Sudan

In 2005 a comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed following decades of war which had had a devastating effect on the infrastructure and the government's ability to provide basic services. The Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) was a major provider of education services during the war, operating well over 200 formal and informal schools across Sudan.  With the arrival of peace, the church sought to expand, develop and improve the quality of this service.

In 2006 the Archbishop of Canterbury visited Sudan and since then the International Development Secretariat (IDS) has been involved in supporting the ECS in a building capacity for the design, implementation and impact assessment of education programmes. This was achieved by triangulating a relationship between Christian Aid, Reconcile Consulting and the dioceses of Malakal and Renk in the Upper Nile region, a region which saw a disproportionate level of damage during the war. The IDS has continued to work with all partners to build relationships and strengthen the ECS's capacity to provide education to its communities effectively and sustainable.

As a result of this dialogue, in 2006, the dioceses of Malakal and Renk, both in Upper Nile State, received funding for the expansion of six ECS schools and the building of two new ones.

Reconcile Consulting ltd is a Christian not for profit organisation that has worked alongside the church to strengthen their capacity to deliver their projects, through training and support in project and financial management, communication and strategic planning. This extra support has helped to strengthen the relationship between the donor and the local church partner, allowing the diocese to demonstrate to existing and future donors their capacity as a partner to deliver effective programmes.

Both dioceses have built strong partnerships with Christian Aid and after the successful completion of the initial year's work and secured further funding to continue the school building work for a following year. The two Dioceses now run nine primary schools and primary secondary school.

The IDS has supported the ECS, enabling these dioceses to realise a key objective within their Vision and Mission: To provide education to their local communities. The second phase of this programme has provided for capacity building at the national church level.

These powerful partnerships have resulted in the following key achievements:

• 1190 new school places have been provided for children with little or no access to education. By the end of 2008 another 490 new school places will be available.
• By the end of 2008 children at all the schools will have access to pit latrines and five of the schools will have access to clean water during the rainy season.
• All children attending the nine primary schools receive World Food Programme school feeding, resulting in increasing enrolment and retention and reducing illness.

• Girls make up 40-50% of school places.

It has also been working alongside USPG and CMS Britain to support a significant scaling up of the Provincial Education work of the ECS, in the area of teacher training. This work has provided training for over 700 teachers.

Recent items relating to Sudan are shown below:

October 2012

Joint letter to Catholic and Anglican Archbishops of Juba
18 October 2012
The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams,…

Archbishop urges help for Sudanese caught up in conflict
9 October 2012
The Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his fear for the situation of more than 850,000 people displaced…

July 2012

Peace is the only option for Sudan and South Sudan, says Archbishop
6 July 2012
"Peace is the only option which can allow the flourishing of South Sudan and its neighbour Sudan," the…

May 2012

Archbishop's message to the Episcopal and Catholic Bishops of South Sudan
11 May 2012
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has sent a message of support to a meeting of Episcopal…

June 2011

Archbishop's statement on South Kordofan, Sudan
14 June 2011
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has released the following statement regarding recent…

January 2011

Archbishop calls for prayer for Sudan Referendum
7 January 2011
In advance of the Sudan Referendum on Southern Independence on Sunday 9th January, the Archbishop of…

October 2010

Archbishop: Sudan more serious as days go by
7 October 2010
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and The Archbishop of Sudan, Daniel Deng, have warned…

January 2010

Archbishop of Canterbury meets UN Secretary General
27 January 2010
The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams spent 45 minutes with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki…

Archbishops' urgent plea for Sudan
11 January 2010
The Archbishop of Canterbury, together with the Archbishop of Sudan, the Most Revd Daniel Deng visiting…

October 2009

Archbishop welcomes the work of microfinance charity, Five Talents
30 October 2009
The Archbishop of Canterbury and a priest from Southern Sudan yesterday promoted the benefits of microfinance…

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