Perhaps the best introduction to the Ave Maria community is to quote the words of the Sudan Relief Fund who say:
“When floodwaters sweep through a village, or sudden attacks rain down by rogue militia, families are forced to the flee their homes at a moment’s notice. There is no time to pack, no gathering supplies, no taking a long last look. There is only time to grab your loved ones and run.
Between wars, civil unrest, and natural disasters, more than two million people have been displaced in South Sudan. When tragedy strikes and you’ve lost everything, where do you go? How do you start over?
Ave Maria parish is an oasis of hope near the western border of South Sudan. Situated near the Central African Republic and the Congo, the region has seen its share of unrest. Thousands of weary families have come to Ave Maria parish seeking shelter.
Originally a refugee camp for displaced victims of war, the parish has become a community of its own. The church at Ave Maria stands as a beacon in the western jungle, offering refuge to the homeless and the war torn.”
The man at the centre of all this is Fr. Avelino Bassols, who recently updated New Ways CEO, Angela Docherty by email – excerpts from his report serve to highlight the challenges faced:
‘We have passed once again some very stressful months. First, in April we had again insecurity in the area. One of the priests in the Deanery disappeared – by now he is assumed dead. This caused another wave of internally displaced people to Ave Maria.’
Avelino goes on to explain that there is a serious shortage of manpower with the priests, who run most of the support programmes, covering vast areas, as new recruits are reluctant to take the risk of working there. He also talks about the economic situation:
‘At the same time, the South Sudan Pound is plunging into the ground. In 2011, at independence, 100 USD were equivalent to 174 SSP. Today the South Sudan Pound was trading at 100 USD = 420,000 SSP, that’s after 13 years independence. For the third year South Sudan is the last country of the world in question of development and wealth, after Burundi. However, even Burundi has more than double income per capita than South Sudan.’
Now to the projects in Ave Maria, where the community is running three nursery schools, two primary schools, one secondary school and a vocational training centre.
One of the primary schools is located in the area where violence erupted and most of the people had to flee. The secondary school is male-dominated with only 71 girls out of 223 students – which sounds unbalanced but represents considerable progress.
The vocational training centre is also really promising. This started with a carpentry section and has now extended to include electrical & plumbing and mechanical & arc welding. A fourth section is about to be added, this being tailoring & dressmaking. As Avelino puts it, “It may sound surprising, but in an area such as ours, the first luxury people think about is a new dress for Sunday, or new clothes to dress on Christmas”.
Avelino also refers to the Health Centre which really operates as a small mission hospital: ‘We have tried to stabilize it, as it is the only referral centre in the entire region. The closest hospital where we can send patients is in Nzara, 9hrs drive. It’s crazy.’
There are ongoing problems in getting supplies – a lorry expected in February was delayed until March, and then May. And was still stuck 15 miles away when Avelino wrote in July. The lorry was carrying, among other items, diesel for the tractor and generator and building materials for the security store – and secure storage is important in an area of conflict where food needs to be retained for the seasons of scarcity. To make matters worse, the solar power blew off after lightning struck the inverter. A difficult backdrop against which to provide education, health services, and the security which is so much needed – and yet they continue to make a significant difference.
