A New Year Update

We are very concerned about the reports of continued fighting in South Sudan. There are positive signs emerging about peace negotiations and a possible truce; however there have clearly been outbreaks of violence and unrest in certain  areas.

We hope that rapid progress is made towards securing peace as a matter of urgency and we support the efforts of all peace makers.

We learn from Juba that Kimu health clinic is working as normally as possible under the circumstances. The team there has remained together and our friends are safe. We also learn that the our HIV/Aids outreach programme for 2014 is ready to commence when the time is right and we have news that our staff and volunteers are safe.

We await news about the university and our students  as term is due to begin. We also await news about the adult literacy classes for women which were established in Terekeka.

In the meantime, we thank all our supporters who have sent messages of encouragement over Christmas. As WEP acts through personal contacts, we have been able to pass these on directly to friends in South Sudan.

We will continue to prepare for further projects in 2014 so that when peace returns, WEP will be ready to respond.

A recent Email from a friend leading a project supported by WEP in a troubled part of South Sudan ended with these words.

As we are entering 2014 tomorrow we pray that peace prevails in all corners of the World and wish you prosperous New Year. It is also our hope and wish that WEP's work expands in this New Year 2014.

It is a privilege to share with all supporters of WEP this optimistic message for the future emerging from a place where there is conflict and uncertainty.  Even in difficult times we learn of courage, hope and generosity of spirit.

Peter

Director

An Update on Our Current Situation

South Sudan 

We are very disturbed by reports emerging from South Sudan that there is fighting in certain places, possible military action and more people displaced.

We do not believe that violence will solve the problems which the people of South Sudan face as they seek to establish a new, prosperous and peaceful country,

We pray for an immediate end to bloodshed. This plea is especially poignant at Christmas when we join with people across the world, praying for peace and justice.


We learn that some of our projects continue to function despite the difficulties. 

• The University in Juba has continued working for the students as best it could up to Christmas.

• Our AIDS/HIV outreaches for 2013 were completed safely and planning is taking place for further outreaches to resume in 2014 as conditions allow.

• Kimu Clinic is functioning and the staff are safe.

• We have no word about the adult literacy work in Terekeka but we will continue to pray that staff and the adults in those remote schools remain safe.


We are in contact with our friends in South Sudan and we have, on your behalf, wished them a peaceful Christmas. We are committed to standing beside them and supporting them.

The situation in Sudan is changing rapidly and we will update you with further news of our projects as soon as we can.

Sudan

Our work in Sudan continues and we have regular positive reports from the office in Khartoum about our students at Ahfad. We have recently recruited two further students who will be our St Martin’s scholars in Khartoum

The adult literacy classes for women, work with orphan children and eye care outreaches continue

Recently we have had discussions about extending the involvement of our students into helping with Breast Care awareness alongside our HIV/Aids outreaches. In these outreaches we work to educate some of the most disadvantaged women who are most affected by poverty and lack of opportunity for education.



Thank You

Many of our loyal supporters have responded very generously to our Christmas appeal. Thank you and we look forward to receiving more completed gift aid forms and donations. We will only use funds for projects where we know that the projects can be safely and quickly delivered for the benefit of women.

We pray that 2014 will be peaceful, especially in South Sudan.

We are committed to working with all peacemakers and we know first hand the power of education to promote peace and justice, especially among women.  

We wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year holiday. Thank you again for your support

Peter Hullah

24th December 2013

HIV/AIDS Outreach in Juba Sponsored by the Women's Education Partnership

Sarah from NWERO Speaks

Sarah from NWERO ( national women empowerment and rehabilitation organisation) talking to over 70 students at an outreach on the Juba University campus. This one of a series of 12 outreaches we are promoting in the town and out in the country. 

In the feedback many students said that his kind of information giving open forum was much appreciated.

HIV/AIDS facilitators

Sarah with the trained NWERO team selected today to deliver this important outreach.  A university   lecturer who attended said how valuable this outreach was for students who are the future of South Sudan. 

Sarah answering questions towards the end of the session about relationships

Rosa and Martina at Juba University

Rosa and Martina are willing to work hard to succeed

Rosa ( left ) came south from Khartoum in the middle of her science studies. She wants to be a microbiologist but the course is hard as there are hardly any facilities  for practical work at the university. However, now in her fourth year, she is a strong person and on her own found  work experience in the laboratory of the  South Sudan Beverage Company at the brewery. Her advice to her sister WEP scholars " Be serious about your studies and don't  give up."

Women's Education Partnership Students in Juba

Women's Education Partnership University Students in Juba

Seven of our scholarship undergraduates come together at the university. I addition, on the left, Donna is a scholarship graduate who after studying law, is now working in the judiciary. She has aspirations to become a judge and her advice to her friends was "Be serious about your studies and finish your education - never give up despite the problems. Thank you for the help. I would never have made it without my scholarship ".

At Kimu Clinic

Silas with the Kimu Clinic technicians

Silas, a long term friend of WEP is surrounds by his cheerful team of lab technicians at Kimu Health Centre, Juba. These  ladies know that their detective skills will make a difference to the way the community becomes healthy. 

Women come to Kimu Clinic with their children

 The Health Centre run by Silas Jojo and supported by the Women's Education Partnership is a lifeline for community health.
 

The Operating Theatre at Kimu Clinic

The equipment has arrived thanks to very generous donations from our supporters. It's almost ready to be used and Silas predicts that the first operation will take place here this weekend.


In response to donations of equipment, the community have gathered funds to buy an air conditioning unit. This is real Partnership working at Kimu.

Kimu Clinic Juba

Emanuelle and Mum Stella

At Kimu health centre brave four year old Emmanuelle, watched by her anxious mother Stella ,receives an injection via a cannula to treat pneumonia. Kimu is a local health clinic on the outskirts of Juba , supported by Women's Education Partnership. The clinic brings health to the women and children of a disadvantaged and poor community of refugees. 

All smiles now

All smiles after the injection is over. With the support Kimu receives from partners and friends, including WEP, the clinic is able to raise levels of health for the local community.

Landing in Juba

Just coming in to land at Juba, South Sudan

The President of Sudan was leaving after a peace making visit as we arrived in Juba. The airport was packed and the roads closed. In all the crowds we were welcomed and admitted to South Sudan. Then Penny and I walked the mile or so from the airport to the hotel past lines of waiting cars and security. 

Khartoum is hot and dusty: Juba  is hot and humid after brief torrential afternoon rains. 

This evening we had a good conversation with Maud Johansson of the Norwegian Relief Council.  Later this week we will travel for a couple of days outside Juba to visit adult education projects - women teaching women , with  WEP supporting NRC as a partner in development education for women who have materially very little indeed. This is an exciting  and a very real development for WEP and thank you to our donors. 

We can see the links building between our work in Sudan and South Sudan, helping women who are disadvantaged or displaced through education. The real joy is that In both countries we are listening to local women  who are equally passionate for this to happen. 

Martina's Story

Martina will not be defeated

At Juba University, Martina, a young student, arrives early at the side door of the lecture theatre. Usually it’s standing room only and she wants to get a seat in her undergraduate class.

Born in Eastern Equatoria, with no father living, Martina was displaced by war as a young child, ending up in the barren settlements in the wasteland outside Khartoum.

She struggled to gain entry into a secondary school where she saw a notice on the board advertising support offered by Together for Sudan without any religious discrimination for displaced women. 

Martina was determined and after a rigorous interview, she emerged as one of our students. 

Her university moved back to Juba as South Sudan became independent in 2011 and Martina moved again. She now lives with her grandmother in a basic room outside the city and despite many interruptions she is continuing to study public administration.

Recently we met Martina with her hand on that Juba side door which will lead her to a brighter future. Nothing will defeat her.

Women's Education Partnership, as we are now called, has supported 261 other girls over the last 15 years at universities and vocational colleges,  all disadvantaged women, many from the Nuba Mountains.   

Martina was just one of the many remarkable people Alan Goulty, Lillian Craig Harris, Penny and I met on our April visit to Khartoum and Juba. We have seen first-hand some of our literacy, eye care and HIV/Aids projects in operation and listened to the women so that in our planning for projects we can act on what they tell us to do.  We have also had very joyful meetings with our scholars studying in Khartoum and Juba . Often having to struggle, they are working really hard to study so that they can find jobs and play a full part in the peaceful and healthy development of Sudan and South Sudan.

Watch this space for more Women’s Education Partnership (Together for Sudan) Good News Stories.

Thank you for your support and encouragement. There is much more we can do with your help.

Peter Hullah

Director  

A Special Opportunity

The forthcoming retirement of Together for Sudan's founding Director offers an opportunity for a qualified volunteer to take over the lead in our work to help Sudanese women and children.

Candidates should be flexible , patient, and courageous as well as able to engage sensitively with people in Sudan and South Sudan. They may be male or female and should have some experience of fund-raising, advocacy and liaison with donors.

They must be willing to visit Sudan and South Sudan at least twice a year (expenses will be paid). Working closely with TFS Trustees the new Director will promote, develop and administer a growing charity dedicated to the education and medical needs of marginalized women and children, which is supported by Friends Together for Sudan, a US charity.

The Director will be expected to work from his/her home or office for a minimum of 16 hours a week, reporting to TFS Trustees and keeping in close contact by email with TFS colleagues in Khartoum and Juba, managing as well as monitoring their work.

The Director will have considerable autonomy. (S)he should therefore have a good track record as a self-starter and preferably with some knowledge of Sudan and South Sudan. Willingness to adopt and take forward the ethos of the charity's founders will be key.

A more detailed description of the position can be downloaded here.

Interviews are expected to be held in central London during July 2012.


Applicants should send their details by June 20th to:

Malcolm Grundy (TfS Trustee),
4 Portal Road, 
York YO26 6BQ.   


 +44(0)1904787387        malcolm@togetherforsudan.org

Dear Friends

In recent months there have been major developments in both Together for Sudan’s work and in Sudan
itself. We remain Muslims and Christians working together in service to the poor and dispossessed, women and children in particular. But Sudan’s recent transformation into the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan presents us with both difficulties and opportunities. Thousands of southerners living in the north have returned to their home areas and our office in Khartoum has been hard hit. Former Deputy Country Coordinator Victor and former TfS Accountant Minallah are among the thousands of people now living in Juba, capital of South Sudan, many with no proper housing or employment. Meanwhile, a significant number of Together for Sudan university scholars have left the north and re-registered at Juba University, hoping that Together for Sudan can continue to support them.

Arriving in Khartoum in early October, TfS Secretary Alan Goulty and I knew —despite the present TfS funding deficit – that we must answer the question “Should we expand our work to South Sudan?” During a brief visit to Juba, we called on contacts at Juba University, the Episcopal church and various international and local organizations. It was not, however, until we visited a recently set up organization dealing with HIV/AIDS awareness that I realized how well prepared TfS is to work in South Sudan. Editha, former leader of our HIV/AIDS Awareness Outreach in the Khartoum area, is now in Juba and eager to be re employed by TfS – as are Victor and Minallah.

Together for Sudan’s roots go back to a small group of Muslim and Christian women who sought to bring understanding and peace between the two religions and, seeing the number of minarets as well as churches in Juba, I decided that TfS will be right at home there.

With your support we can continue our work in Khartoum and environs and also begin work in South Sudan. To start with, we hope to find funding for more university scholarships as well as for women’s literacy classes and HIV/AIDS outreach. And already the indefatigable Dr. Nabila Radi who heads the TfS Eye Care Outreach in the Khartoum area is talking about an outreach to the South Sudan city of Wau.
November 2011

Lillian Craig Harris

A Trip to Juba

During an early October visit to Sudan  Alan and I make a quick trip to Juba, now the capital of South Sudan.   Two of our substantive staff from Khartoum, including  Deputy Country Coordinator Victor, had moved to Juba and we hoped to check out how feasible it might be to expand TfS work to South Sudan. We were impressed by the vitality of the new state and the need for literacy training for women, HIV/AIDS Awareness outreach and other work  which would fit our projects.  Although TfS has at present no funding to begin working in Juba we would welcome all donations to do so!


Lillian Craig Harris

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Lambeth Palace Comments

Lillian Craig Harris, director of Together for Sudan spoke at our recent charity auction in Lambeth palace London. Her comments are replicated below.

11 October 2011

Lillian speaking at the event

Good evening and thank you for joining Together for Sudan for this fundraising event which is also a celebration of our service to the Sudanese people.  I am grateful to Together for Sudan Patron Archbishop Rowan Williams and his staff for inviting us here this evening even though the Archbishop is currently in Africa.

Many thanks are due as well to Dr. Christine Green and to Lady Patey for the many hours they have spent organizing this event.  And, of course, special thanks to Peter Arbuthnot, our auctioneer, and to member of the Barbershop Quartet who have sung for us on several occasions.  I am also grateful to fellow Together for Sudan Trustees Norman Swanney and Adrian Thomas as well as to Dave Lewis, the Together for Sudan webmaster, who publicised this event. And, of course, my great appreciation to all our helpers and supporters, especially you who are here this evening.

Together for Sudan has been a blessed charity since it began in the late 1990s.  Our educational and health care projects remain in great demand in the Khartoum area and in South Kordofan where we have a second office in Kadugli.  However, the charity presently faces severe financial difficulties as well as disruption of our work due to violence in South Kordofan. Our Kadugli office has been closed since early June due to fighting and subsequent looting of our office there.  We also face the challenge of recent loss of southern colleagues who have left Khartoum for South Sudan with the birth of that new nation.

Alan and I arrived in the UK yesterday after visits to both Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and Juba, the capital of the new nation of South Sudan.  We are invited to begin work in South Sudan and even have there two former colleagues from our Khartoum office who would gladly work for us in Juba.  The needs and opportunities are enormous and we lack only the necessary funding. Today many people are reaching out to help South Sudan but relatively few are engaged directly with the critically important education of women and children.

Sudan’s present circumstances are the greatest challenge which Together for Sudan has faced in our more than 15 years of service to the Sudanese people. From the beginning – and at the request of Sudanese women – the work which became Together for Sudan has brought Muslims and Christians together in service to the poor. We hope to continue this work because it is a peace building gift which Muslims and Christians can give to one another. Our basic intent is to cross tribal, religious and social barriers in order to make peace by demonstrating that people of different faiths and backgrounds can work together to help other people in need.

This is who we are and what we believe.

In our present circumstances of combined peril and opportunity, I am reminded of my mother who was a missionary nurse and loved people of all sorts, mothers and babies in particular.  Mom taught me to look on, rather than look away from, the suffering of others.  When there were difficult times and seemingly insurmountable obstacles she would say, “Sometimes you just have to do it!”  And then she would get busy helping.

So what would she do if she were here today?  I think that she would reach out to desperate Sudanese women who long for education for themselves and their children.  Several years ago when I asked displaced women in Darfur what they needed they cried out “Teach us to read and we will help ourselves!”  With that mandate, Together for Sudan carries on although several of our projects are currently unfunded and the future is not clear.

Thank you for joining us at this critically important time for all Sudanese people.  It remains extremely important that we as individuals ask ourselves “Am I my sister’s keeper?”  And that we respond positively.  Thank you all for being with us tonight.  Enjoy!

LILLIAN CRAIG HARRIS, Director  .

Read about the event on our website here

TfS Colleagues Go South

Together for Sudan’s friends and trustees join TfS field workers in mourning the loss of three colleagues who have decided to leave for South Sudan as a result of the 9 July division of Sudan into two countries. Deputy Country Coordinator Victor has already left for Juba and accountant Minalla and Messenger/cleaner Rina plan to leave as soon as transportation is available.  Our sadness at the loss of these valued friends and co-workers is overwhelming.  I ask the one God of Christians and Muslims to comfort, guide and protect all our Sudanese coworkers and supporters at this time of enormous change and uncertainty.