Together for Sudan The Bishop Mubarak Fund

NEWSLETTER APRIL 2008

www.togetherforsudan.orgRegistered UK Charity No 1075852

Dear Friends of Sudan,

When I was a teenager in Indiana I owned a rather wild young horse who sometimes succeeded in throwing me off. He was enormously challenging but I benefited greatly from the lessons which he taught me about trying to understand what needed to be done and then cooperating to do it. Being the volunteer director of Together for Sudan is somewhat like riding that horse. The work grows and matures and every visit to Sudan – most recently in March -- is a learning experience which leaves me grateful -- and determined to ride on in cooperation.

Since 1996 when the work which became Together for Sudan began, we have always sought to listen to what displaced and marginalised Sudanese women say they need. Listening has guaranteed that what we do is a cooperative venture between people in need and those with the means to assist, even in small ways. And education has always been what Sudanese women describe as their first priority. “Teach us to read and we will take care of ourselves,” is their heart cry. It remains an enormous privilege and blessing to work with Sudanese women in need – and with the many other Sudanese who devote their lives to helping their fellow citizens regardless of tribe or religion.

Together for Sudan has always been able to achieve beyond expectation because we are so well supported by the very people we support. But no work can – or should – remain static and TFS is now in transition from small to medium size charity. This welcome growth requires that if we are to remain true to our core objective – the education of women and children – we need to let go those of our projects which have proven impossible to monitor well enough. Sadly, school breakfasts have been discontinued and the Medicine Box Project will be phased out by the end of this year. We accept that we cannot satisfy all needs but must, as one of our TFS Patrons Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim advises, concentrate on education --which is what we do best.

Eye Care OutreachWomen in Mayo Mandela settlement for displaced persons outside Khartoum wait to see the ophthalmologist. Since we began Eye Care Outreach in the Khartoum area in 2002, some 16,000 people have been examined of whom more than 1,700 have been referred for further treatment, most often cataract surgery. In 2005 we were able to begin taking the Eye Care Outreach to the Nuba Mountains. Our financial supporters for this vital project are currently the Refugees International Japan and Light for the World in Austria.

THE VISION OF TFS COUNTRY COORDINATOR Neimat Hussein IssaNeimat, who became TFS Country Coordinator in September 2007, is a graduate of Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, is married and has three children. She has worked for TFS since November 2002 and her management abilities and collegial leadership style contribute to a sense of teamwork among her colleagues. During my March visit to Sudan I asked her to tell me about her near term vision for TFS.

Some of Together for Sudan’s 150 Elementary Education Scholars, all of whose carers are deceased or seriously affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We hope to double the number of our small scholars in the 2008-9 academic year with funding provided by the International Children in Need Group under the guidance of TFS Patron and British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia William Patey and his wife Vanessa.

LCH: How would you describe your major objectives for TFS over the next two or three years?NHI: I’m concerned about improvements in both management and monitoring abilities in both the Khartoum and Kadugli offices. But improvement will require a fully functioning data base as well as sufficient core funding to upgrade the skills of staff in both offices. We also need to be able to respond more effectively and quickly to the information requests of those organisations which provide funding support to our work. And a Director who lives in Khartoum would be most welcome and convenient!

LCH: That last is an interesting thought. Let me keep working with Trustees to find a way to share some of my present responsibilities. Meanwhile, can you say more about your specific vision for TFS projects? NHI: Successful projects depend upon adequate continuous funding. This is evident to me now that we are involved in much more local fundraising. Problems can arise when donors are unwilling to provide adequate funding for monitoring, transportation and other overheads. Were this problem resolved, we could concentrate more fully on building our projects and establishing others, such as the vocational training project. I’m in favour of downsizing or even closing some projects in order to concentrate more carefully on quality, monitoring and records keeping.

LCH: How can we improve monitoring?NHI: I’m working to upgrade our monitoring capability and feel we may need a full time project monitor in the Khartoum office. We want always to be fully accountable to both our donors and to those who benefit from the work which we do.

ABOUT OUR PROJECTS. Together for Sudan currently operates the following projects: Education: University Scholarships, University Scholars’ Hostel, Women’s Literacy Project; Teacher Training and Support Project, Elementary Education (scholarships for HIV/AIDS orphans) Educational Support: Eye Care Outreach; Solar Lighting; HIV/AIDS Awareness Outreach (with a home-based care component to be tested as a pilot project in 2007-8)

TFS women’s literacy class at Thawra 59 settlement for displaced persons outside Khartoum. Of the 22 students enrolled this year, 16 students are expected to pass the government literacy examination. The women are seen here being encouraged by TFS Office Manager Saudi Abdel Rahman who monitors the class.

Members of the HIV/AIDS Outreach team discuss the Home Based Care pilot project which begins this month.

Teachers from the former Sudan Peoples Liberation Army controlled area of the Nuba Mountains on their first day of Head Teacher Training in the TFS Teaching Resources Centre in Kadugli, March 2008.

THE NEED FOR CORE (UNRESTRICTED) FUNDING As UN agencies, foreign embassies and international aid agencies have proliferated in Khartoum over the past five years, there are many more opportunities for charities such as Together for Sudan to raise funds locally. However, the economic gap between the relatively few wealthy Sudanese and their impoverished and dispossessed fellow citizens continues to widen. Likewise, the cost of living continues to rise and most citizens cannot afford the new luxury goods. In the Nuba Mountains where TFS also works to promote education for women and children, the cost of living, including transportation and housing, is even higher than in Khartoum.

Like almost everyone else living in Sudan, Together for Sudan faces increased financial difficulties, in particular for core funding which is essential for paying salaries, project monitoring, office rents and transportation expenses. TFS Trustee Adrian Thomas recently worked out that if 250 people donated £15 a month to TFS in undesignated funding our current shortage of unrestricted funds would be resolved. Can you help save the future for the Sudanese through education by making a donation to core costs? With appreciation for working with us to help the Sudanese towards a better future,

Lillian Craig Harris OBEDirector

P.S. Help us save postage by emailing our newsletters!Send your email address to: adrianpthomas@btinternet.com

And do consider whether you can help by signing the enclosed GiftAid and/or Direct Debit form. Make cheques payable to Together for Sudan and post to Norman Swanney, 33 Balmoral Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 OJS,England. U.S. dollar cheques should be made payable to The Bishop Mubarak Fund and sent to the same address.

Together for Sudan Patron

Sir Donald Hawley died on 31 January 2008.

Sir Donald served with the Sudan Defence Force from 1942-4 when he transferred to the Sudan Political Service and, with Sudanese

independence in 1956, to the British Diplomatic Service. He remained active in the service of

the Sudan Pensioners Association, the Salisbury Sudan Link, Together for Sudan and other

charities until his sudden death at the age of 86. Sudan and Together for Sudan have lost a true

and worthy friend.

Independent auditors inspect TFS financial records in the TFS Khartoum office.