Sudan Update 9

Dear All,

We have been back in Malakal a few weeks now; it was great to get back to see everyone. There had been some changes at the bishops house, it is the season for growing and most of the bishops compound is now full of maze (sweet corn), part of the bishops store house has been transformed into a sculptures’ art studio (will explain later) and baby David who was only crawling when we left is now pottering around on his own.


The rains here at the moment are very sporadic one day is baking hot and the earth is cracked and dry and next torrential rain with us wading around in mud fighting the onslaught of mosquitoes (who annoyingly see our pit latrine as a favourite breeding ground).

It’s been a really busy time; we have been helping the diocese in making applications to some external donors for some projects that they hope will begin in the next few months. The first is to make some additions to the schools that have been built this year. All their schools have extremely sporadic water supplies which are currently endangering the school feeding programmes as there is not always enough water to cook the children’s food. Lack of access to clean water in school also is also causing serious health risks for the children and teachers drinking it so the diocese are hoping to provide all their schools (they currently run 5 in the diocese) with water tanks which would allow the schools to collect and store water which can be used for watering school gardens. None of the schools currently have any perimeter fencing; this leaves the school vulnerable in a number of ways so the diocese hope to put up perimeter fencing which would increase security for the children and allow plots of land to be protected for cultivation inside.

School Gardens
The Diocese is keen to get started on a new school garden project. The purpose for this project is to improve food security for its schools, potentially sell excess produce as income generation for the schools and to teach agriculture classes to the children which hopefully will reduce their food in the future. We have been helping them to forge a partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Christian charity World Vision. Our schools will provide the plots of land and staff to be trained, World Vision will be providing training and agricultural expertise and WFP will provide the seeds and tools. There will be 3 gardens to begin with; the picture is of Malakal Primary school where the teachers there have already fenced off a small plot and begun tilling

Malakal Art Exhibition
The Diocese will be holding an art exhibition in late October, possibly the first one ever to be held in Malakal, possibly the first in South Sudan! Bishop Hillary (who is an artist by training) and other artists from around Sudan will be exhibiting their work here to the local community. The children of Malakal Primary school will also be producing some work which I will be helping them start in September. This exhibition has been funded by Christian Aid and is on the theme of Peace and Reconciliation in Sudan. Photos of the exhibition will become a touring exhibition to churches in the UK. We are currently in the process of working out all the logistical side of putting it on, Malakal is very cut off from anywhere else so getting art work here in one piece from different part of the country will be quite a challenge.

The Mothers Union

I have been meeting with the Mothers Union who are the women’s body of the diocese to encourage and help them recruit a full time worker to help them in their work. We have spent time discussing their needs and hope to be able to find someone who can give their time to be available for women and children to share their problems with, to encourage women in their prayer, Bible study and their church involvement and to organise small group meetings and workshops on issues that affect women in the area.


We travel to Renk Diocese this week and will be in contact again soon,

Best wishes

Keren and Simon