SRF 2025 3rd Quarter Newsletter
A Familiar Face in Bentiu
Bishop Christian Undertakes a New Mission
With the installation of Bishop Christian Carlassare, SRF has a valuable partner in the newly established Diocese of Bentiu, situated on the border with Sudan. He was previously known to our donors from his time as Bishop of Rumbek, where he survived a terrifying shooting in the parish house in 2021.
A Comboni missionary and native of Italy, Bishop Christian enthusiastically embraces his new assignment in Bentiu, which was carved out as a separate entity from the Catholic Diocese of Malakal by Pope Francis last year.
“I find it exciting to share in the poverty and challenges the people of Bentiu are encountering,” he said. “At the same time to [take] the first steps together to build up a community that – strengthened by faith – can be a source of transformation for the country.”
Bishop Christian and SRF will work in close partnership to aid the many in this region who have been displaced by catastrophic flooding. The dykes surrounding low-lying Bentiu have become brittle, regularly being breached during the rainy season. Flooding threatens all here, including over 150,000 IDP’s in South Sudan’s largest refugee camp.
The greatest immediate need is for fresh water. SRF is working to fund both solar powered submersible and hand pump wells to meet this urgent concern. Your generosity would be appreciated in making any gift you can to support these efforts to bring lifegiving water
Small Steps Toward Recovery
Visiting Surgeon Offers Hope in Nzara
St. Theresa Mission Hospital in Nzara has, like so much of South Sudan, unwittingly found itself thrust into the middle of the violent conflicts taking place. Medical teams here have been tasked with treating scores of wounded, both civilians and soldiers, who have incurred terrible wounds from all manner of hostile acts, many beyond the scope of their training.
SRF has been humbled to provide support for many important improvements at St. Theresa, most recently a critical addition to the hospital’s medical team. We are funding the addition of a visiting orthopedic surgeon, as well as a registered nurse and anesthetist, to help treat those in desperate need.
Dr. David Loro will travel to St. Therese from his practice in Uganda to perform surgery. His invaluable expertise will offer a vital service in a region where untreated physical injuries can easily lead to preventable disabilities, or even death.
This place of healing is a bastion of hope for more than a half million people in a region stretching from South Sudan to the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. Every year, over 20,000 patients receive medical care here who wouldn’t have it without this facility.
It is in the most literal sense their only hope for hundreds of miles, in a difficult to traverse land.
The Lives You’ve Saved
Clean Water Helps Rebuild Communities
Clean water changes everything.
Recently our donor community funded much needed wells across Ave Maria parish, where thousands of internally displaced people took refuge after being forced to flee their homes due to violent warfare and conflict.
For too long, families like that of young, widowed Rousa, and three young children were forced to rely on murky, unsafe water for drinking and cooking. They had struggled for months with the ravages of severe, waterborne illnesses. Now, thanks to your support, they have a reason to rejoice: they finally have clean water. That’s the difference clean water makes. It saves lives and transforms entire communities. Water unites all humanity in our dependence on it.
It was a joyful moment for Rousa and her whole community when the well was completed in their village. A ceremony was held to celebrate the occasion, and a special blessing was given over the new well. The scene was beautiful, and joy filled the air as over 600 people danced, sang, prayed, and gave thanks for the clean water they now had.
With the support of our donors and partners, Sudan Relief Fund has been fighting to bring clean water to communities suffering without it. In 2024, we were able to drill more than 24 water wells across South Sudan. In 2025 SRF is ramping up its commitment, with plans to drill nearly 50 wells. Thank you for helping us bring this vital resource to people in need, like these families in Ave Maria parish and many others.
Confronting Classroom Challenges in Ave Maria
Teaching Order Arrives from Mexico
Ave Maria Parish in Western Equatoria, South Sudan, has been brightened by the arrival of four Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of Guadalupe, a teaching order based in Mexico. The sisters arrived in April to assist Father Avelino in bringing educational opportunities to the people of this remote region.
SRF is providing the sisters with funding to support their mission which includes building a convent, and other resources to help them navigate and reach the needy in this remote region. After spending six months learning English, the group arrived in South Sudan in time to attend the blessing of a new, SRF-funded well of Mozungo recently completed here.
As they undertake their teaching responsibilities, we are also working to arrange support for an important capital project necessitated by the almost overwhelming flow of refugees into Ave Maria.
The parish school currently has classrooms to accommodate about 360 students. However, the school is now serving almost 1,500 eager learners, displaced from their homes by famine and war. As a result, teaching is being done in makeshift outdoor classrooms, subject to the disruptions of wind, rain, and excessive heat.
With the support of our donors and the grace of God, SRF is planning to fund the building of permanent indoor classrooms to create a better learning environment, as we have done in the past. This will allow Father Avelino and the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration to deliver learning in a comfortable, welcoming environment.
SRF 2025 Q1 Newsletter