Darfur Update

A Report from the Mission Team

While the world watches . . .
In last month’s newsletter the RPC mission team provided an update on the conflict in Darfur. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, please see the post in our archives; unfortunately, nothing has changed for the better. The janjaweed continues to attack and oppress the people of Darfur as their own government watches and thwarts humanitarian aid efforts. Darfuris are still starving, being forced to live on land that is uninhabitable. They are sick, but there is little to no health care available. Orphaned children, who we would consider to be babies, have taken on adult responsibilities. The daily goal is survival. And the government’s goal--to isolate the remaining Darfuri people until they perish--is slowly succeeding.
“Senators Kerry and Lugar are holding a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday, July 30, to question Special Envoy General Scott Gration . . . Long-term peace in Darfur hinges on the international community uniting behind a tough and comprehensive plan for changing the Sudanese government's behavior.”
-- http://www.savedarfur.org/


Ask and you shall receive . . .
It is a terribly complicated and politically-charged situation that has left us asking what we might do for our neighbors in Sudan. Recently our President called on world leaders and citizens to “make education the new currency.” That challenge, coupled with a drive to do something for the innocent people of Sudan, led to the answer --working with the Southern Sudan Project.
Aweil is a community in Southern Sudan that has been greatly affected by the tragedies of civil war for two decades. Although it is one of the more densely populated areas, there is only one primary school in Aweil. The mission of the Southern Sudan Project is to build a secondary school, so children will have the opportunity to continue their studies and graduate from high school.
Some day, those children may be the new leaders of Sudan! Although a great wall has been built around Darfur (figuratively speaking), we can effect positive change from the outside. “Help us help them. Together, we can build a school, a town, a nation.”
-- http://www.southernsudanproject.org/

Who is your neighbor?
“The tragedy of the situation in Darfur has been largely ignored and dismissed by the world community as a whole and the church in specific. Yet the words of Jesus direct us to love our neighbor, using the standard of the Good Samaritan to define our neighbor. This directive should shape the response of the Christian community.”
-- posted by shoppedude, You Tube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Whnr6Du6YE

How can we help our neighbors in Sudan?
The Ronceverte Presbyterian Mission Team--in partnership with the Southern Sudan Project and with organizational assistance from the SAVEDARFUR Coalition--is planning a community event. The goals are simple: to raise awareness about the conflict in Sudan and to give folks specific opportunities to effect change from right here in Greenbrier County. We will keep you posted as plans progress.

“We will for Aweil!”