The Power of Child Sponsorship...

With Mary Awien Bol

At the time we commenced the Emmanuel Children's Program in Marialbai I asked Paulino to prepare a budget for the ongoing running costs. He started with the cost of nutrition and calculated the monthly cost per child, which I then multiplied by the number of children. As we worked out the cost of education, health care and other basic requirements of the program I continued to use Paulino's method of breaking it down to the cost for each child.

I cant actually remember when I first had the idea of setting up a child sponsorship process to fund the program, but I know it was a very pragmatic decision - a simple strategy to raise the required finance to run the program.

Recently, as I travelled around Australia and met many sponsors for the first time, I came to appreciate a much more important aspect of sponsorship - the genuine bonds that can be formed between people who have never met in person.

I met several sponsors who, with tears or beaming smiles, described their delight at seeing the transformation of their child when they received the second year's photo.

One woman sincerely asked if she could adopt her sponsor child.

Many homes had the sponsorship card displayed alongside their family photos.

A few people told me they pray for their sponsored child every day.

The one encounter I remember most vividly was the friend who gave me a card and small gift to take for the girl her family sponsors.  With tears welling up she asked me "Please give her a cuddle... and tell her we love her."

For the children at Marialbai there is an equally tangible experience of love and belonging that comes through having a sponsor.

For more information about sponsoring children at Marialbai please go to the GMP South Sudan website.

Akech... and countless others who have not been so fortunate

I first met Akech in August last year when she was only about two weeks old. Her mother had died in childbirth and her grandmother brought her to the opening day of the Emmanuel Children’s Centre at Marialbai asking if Akech could be included in the program along with the other 240 children who had lost parents. These decisions are made by the Program Coordinator Paulino Malou in consultation with the Chief and the rest of the management committee. They decided that Akech could be brought regularly to the program and would be given some milk and biscuits.

When I returned to Marialbai with a team in July this year I recognised the grandmother as she joined the children and staff in greeting us. She was holding a baby and I asked through an interpreter “Is this Akech?”. Her answer was simply to take the child and hand her to me. Akech snuggled in close for a few moments… and then began to scream. I handed her back to the grandma, and was amazed to see her put Akech on her breast. It is common here for surrogate mothers to breast-feed their fostered children, but in other cases it is comfort, rather than milk, which is being provided.

Akech has given me a personal insight into an issue which is prevalent in South Sudan. Infant and maternal mortality rates in South Sudan are amongst the highest in the world[1]. It is estimated that one in ten women die in childbirth.

We deliver birthing kits (provided by Zonta and the Birthing Kit Foundation of Australia), medical equipment, and desperately needed training to maternal health care workers in the region surrounding Aweil in an attempt to address the horrific number of deaths through childbirth. In fact Akech’s mother was a recipient of one of our birthing kits. Sadly that couldn’t help with the complications she experienced in labour. Miraculously Akech survived and motivates us to do more to assist those who have so little when it comes to maternal health care.

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[1], The South Sudan head of UNFPA, Dragudi Buwa reported in 2007 that [maternal mortality] "Rates are actually at 2,030 per 100,000 births, the worst in the world."

Letters and Uniforms...

One of the tasks for my most recent visit to South Sudan was to deliver letters from sponsors and supporters to the children at Emmanuel Children's Centre, Marialbai. There is no postal service to South Sudan, so the only way to deliver these letters was in our luggage. Along with about 50kg of medical equipment and birthing kits we carried 5kg of letters - one for each of the 240 children. It might not be the most strategically useful package ever delivered to South Sudan, but for most of these children it was the first letter they had received and was a tangible expression of the love of supporters from Australia.

I had hoped to personally give each child their letter and take photos to show their sponsors and the other letter writers. In the end we didnt have time to do this so I gave the letters to Paulino Malou and asked that he give them to the children and explain how in Australia we do this to express our love to friends and family.


While our team was still there we agreed to supply uniforms to the students. After the school was registered earlier this year the Ministry of Education notified the Principal of the requirement to have a school uniform. Paulino discussed his preference of colours with myself and Ros Stafford-Green, in the end deciding on navy blue shorts and skirts with white shirts. I received the first photos of the children in uniform a few days ago and was very surprised to see the colour - lime green! I laughed. I am pretty sure I have never seen lime green school uniforms before. However I know how proud the children will be, and in a very real sense it gives them dignity in their community. Not only that... when the community see the children walking to and from school they will be reminded of supporters in Australia who are caring for the children of those who lost their lives in the long battle for freedom.

Income for the Emmanuel Children's Centre comes from child sponsorship. For more information please send me an email or download a brochure.


Photos
Delivering 240 letters to Paulino Malou
The children praying in their new uniforms

Beyond my hopes...

The progress of the Emmanuel Children’s Program at Marialbai has exceeded my hopes and expectations. When we commenced the nutrition program in September last year we met under a hastily constructed iron shelter and shared a very basic meal. I took the kids’ photos, met with the management committee, signed a partnership agreement and left. I keep in regular contact with the program coordinator, Pastor Paulino Malou, who keeps me informed of the program’s development, but I was still amazed at what I witnessed when I returned recently.

I was there with Ros Stafford-Green and Anna Anok who were working on our maternal health care project, and John Gilmore, Executive Director of Global Mission Partners on his first visit to South Sudan.

As our team approached in the Chief’s vehicle we could see the new brick walls of the feeding center, the borehole with hand-pump that has been installed and the brick toilet block behind. The children were meeting in class groups under trees – but when they saw us approach they quickly ran to a central space and formed a well organized choir. It is amazing how such small children can sing so loudly. As they sang their songs of welcome the teachers, cooks and other adults filed past to shake our hands. There were prayers and speeches and then more singing - but it was the excitement and joy of the children that made the greatest impression.

The Chief arranged a meeting with members of the community under a large shady tree and once again there were prayers and speeches. Each of the 240 children in the program has been assigned a caretaker, and the community as a whole takes active responsibility for these children who have lost their parents in the civil war.

A few days later Ros and I worked with the teachers to gather some personal information on each child, and I took a new set of photos. Many of the children’s faces shone with joy – a remarkable contrast to the somber photos from the previous year.

As a team we were impressed with the professionalism and organization of the teachers, the care of the staff, the leadership of Paulino, the involvement of the Chief and community and the property development. But more than anything else we were encouraged by the children themselves.

John’s comment summed it up: “This is a happy place!”

(Funding for this program is provided through child sponsorship. If you would like more information on sponsoring a child at Marialbai please follow this link)

Photos (from top)

The children singing songs of welcome

Speeches at the community meeting

Gathering personal information from each child with teachers

Mary's photo from last year

This year's photo of Mary

The first bricks...

Pastor Paulino Malou has just sent me some photos of the toilets that were constructed recently at the Marialbai Mission. Now, we might tend to think of toilets as being important from the perspective of sanitation and hygiene (not to mention modesty), but back in September the Chief explained to me that it has another significance to the local community. He told me that when the people see the toilets being built they will say "Ahh... Something good is going to happen here. They wouldn't build the toilets unless they were going to provide something for our stomachs".
There is still some work needed to complete the construction, but it is pleasing to see the first brick building go up at the Mission. And while we would all realise the practical necessity of toilets, most of us probably hadn't thought of them as being a symbol of hope before...

Progress at Marialbai Mission...

Pastor Paulino Malou reports that there has been a noticeable improvement in the health and happiness of the 240 orphans since the Marialbai Mission commenced in September. He writes “The cooks are often giving their testimonies on how God blessed Ayat Community and Aweil West County in particular so that orphans life has been changed and improved as ever expected therefore, PRAISE THE LORD AND GLORY UNTO HIM.”

Approval has been received from the Ministry of Education to commence Junior Primary classes and applications have been submitted for the curriculum. But even before formal classes have commenced the children are demonstrating their hunger to learn English and memorize Bible verses.

Income from GMP’s Child Sponsorship provides a daily nutrition program for the children, and as sponsorship increases this will also cover the salaries of the teachers in the new school. Plans are being developed for the construction of classrooms, and until then the feeding centre building is being used.

Donations have also been committed for the construction of a chapel and Pastor Butros is already providing spiritual leadership and care for this new community.

A team from GMP will return to Marialbai in a few months to see the progress of the mission, and to facilitate the next stages of development.

Photos: 

Pastor Paulino Malou, Coordinator of the Marialbai COC Mission, addressing children in the feeding centre which is also being used as a school and chapel.

Pastor Butros and children on the opening day of the mission, September 2010

A Father to the Father-less…

On Thursday 2nd September we commenced the Marialbai Church of Christ Mission.
During my visit in January with Joseph Mawien and Ros Stafford-Green the Chief offered a large piece of land to be used for the care of children who had lost their parents during the war. The Chief immediately began the process of registration and identified 240 children in the community who had lost both parents. Over the next few months we agreed to commence with a feeding program with plans to add a school, church, accommodation, health care and some agricultural developments. A visionary Church of Christ leader has agreed to coordinate and lead the mission – Pastor Paulino Malou Bol Jok.
Paulino and I met with the Chief and Deputy Chief soon after arriving in Aweil and we quickly developed our plans. In just 2 weeks we prepared a proposal and budget, gained approval, engaged a contractor, arranged staff, erected the feeding centre, purchased equipment and supplies and arranged the opening and dedication.
As we walked through the village to the opening ceremony I could hear the children singing long before we could see the shiny iron roof of the feeding centre. Hundreds had gathered, children and adults, and Pastor Butros had them singing their hearts out. There were songs, prayers and speeches. I had the opportunity to explain we were there because people in Australia cared and wanted to help. I told them about two young boys in my church who had raised money for soccer balls and hand-balls which I had brought with me, and I used this as an example of how we hope our partnership can bring joy and community and love – as well as food and education and other practical assistance.
After the dedication service I photographed each of the 240 children and recorded their information in preparation for sponsorship. While I was photographing a fight broke out. Some men wanted their children registered along with the orphans and when they were refused they tried to stop the program. Rivalry is strong here and it seems some people would prefer we provided nothing than for their own children to miss out.
Each of the children were given a plate and cup and then we enjoyed a very simple meal of rice and beans, followed by some soccer and a hand-ball demonstration.
The final task was to meet with the Committee to discuss the partnership agreement and some management issues. One man said his wife was expecting a baby that day, but he was so excited about our new program he was at the opening ceremony instead. One of the cooks thanked God for the opportunity she has been given, saying it was like feeding her own children. I stressed again, our mission is more than providing food, education and homes. It is firstly about love. I told them of the verse in the Bible where God is described as a father to the father-less, and how we have been called to be an expression of God’s love for the orphans.
Our mission in Marialbai has begun.

To hunt an elephant…

Yesterday the Chief of Marialbai told me how in earlier times the men of the village would go hunting with their spears. A man could appear very brave chasing an elephant that is running away… but the moment the elephant turned around it would be the man’s turn to run for his life. Then everyone would laugh at him and ask “why do you try to hunt an elephant on your own?”

Marialbai Mission is like an elephant and the need in Sudan is like a huge herd or elephants. We can only do this if we all work together.

Paradise...

Marialbai is beautiful. Not just beautiful… peaceful, playful, serene. And the community here is like a big extended family. We sit under huge mango trees between crops of maize, millet, okra, peanut, sesame and much more. Children sing as they collect water and cattle and goats graze with minimal supervision. At night fire-flies dance in the grass and the only sounds to be heard are birds, insects and the occasional baby crying. A tranquil village. This is paradise.


But my imagination wont let me get too comfortable here. I can picture the militia attacks, the raiding parties, bombs, bullets and people defending and fleeing.

The terror and the beauty! What a contradiction!

The beginning of the Marialbai Mission…

Sudan is a very difficult place to work. Communication can be almost impossible at times. Getting agreement requires spending a long time to develop trust and understanding. Cultural differences mean there are vastly different ways of working, and finding the ways that will satisfy everyone involved, even with simple tasks, can be frustrating. And even then there will be many obstacles to get the job done. At least, that is how it normally is.

When I was in Marialbai in January the Chief had been informed we were concerned to assist the many war orphans in the community. He offered a large piece of land to us for a Church of Christ Mission. Various bits of information were passed backwards and forwards via a complex network spanning different countries and languages, until finally we had the basis for a shared vision for a facility that would provide feeding, accommodation, education and Christian care for 240 children who have lost both parents in the civil war.

On Wednesday Paulino Malou and I returned to Marialbai. The Chief took us to see the land again. Now it is green and productive. Maize towered over us as we searched for the boundary markers. In the evening we commenced our formal discussions with the Chief and Deputy Chief. After listening to their speeches I gave a short reply: “If we agree tonight, we can commence work tomorrow.” I explained the requirements of our partnership and the funds we have available. By mid-afternoon the next day (yesterday) they had prepared the budget, identified the staff, arranged a contractor and begun searching the markets for the necessary equipment. At about 11.00 PM, after a very long and busy day, I was sitting outside my grass tukul, notebook on my lap while holding my torch with my chin, finalising the submission to send to the GMP Office in Australia. This morning the finance has arrived and Paulino and the Chief are already on their way to buy iron and cement and to make arrangements with the contractors.

When I return to Marialbai in a few days I hope to see our new centre at the Marialbai Church of Christ Mission, and to meet the children who will benefit from the provision of their friends across the ocean.

Marialbai Mission...

Early this year I walked around Marialbai with Rev Joseph Mawien and Ros Stafford-Green. The Chief and other community leaders accompanied us as we saw first hand the devastating impact of decades of civil war. We met orphans, widows and liberated slaves, spoke with families whose relatives are dead or scattered around the world, and visited the school and hospital which in their own way witness to the persecution and neglect this community has suffered.

The Chief offered a large piece of land for a Church of Christ Mission to be established and we began the process of planning how we could provide for those most in need. Pastor Paulino Malou agreed to coordinate the establishment of a ministry providing for children whose parents have died in the conflict. The Chief arranged a process of registration to ensure only those in genuine need would be admitted to the program and over two hundred children were identified who have lost both parents.  We have entered an agreement to commence a feeding program and plan to follow this with provision of accommodation, education and spiritual care.

This month I return to Marialbai to establish the beginning of this mission. We will commence a feeding program in a traditional tukul made of grass and wood, and arrangements are being made for building projects using compressed earth bricks that will be both environmentally and economically sustainable. Soon we hope we can provide a school and church.

People's generous contributions are being used to address the great need in this remote community.

Rev Joseph Mawien and Chief Riiny Riiny Lual in Marialbai. January 2010

Reconnecting...

I was in Melbourne for the weekend and took the opportunity to visit a few Sudanese friends and contacts. Suzie and Deng are members of the first family our church sponsored. This whole mission has grown out of that first contact. Suzie married David and moved to Melbourne and has three gorgeous children. While in Marialbai in January I met Suzie and Deng's mother and sisters and brought home photos and video. Words cant describe what it means to Suzie and Deng to see their family and friends speaking to them on the screen. One sister introduced her children and Deng's twin sister wept saying she didnt even have the chance to say goodbye. Afterwards I used my video camera again as Suzie, David and Deng sent greetings back to their family in Sudan. I will take this with me when I visit Marialbai again in a few weeks.

Travelling with me will be Adhel, the youngest of the family. Adhel was eight when she arrived and is now fourteen, but she hasnt seen her mother since she was two. I will escort her to Marialbai where she can reconnect with her family.

In different ways, this family that have been scattered by war, are slowly able to reconnect.

With Suzie, Deng, Julia, Eve & Chris in Melbourne

With Adhel at Magill Church of Christ

Suzie and Deng's mother Amel (2nd from left), sisters and nieces. Adhel's mother Adut (on right). Marialbai, January 2010

Child Victims Of War...

When we met with the Chief in Marialbai in January we began planning a program that would provide for the many children who have lost parents in the civil war. Land was provided and the Chief and Sub-Chiefs started the process of registration so that the children in greatest need would benefit. Shortly after we returned to Australia George Aguer travelled to Marialbai and continued our preparations. They have identified 240 children who have lost both parents, and estimate the number who have lost their fathers to be between 1000 and 2000.

Plans are now underway to provide food, clothing, education and accommodation for those in greatest need. Consideration is being given to how we might provide de facto families to give these young lives the care and nurture they have been robbed of.

George Aguer meeting with war orphans in Marialbai

Planting a seed in Marialbai...

I took this photo two months ago in Marialbai, Aweil West. Pastor Paulino Malou is standing on one corner of the land the Chief has provided to us, and he is pointing to the other corner on the northern side. The land will be site of a Church of Christ mission which initially will provide care for children who have lost parents in the war. The Chief and Sub-Chiefs have begun the registration process to enure only the children in genuine need will be admitted to the program. We have discussed various possibilities for future development on the land including a church, school and vocational training.

I had been back in Australia just a few days when I sent money to Malou to mark the boundaries of the land. It is a small start really, but we have a vision of what we can do to support this commuity.

Most of what we have done in Sudan so far has been supporting what others have established. This new misison in Marialbai is the first major project we have started from the beginning.

I feel like we have dug the ground and planted a seed. I wonder what we will see on this site in one year, ten years or fifty years.

When there is nothing we can do...

A few weeks ago we were being shown through a hospital at Marialbai where we met a woman who at first seemed to be paralysed. During a fit she had fallen backwards and hit the back of her head and had been brought to the hospital where she had laid motionless ever since. Ros asked various questions and was able to ascertain she still had feeling and movement in her feet, but couldnt determine why she was unable to move. She came over to me and quietly said there was nothing she could do to help.

Almost every day in the remote regions of Sudan we met people in desperate situations who would look to us with hope and expectation. It isnt easy to admit - to them or ourselves - that there is nothing we can do.

I said to Ros and Paulino Malou that at least we could pray with this woman. In prayer we recognise our weakness and God's greatness and express our belief that God's mercy is not dependant on physical realities. And, sometimes, it is all we can do...

Ros had more questions to ask, trying to find a medical reason for the "paralysis", and I left her to her work. Later she told me that she and Malou did pray before they left the woman. But that night Ros admitted her feeling of helplessness and frustration. It was one of the few times in the whole trip I saw her a bit shaken. We discussed the importance of knowing our own areas of weakness and accepting our limitations before we try to help others with theirs.

Before we went to bed one of the locals casually commented that the lady at the hospital that Ros and Malou had prayed for had got up out of bed, said she was fine, and walked home.

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Addition - Ros reminded me we were also told that the traditional healer (sometimes called witch-doctor) visited the woman at the hospital. Is that what you call having a bet each way?

Marialbai...

We’ve spent three days visiting in the Ayat community north west of Aweil. Ros came home happy and excited. I came home in tears.


Ros has enjoyed the generous hospitality we’ve been shown and the chance to engage with midwives and medical projects. She has been instrumental in forming a vision and plan of what we can do here and has found this both enjoyable and fulfilling. This is a large part of why she has come. She has also captivated the children of Marialbai with her cameras and attempts at the local language. Despite the heat, dust, lack of sleep and very basic living conditions Ros has a bounce in her step. It has been an enjoyable and productive few days and she is obviously excited about our mission in Marialbai.

I have also enjoyed our time in Ayat and feel compelled by a vision that will serve this community. But seeing the impact of this war up close has been very confronting. Chief Riiny Riiny Lual is the Paramount Chief of the region and hosted our visit. His brothers and sisters were the first Sudanese I supported as we welcomed them as refugees in Adelaide. As we approach the Chief’s tukul we pass the grave of his older brother, the husband of Aluong who I supported in coming to Adelaide. The Chief has lost 10 brothers in this war, and those who survived are scattered around the world. The Chief’s car is broken down under the tree. The Missiriya have raided his cattle, his primary source of wealth.

I met the mothers and siblings of the first family we sponsored. As I filmed their message to their family in Australia, one girl broke down. “Waake archa morth aphe, waake archa morth aphe. Have you forgotten me? I didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye. Do you even remember me?”

There are many orphans here. In Sudan an orphan is someone who has lost their father. Many of them still have their mothers, but when life is so hard and resources so scare, life is even harder for these children. We are partnering with an energetic and visionary Church of Christ leader who has a vision to care for these children. The Chief took us for a walk to an area set aside for returnees from the north. These are people who have fled the conflict and now are coming back. There are hundreds of thousands of them with a large percentage of widows and orphans. As we walked others gathered until we had quite a group of followers. Then the Chief pointed out the boundaries of the land he is offering us. It is much larger than I expected. Their hopes and expectations are high.

We walk past a small but well equipped hospital established by a charity organisation. They will leave at the end of February. The local administrator says he would prefer they didn’t have the hospital than to have it stand empty as a reminder of what they don’t have. It is the only medical facility in the region and serves a population of about half a million people. We compare it to having a brand new garage – but no car. He says the community will be going back to the bush to get the traditional roots and leaves for medicine.

Later we met two women who had been abducted by Arab raiders. They are much more fortunate than so many who have been enslaved. A man we talked to has been lobbying the Government to support the release of the abductees. Many are sex slaves and we heard several reports of girls being raped with pieces of wood until they are dead. They have identified 40,000 who are still in slavery in the north and they have arranged the liberation of 5,000. Some men have been killed for their involvement in this work, and our friend narrowly escaped.

The Primary School has 600 students, an enthusiastic Principal and teachers. The buildings remain from the British era, but they are empty. There are no windows, doors, desks or books. Donkeys walk through the classrooms.

The school, the orphans and widows, the Chief’s broken car, the graves, the slaves and the tears of those whose families are scattered combine with overwhelming impact to tell the story of how this community has suffered through 40 years of war.