Student refugees from Darfur attending a Jesuit Refugee Service school at Djabal Refugee Camp in eastern Chad talk about their hopes for the future.
Jesuit Refugee Service built the secondary school in eastern Chad with a grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
Djabal is home to thousands of refugees from Darfur, in neighboring Sudan.
Images from various Jesuit Refugee Service projects in Southern Sudan.
Photographs by
Angela Hellmuth for Jesuit Refugee Service
and
Christian Fuchs of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Music by Fr. Arnel Aquino, S.J.
(UNITED NATIONS) January 31, 2011 — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged both parties to the peace agreement that ended Sudan’s North-South war to remain calm as the results of the referendum on the future of the south are finalized, commending the two sides for the peaceful conduct of the plebiscite.
The referendum earlier this month on the self-determination of Southern Sudan was the culmination of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 to end two decades of civil war between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
Preliminary results indicate that the people of Southern Sudan voted overwhelming in favour of secession.
“Sudan has reached a historic point. All reports indicate a generally peaceful referendum process with a large turnout,” Mr. Ban said in an address to a high-level meeting on Sudan convened by the United Nations and the African Union (AU) in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on the sidelines of the AU’s annual summit.
“As the Sudanese people adjust to the new realities on the ground, the CPA parties must shift their attention to the key post-referendum arrangements that will sustain the North-South relationship in the long term,” Mr. Ban said.
(October 14, 2010) UNITED NATIONS – The two referenda on self-determination slated for January in Sudan must be held on time, in a credible manner and in line with the 2005 peace pact that ended the long-running north-south civil war, members of the Security Council, who are just back from a visit to the country, said today.
On 9 January the inhabitants of southern Sudan will vote on whether to secede from the rest of the country, while the residents of the central area of Abyei will vote on whether to be part of the north or the south.
The referenda will be the final phase in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which was signed in 2005 to end two decades of conflict between the northern-based Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the south.
“The purpose of our visit was to underscore that the UN Security Council is united in its desire to see Sudan’s referenda on self-determination carried out in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States, who led the southern Sudan leg of last week’s mission, told a meeting of the Council.
(UNITED NATIONS) October 8, 2010 – The Security Council delegation visiting Sudan yesterday stressed that the two referenda scheduled for January must be held on time, in a peaceful environment and according to the provisions of the peace agreement that ended the war between the north and the south.
“We are here to reinforce that message and the determination of the Council to support you and all parties to the CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement] in that process,” said Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States, who is heading the delegation.
On 9 January the inhabitants of southern Sudan will vote on whether to secede from the rest of the country, while the residents of the central area of Abyei will vote on whether to be part of the north or the south.
The referenda will be the final phase in the implementation of the CPA, which was signed in 2005 to end two decades of warfare between the northern-based Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the south.
In January, Southern Sudan will hold a referendum to choose independence from or unity with the north. The conduct, result, and aftermath of the vote will determine the direction of Southern Sudan’s future and the prospects for sustained peace in the region. During this uncertain period, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) continues to accompany the people of Southern Sudan with programs that make schools the heart of new and restored communities, as focal points for hope for a better future and centers for peace building activities.
After a generation of civil war, the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement on January 9, 2005, ended armed hostilities between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan. Read the rest of this entry »
Look for an update on Jesuit Refugee Service education projects in Southern Sudan in the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye on the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA website
Spiraling inter-tribal conflict, a massive food shortage and a budget crisis have converged to create a humanitarian emergency in southern Sudan, putting at least 40 percent of the local population at risk, a senior United Nations official warned yesterday.
A “humanitarian perfect storm” is how Lise Grande, the UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in the region, described it during a news conference in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
“Southern Sudan is facing an almost unmanageable set of problems,” she said. “A lot of good work is being done… despite this, we just can’t keep up.”
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA runs the Kajo Keji Education and Community Development program in Southern Sudan. The program aims to to develop the school, community, and government capacity necessary to ensure that quality education is provided as a basic right to school aged children, with an emphasis on girls’ education, through management and technical support to schools and school officials, teacher training, structural improvements to school facilities, the distribution of school materials, and activities encouraging the involvement of the local community in support of education.
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A group of former refugees who have returned to their homes in Lobone, South Sudan, share the Lord’s Prayer.
The Acholi people are indigenous to Lobone. But, because of the civil war between the Sudan government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, thousands of people fled their homes, with many going to refugee camps in Uganda.
In 2001, JRS was invited by the Diocese of Torit to assist the community in both providing quality basic education and in pastoral activities.
After the signing of a peace accord between the Government of Southern Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement in January 2005, the indigenous Acholi from Lobone started to return home voluntarily. The fear of staying in troubled northern Uganda, mixed with a longing to return home, prompted many to return.
Guided by its mission to accompany, serve and advocate for refugees, JRS has been supporting education and peace-building activities in Lobone.
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