Sudan suffered a bitter civil war between the North and the South for 21 years. The fighting took place across the South, causing millions to flee into Uganda and to the North, around Khartoum. The civil war ended in 2005 with a condition that there would be a referendum in 2011 to decide whether or not the North and South would become independent states. On the 9th July 2011 Sudan officially split into the Republic of the Sudan in the North and The Republic of South Sudan. Although the situation is still volatile, people are going back to their homelands as returnees. They are having to re-build their lives from scratch. Roads are in disrepair, there is no mains electricity, no running water, few schools and inadequate medical help. A whole generation of South Sudanese people are uneducated.

IRT is supporting a number of small projects to help the people re-establish their lives, particularly women and children.

Women's Centre (skills training & income generation): Nzara

It is the women in African culture who keep everything going. Often their husbands have been killed in battle, have died of AIDS or have moved on to take another wife. The women have to collect firewood every day and chop it up. They have to walk to the well and carry home backbreaking jerry cans of water. They have to find the money to buy food, clothes, medicine and educate their children.

Training

At the Women's Centre in Nzara refugee women are being trained to work with sewing machines.In the town of Nzara IRT is supporting the Comboni Sisters in their project to teach women skills so that they can make goods to sell and make some desperately needed money. Sewing, soap making, peanut butter making – all small scale activities, but big enough to make a huge difference to these women’s lives.

Micro Credit

Last year the Sisters established a small micro credit scheme for the women to set up small enterprises, using their newly acquired skills. So far 28 women have benefited and
nearly all those 28 have already repaid their
loans. We will be helping the Sisters to fund more
loans this year.

Kiosk

This year we will be helping the Sisters to build a small kiosk in the grounds of the centre, near the road.  They will use this to sell the things they have made.

In 2008/09 IRT supported the construction of a training hall and facilitators'Sitting outside the Women's Centre, these ladies are practising knitting and sewing skills accommodation at Nzara Women's Centre. This additional infrastructure is being used by government agencies and charities to hold workshops and seminars for the local community. It is the only facility of its type in Nzara and is creating supplementary income to support the running of the whole Women's Centre.

Emergency Aid

In 2009 and 2010 IRT supported the Sisters' emergency aid work, which was based at the Women's Centre.    At that time attacks from the rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army, were common in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, as well as some audacious raids round Nzara itself. 

These raids caused many to flee their homes to the safety of Nzara town.  The Sisters gave emergency supplies to these desperate families and used the Women's Centre was used as an emergency aid distribution centre.

Kindergarten and primary education: Nzara and Yambio

Refugee children in Nzara in their 'al fresco' classroom. With hundreds of refugees arriving all at once, you need to be creative at times. Plenty to do for IRT!Over the last two years we have funded the repair of school buildings.  We are now concentrating our resources on contributing to teachers’ salaries and the supply of high energy biscuits to the many under-nourished children.  It's not possible to learn on an empty stomach.  

Healthcare and nurse training: Wau

The hospital as it was left by soldiers after years of neglect.The Comboni Sisters have recently managed to get back the hospital founded by them many years ago, but which was commandeered by the military during the civil war.  Both the buildings and equipment are now in a bad state of repair.  First to be renovated has been the Outpatients Department and we have financed this work.  We are also contributing towards the cost of new equipment and this year we are paying the salaries of all the Department’s staff.  This means that the people of Wau are The new Out-patients Departmentbeginning to have access to quality healthcare.

South Sudan suffers from an acute shortage of qualified nurses.  The district's student nurses are doing the practical part of their course at the hospital.  

Blind people's home: Wau

This elderly man is one of the residents of the Wau Blind People's Home.In 2008 IRT supported the Comboni Missionary Sisters in the rehabilitation of the Home which was in an appalling state. We have also provided beds and bedding and are continuing to assist with the provision of food.