Many of you will know that, as a Church, we have felt called by God to support projects
in Sudan. In response, in 1991, our church set up the Burpham Sudan Fund.
Although Sudan in general, and Darfur in particular, have dropped out of the headlines,
Darfur remains one of the most dangerous and needy places in the world. We continue
to believe therefore that this calling to our church to be involved by prayer and
action continues.
Our most recent link has been forged through the Jesuit Refugee Service, working
in Mellit District, North Darfur. JRS has been operating in this area since 2006
and has been focusing on emergency education and adult literacy.
Their aim is to:
• develop child friendly schools throughout Mellit.
• provide informal, basic adult education,
particularly for women, and help them
with life skill
activities and practical income generation options.
JRS is working closely with eight primary schools, six in Mellit town and two in
Abassi Camp, where they also support a pre-school.
They are operating under very challenging circumstances but, in spite of this, have
built classrooms, provided textbooks and other equipment for the schools and work
closely with the Parent Teacher Associations who help with renovation of classrooms
etc.
JRS continues to run five adult literacy centres in the region.
The Life Skills course continues to be very successful and women acquire additional
skills, promoting income generating activities.
This work has continued in spite of very difficult security issues in North Darfur,
resulting in international staff members having to manage projects remotely.
Security issues and bureaucratic obstacles continue to limit humanitarian access
to affected populations in Darfur.
Our 2010 Christmas Appeal for the Burpham Sudan Fund to support the work of JRS in
Darfur raised over £800.00
This is a very encouraging result.
Thank you to all who contributed in any way.
We hope to bring you an update on the JRS work in the near future. See Lunch on
11th September, 2011. You may have heard in the news that this is a crucial time
for the future of Sudan, and Darfur is a very strategic area in determining the future
of the whole country.
Please continue to remember Sudan in your prayers and give thanks for the small part
we are able to play in the life of this hugely needy region.
See the 2010 Christmas card that gives some more info
