A partnership that’s changing lives

Colm Fitzpatrick speaks with missionaries about their impact in South Sudan

In a place of despair, starvation and even death, Irish missionaries have begun to bring hope back into the down-trodden lives of thousands.

South Sudan remains one of the world’s poorest countries, and continues to be ravaged by violence, illness and extreme poverty which are affecting millions of lives. The severity of the conditions cannot be exaggerated, and statistics coming from there are mere fodder to the bleak reality of the actual situation. To get an idea however; there is one trained doctor per 65,000 people; a 15-year-old girl is more likely to die in childbirth than she is to finish secondary school; and there are jobs that pay as little as €2.27 a month.

Speaking about the crisis, Sr Orla Treacy, a member of Loreto Sisters who has been working in South Sudan for over 10 years said, “Things are bad, and there isn’t a lot of hope for the immediate situation and things look like they are getting worse.

Crisis

“Our community is in the crisis stage of food insecurity, and has been for over two years without any respite from the hunger. Things will get worse now coming into the dry season.”

In 2008, the Loreto Sisters began working in the rural community of Maker Kuei, Rumbek, an environment of constant struggle with over 1,000 families who are fighting to survive. Although tribal violence and riots are prominent, health care and health education are vital issues that need addressing.

“This area has a strong culture of traditional medicine (witch doctors) and this has become just as fatal as malaria, pneumonia, or infections,” says Sr Orla. “Preventative health care is an extremely new concept, but one that the children are eager to take advantage of.”

In July 2016, the Loreto Sisters established the Loreto Primary Health Care Unit (PHCU) in Rumbek. This medical centre provides needed life-saving aid to local people, and especially to women and children, who are most vulnerable to disease and ailment. In the first six months of the PHCU, professional nursing staff saw an average of 250 people per week, with most common illnesses treated at the clinic such as malaria, pneumonia and fungal infections. In addition to this, the PHCU have begun running programmes to educate the local community about basic sanitary hygiene.

Alongside these health-care developments, there have been remarkable improvements in education of the children in the area in spite of adverse cultural practices.

“Education, and especially girl child education, has a low cultural value in this community where the size of a family’s cattle herds determines wealth and position,” says Sr Orla. Cattle are the currency of exchange for brides and some Loreto girls from this area have been offered as many as 300 cows for their hand in marriage.

“In our community, what is needed is development through aid; working to develop the communities position and understanding on critical issues of child protection and education, gender empowerment, and other critical life-skills, while simultaneously supporting these children throughout the ongoing crisis.”

To address the scarcity, the Loreto Primary School was established, which caters to almost 700 students both male and female. Students are given a quality education and also have access to healthcare, nutritious meals and clean water.

The Loreto Secondary School was also founded: an-all girls’ boarding schools, of which currently 240 girls attend, with Sr Orla Treacy who works with families to protect young women from enforced marriage, as the principal.

This education has had an overwhelming impact on the families living in the area. “The school provides a safe and secure environment for these children to not only learn, but to play,” Sr Orla says.

“What they gain in the school lays a foundation for their lives, but in the current context the school also offers critical services: health care, sanitation facilities, clean potable water access, and meals. Each child is covered, through their enrolment, for each of these life altering services.”

This year, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have joined forces with the Loreto Sisters for further outreach to struggling families. Speaking about the undertakings Fr Alan Neville MSC, who visited Rumbek while conducting research into Catholic peace-zones, says that the “schools are educating kids and working with them to become builders of peace, but women are especially disempowered”.

Articulate

“In the midst of all this, they’re being educated and becoming articulate and incredible young women. Girls teach each other tribal dances and girls are paired with others not part of their ethnic group, so it’s breaking down barriers,” he says.

“The completion rate for school is also spectacular – all of the kids usually finish school and the schools will fund it most of the time.”

This missionary work for Fr Alan means that we are “unleashing a group of young women into the world” who can become nurses and teachers.

“This is an absolute good, in the midst of everything. It’s a challenging mission, but they’re not walking away.”

As part of their 2017 Summer Appeal, the Loreto Sisters are calling upon all mission friends to join with the MSC community to support the crucial work in South Sudan which is in need of urgent aid.

To donate, visit: https://www.mscmissions.ie/donate/