purpose.
But thanks to a program administered by the sisters, now Grace and Donaté are on a different path. They are small business owners managing their own agricultural plots of land.
With a bit of instruction and plenty of encouragement, the youth were given the opportunity to till, plant, and tend their plot. From dry ground to fertile field, both teens just finished producing their first successful harvest to sell at the local market.
Not only does an accomplishment like this produce a sense of pride, but Grace and Donaté now have a means to support themselves, and something of their own to take care of – a powerful tool to provide tangible hope and offset the allure of criminal gangs.
This is an example of one of the many humanitarian programs directed by the Franciscan Sisters in Wau – programs that are saving lives here every day. Together with your partnership and the diligence of the Franciscan Sisters, we are transforming lives like Grace and Donaté and many others in the remote reaches of Wau – reaching out to the forgotten, the cast aside, the abandoned, and the impoverished.
The results are not only the work of the Sisters, but the gracious commitment of everyone involved in supporting Sudan Relief Fund’s mission.
Your support makes it possible to offer programs that impact lives. Thank you for partnering with us to save lives and foster brighter futures for struggling children and communities.
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