Triona McKee, Director of Messenger Publications, travelled to East Africa with the Irish Jesuit Mission Office. This is an account of her experience.
Before I travelled to East Africa with the Irish Jesuit Missions Office I had only a vague sense of Sudan from years of media coverage, mainly focussing on Darfur in the North. I knew things weren’t good there – was expecting life to be tough – but was not expecting the reality of life in a post-war situation, and what came to feel was a country on the brink of civil war again.
Sudan has experienced two major periods of civil war, between those with Arab roots living mainly in the North and those with Christian and animist roots, living mainly in the South. The first lasted for 17 years, the second for 22 years ending only in 2005. In Jan 2011, a Referendum will be held to vote on separation of the South from the North. I can only describe the atmosphere we experienced on the run up to this as the calm before the storm. Some believe civil war is once again inevitable; others were optimistic for Peace. The majority though wish for change, of some sort.
Physically Sudan is hard to traverse. If your flight is cancelled (ours was, due to the engine falling off whilst on the ground!) you wait for days to get another one. Less than 1% of roads are paved or gravelled. Guerrilla warfare is a daily reality with hijacking and kidnapping rife, and no exception made for civilians or humanitarian workers. When we made short journeys by bumpy road it was in a vehicle clearly marked with a ‘No gun’ symbol. This a country where the International Criminal Court has issued two warrants for the arrest of the self-proclaimed President – in 2008 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, in 2010 for genocide.
Loyola School in Wau was the main purpose of our visit. It was originally built by American Jesuits in the ‘70s and stayed open for four years before being seized by the Army. There is still evidence of trenches, there is an unmarked mass grave, and one of the classrooms had been used as a torture chamber. Every single person in Sudan has been personally affected by war. Every single person when asked could give a factual account of what had happened to them and their family. Not once did I hear anyone describe themselves as a victim, but I often marvelled at the dispassion with which people spoke. When this level of terror has been a daily reality for so long people learn the survival technique of disassociation.
But they are not dispassionate about education and will seize every possible opportunity to change their lives.
I was the one at first who questioned what we were doing there, what we could possibly achieve, how many of these 198 students would survive the Referendum in January? I was the one who wondered if we would not be better investing in a school where the odds for survival were better, where the students we invest in would have a greater chance. Were we only trying to make ourselves feel better? I was the one who felt so numbed by the constant tales of horror that I would not allow myself to think about them until I was safely back at home.
It was the students who left their village mud huts every morning and walked for at least an hour in the searing heat in sparkling school uniforms, with hearts and minds full of drive and determination. It was the students who greeted us with smiles, excitement, questions and the chorus of ‘Welcome’. It was the female students who informed me that they are the first generation of girls to be educated at secondary level. Why? Well, apart from the reality of war which destroys what we consider basic human rights – education, medication, jobs – it is because they are worth more when they are sold for cattle. Their village friends who are not fortunate enough to be educated are sold, anytime after the age of eleven, often to a man substantially their senior. He will already have multiple wives. When his attention is drawn elsewhere, she will be passed to the next son in line. This is one of the reasons AIDs is so prevalent. When she contracts it, she will be abandoned, usually to prostitution.
Education in Sudan is not just about achieving literacy, it is about saving lives. Education leads to freedom, it leads to choice. When I asked the students of Loyola School what they wanted to do with their education, every single student, male and female, intended to train as either a Doctor or a Lawyer. Not one expressed an interest in commerce or making money, every single one wanted to improve the state of their country. On this subject their eyes were alive with passion, drive and ambition. I will never forget one Dinka girl declaring that she will study Law, will resolve land disputes, will fight for human rights and will be the first female President of Sudan.
These girls are lucky that their parents allow them to be educated. Their parents are not commended by fellow villagers for such action. The students know this and work tremendously hard, studying in English which is their third language after Arabic and their own dialect. Education is not easy for them. Nor is it made any easier by hunger. If lucky they will receive one meal at the end of each day, so it was no wonder we noticed them struggle to study from midday.
It’s difficult to educate a hungry child. We quickly identified this as our top priority. Therefore, through donations you have made to The Messenger and which we have collated in The Sacred Heart Fund, we are setting up a food programme in this school, one which will be self-sustainable in 3-5 years. Every small donation you make makes a huge difference in a country where a fifth of the population live on less than $1.25 per day.
If you would like to help us in our mission, please send your contribution to:-
The Sacred Heart Messenger Fund, Messenger Publications,
37 Lr Leeson St, Dublin 2
or donate online
www.messenger.ie
Please do not send cash in the post.