Pope donates funds to support aid projects in South
Sudan
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has pledged to donate about
half a million dollars to support Church-run education, healthcare and
agricultural projects in South Sudan.
At a press conference in the Vatican on
Wednesday, Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the office for Integral
Human Development, led a panel of speakers giving details of those humanitarian
projects, run by Caritas and by missionaries from different religious
institutes. The cardinal also outlined numerous initiatives that the Holy See
has taken to stop the war, which flared across the country in 2013.
Pope Francis may have postponed a planned visit to war-torn
South Sudan this year, but he’s clearly more determined than ever to raise
awareness about the need to support those suffering from conflict and
starvation.
Over half the population doesn’t have enough food to eat, a
million and a half people have fled their homes, thousands are suffering from a
cholera epidemic and untold numbers are victims of killings, rapes and other
violent crimes.
Faces behind the statistics
But beyond the shocking statistics of this largely forgotten
war, it’s vital to remember the individual victims – that’s why aid workers
have started a Twitter campaign using the hashtag#southsudanwecare
Among those speaking at the Vatican press conference was Sr
Yudith Pereira-Rico, from Solidarity with South Sudan, an organisation
founded by male and female religious congregations over a decade ago:
“We don’t talk about numbers, we talk about individuals
who are suffering….any time a young man or woman in South Sudan clicks this
hashtag they will know how many people care.....this moral support is very
important"
Part of the pope’s donation will go to support a college in
Yambio run by Solidarity
with South Sudan to train teachers, nurses, midwives, farmers and
community leaders. As well as learning vital job skills, the students from many
different ethnic groups learn about the values of diversity and collaboration,
an important sign of hope for the country which gained independence in 2011.
Caritas and Comboni missionaries
Other beneficiaries of the initiative entitled ‘The Pope
for South Sudan’ include two hospitals run by Comboni missionaries and
an agricultural project, run by Caritas, to provide livelihoods for 2.500
families in the dioceses of Yei, Yambio and Torit. Michel Roy,
secretary general of Caritas
Internationalis, told journalists that while peace must be the priority for
South Sudan, the international community must also do more to save lives of
those dying from hunger and disease
“The UN has launched an appeal, right now it is half
funded, there’s a real need for the international community to engage more,
much more. This cannot be just another forgotten conflict, like Darfur…”
Holy See mediation efforts
Asked about Vatican initiatives to try and stop the
fighting, Cardinal Peter Turkson said he had been personally
involved in two mediation efforts to bring together warring leaders President
Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar. Amid concerns that the conflict
was spreading across the region, the nuncio in Kenya also met with Machar last
December to urge the parties to come to the negotiating table.
Planned peace pilgrimage
So far, these attempts have failed to bring peace, but
Cardinal Turkson stressed the Holy See continues to do all it can to stop the
fighting in South Sudan. That’s a key condition before a planned visit to the region by the pope and by
Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, can take place. While they had
hoped to travel together in October to endorse peace efforts of all Christians
in the region, that trip has been postponed until at least 2018.
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