A TfS Women's Literacy Class in Wad el Bashir Outside Khartoum

DEAR FRIENDS OF TOGETHER FOR SUDAN,TfS Secretary Alan Goulty and I arrived back in Arlington, Virginia, in late September after one of the most

informative and challenging of my twenty-eight visits to Sudan since 2000. This time much was different. Following thecreation of South Sudan on 20 July 2011, the land is divided into two countries, each facing severe challenges.

VISIT TO KHARTOUM. Rejoicing to have reached Khartoum after two sleepless nights between Virginia and Africa, Alanand I checked into Khartoum’s Acropole Hotel (See my essay about the iconic Acropole in the July 2012 edition of SUDAN STUDIES). Exhausted, we slept through the few hours of Sudan’s “Arab spring”, which included attacks on theAmerican and German embassies. All seemed calm the next morning when we set off for the usual briefing by Neimat,Together for Sudan’s Country Coordinator. Over the next five days we visited a number of TfS project sites, met withfriends and supporters, and contacted prospective international donors. Khartoum remains somewhat on edge but wewere surrounded by friends, colleagues and TfS Patrons, and rejoiced to be back in Sudan – despite the 100 degreetemperature. As always, a visit to Khartoum was like a homecoming.

Visiting Ahfad University, where many of our 117 university scholars currently study, was also a joyfulexperience. At Ahfad we met as well with women representing the Babiker Badri Foundation which concentrates onsupport for women’s rights and female empowerment through literacy. Other contacts included visits to a vocationaltraining centre for impoverished girls, a self-help kindergarten for which we hope to find funding (Let us know if you areable to help!), and a trip to Soba Aradi displaced persons area where for many years we have sponsored schools asfunding allows. This area now faces bulldozing as Khartoum spreads and displaced people from Darfur and SouthKordofan are pushed further back into the desert. Other particularly significant meetings included time with Dr. NabilaRadi, who runs the TfS Eye Care Outreach, and a visit to the White Sisters (Missionaries of Africa) in Haj Yusuf, long timefriends who live just outside Khartoum. Conversations with our Sudanese colleagues were inspiring and hopeful despitetheir sadness over the loss of colleagues who had moved to Juba. We also renewed ties to Sudanese friends who kept uswell fed and well briefed on any number of important issues.

October 2012

Among urgent requests for TfSattention during our five days in Khartoumwere more university scholarships,expanded Eye Care Outreach, provision ofbreakfast for pre-school children in outlyingareas, funding to train midwives and nurses,eye care and food for lepers in a colonywhere donors have been obliged to cut backtheir support and, always, more outreachesby our HIV/AIDS Awareness team. Positiveresponses to these requests depend on you,Together for Sudan’s supporters. Sadlyunrest in the Nuba Mountains of SouthKordofan does not yet allow us to resumework there.

VISIT TO JUBA. As with our visit to Khartoumand environs, our time in Juba, the capital of the new nation of South Sudan, was too brief. South Sudan facesmany difficulties, including tribalism, corruption, malnutrition and endemic diseases — as well as the challengesfacing all new countries. Briefings by officials, diplomats and churchmen were very useful and we were impressedby the hope for a better future. Several of our former Khartoum colleagues are now in South Sudan and hope towork with us. Sadly both typhoid and malaria are endemic in South Sudan and two of our former colleagues wereill, one with both diseases at once! It was a delight to meet Silas Jojo, who ran TfS’s Khartoum office for severalyears. Here is a photo of his daughter Lillian Lubo, a goddaughter I had not seen for several years! Alwaysvisionary and competent, Silas has brilliantly set up a mother/child clinic in Juba. Please help Together for Sudan tosupport this much needed clinic!

LOOKING FORWARD. How do we move forward now to help the people of South Sudan? The answer seemsobvious. We must listen to what they tell us is most urgentlyneeded and remain within our mandate of giving priority towomen and girls. We must not deviate from what women havealways asked of us: education and health services. Nearly 80percent of women in South Sudan are illiterate and at least fivepercent of the people in the Juba area are HIV positive.

Such statistics help point us in the right direction.Although it is up to our TfS supporters to help us turn hopesinto action, as always I am encouraged that TfS has as well thestrength, perseverance and hope of South Sudanese women –and men. Editha, once a dynamic leader of the TfS HIV/AIDSoutreach in Sudan, is now active in the same work in SouthSudan and hoping we can support her. Meanwhile, Victor GaliThomas, a former colleague in Khartoum, is serving as ourrepresentative in Juba. And Minallah, our Khartoum accountantfor several years, is available to work again with TfS in Juba.

TOGETHER FOR SUDAN CANNOT CONTINUE TO REACH OUT TO THE PEOPLE OF SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDANWITHOUT YOUR HELP. Please make a contribution to South Sudan’s future through Together for Sudan. Our hope isto have three or four of our projects active in South Sudan by the end of this year.

Together for Sudan University Scholars in Juba

Lillian and Lillian Lobo in Juba

UPDATE ON TOGETHER FOR SUDAN/THE BISHOP MUBARAK FUND PROJECTS AS OF LATE 2012.

UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS. At present 117 scholars in university and 246 graduates, including 12 new scholars at AhfadUniversity in Khartoum. Current donors to this project are the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Humanity United, the GordonMemorial College Trust Fund and recent private donors. Some 16 scholars are believed to have moved to the South andof these we have paid fees at the University of Juba for eight and await performance reports for two others. We have asyet no contact with the rest.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING. Sixteen scholars graduated this past summer and two moved to South Sudan beforecompleting their courses. We have recruited 15 new women students, 14 from the Nuba Mountains and one fromDarfur, and plan to recruit three or four Nuba women for midwifery courses early next year. The Gordon MemorialCollege Trust Fund supports this project but we urgently need further long-term donors.

EYE CARE OUTREACH. Since March we have held two outreaches a month in the Khartoum area, seeing a total of 952patients. Although we are currently unable to work in the Nuba Mountains, funds originally allocated for Kadugli wereused for outreach at Um Ruwaba in North Kordofan in May when 1,805 people were examined, some treatedimmediately and others still in need of eye surgery. Funding to sustain this critically important project is adequate foronly another month or so.

WOMEN’S LITERACY CLASSES. Last spring 30 teachers were trained thanks to a British Embassy grant. More recently,with funding from Refugees International Japan, 20 literacy classes, each started with at least 20 students, have been setup in areas around the Three Towns. Most of these classes have now resumed after the Eid break and we are monitoringclosely to ensure that all function effectively.

HIV/AIDS OUTREACH, Khartoum. Following the Ramadan break , this vitally important project resumed in Septemberwith eight outreaches to be funded from our unrestricted funds – that is YOUR donations.

SCHOOLING FOR AIDS ORPHANS, Khartoum. Project being restarted with support for ten schools on the basis that wepay salaries for two teachers in each school and the school allows 10 orphans to study free of charge. We hope to givehead teachers’ advice on further teacher training. The project has been funded with the last of a grant from ICING(which no longer exists). Another sponsor is urgently needed.

NUBA MOUNTAINS SOLAR PROJECT. Due to insecurity we have been unable to monitor this project since June 2011when a number of the panels were said to have been stolen. We do not know whether any of the panels installed invillage centres and on schools outside Kadugli are still operational.

HIV/AIDS OUTREACH, JUBA. Six outreaches have been held and our local partner, NWERO, has submitted a bid forexpansion of the project in three phases.

TfS Sponsored HIV/AIDS Awareness Outreach in Juba, South Sudan

THIS NEWSLETTER HAS TWO MAJOR OBJECTIVES: to brief you onTogether for Sudan’s progress and to give you the opportunity to helpfund our life enhancing educational work in Sudan and South Sudan. Asmentioned, several of our TfS co-workers in Khartoum have returned toSouth Sudan and are eager to continue to work with us. Please considerhelping fund us to put these dedicated, talented and trained people backto work! We also urgently need your support to continue our projects inSudan and start new ones in South Sudan. These are important butdifficult times for the people of both countries. This is a time to learn tocooperate and to reject tribal favourism, a time to support justice andequality for all through education and support for pluralism. As we havedone for some 17 years, Together for Sudan extends a helping hand towomen and children. If we are to keep our promise to the women andchildren of Sudan and South Sudan, they need your hand as well.

With appreciation for your support for the women and children of Sudanand South Sudan,

Lillian Craig Harris, Director.

Fulla Falls Self Help Pre-School inSoba Aradi Outside Khartoum

P.S. Help us save postage by emailing our newsletters!Send your email address to: adrian@togetherforsudan.orgAnd do please help sustain our work by signing the enclosedDonation/Gift Aid form. Make UK cheques payable toTogether for Sudan & post to: Norman Swanney, 33Balmoral Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0JSUS dollar checks should now be made out to FriendsTogether for Sudan. Donations are tax deductible and shouldbe sent to FTFS, 2515 N Lincoln Street, Arlington,VA 22207.Our tax identification number is: 26-4820930. For paymentdirect to our US bank do contact alan@togetherforsudan.orgor by post to the above US address.You can now ‘text’ us a donation!See www.togetherforsudan.org/text_donation.aspx for details

Gifting support to Together for Sudan

Please help TfS with its Educational, Hiv-Aids and Eye Care projects, empowering thousands of sudanesewomen and children, who are suffering the effects of war and poverty. We believe in building peace through

service: your donation is vital! Thank you for considering Together for Sudan for your charitable giving:

UK donors: You can help us even more if you can make your donation tax efficient by filling in a Gift Aiddeclaration (see insert). if you have already filled in a Gift Aid form for us just complete your name and

address (or email) and we will send you an acknowledgement. To set up a regular bank standing orderpayment please contact our UK treasurer – Norman swanney, 33 Balmoral Road, Trowbridge, BA14 0Js ortreasurer@togetherforsudan.org

Us donors: dollar checks should be made out to Friends Together for Sudan. donations are taxdeductible and may be sent to FTFS, 4641 23rd Street N, Arlington, VA 22207. Our tax identification

number is: 26-4820930.  For payment direct to our Us bank please contact jackileighw@gmail.com - or bypost to the above Us address.

ANYONE may donate by CREDIT or DEBIT CARD by going to this web address:www.togetherforsudan.org/donate.aspx

TFS Sponsored Vocational Trainees

If you would prefer to receive this newsletter by email, pleasesend your email address to Adrian Thomas, our newslettertrustee: newsletter@togetherforsudan.org Please do consider whether you can help further. US dollarchecks should now be made out to ‘Friends Together forSudan’. Donations are tax deductible and should be sent to:FTFS, 4641 23rd Street N, Arlington, VA22207. (Our tax identification number is 26-4820930).For payment direct to our US bank do contact our UStreasurer - jackileighw@gmail.com or by post to the aboveUS address.