Widening the impact of the Solidarity mission

Dear friends,

A couple of days ago we made a presentation regarding Solidarity with South Sudan at the event entitled “Building a Network for Mission Development”, an initiative of UISG, USG and GSIF.

Here you can find part of Sr Carolyn Anyega’s speech.

Solidarity is a dynamic and evolving inter-congregational collaboration. It started at the invitation of the Sudanese and South Sudanese Catholic Bishops Conference to the men and women religious congregations to come to South Sudan and work for bishops and eventually hand over to the bishops.
Hence, Solidarity reports directly to the bishops conference. It is a collaboration in the spirit of
synodality. Sometimes the relationship between religious life and diocesan structures can be quite
interesting and challenging!

The beginning was about pioneering, opening up the path, going into a country not yet independent.
There were very few roads. In many dioceses, there was no bishop or the bishop was dead. At that time, many Solidarity members came from North America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia (mostlyanglophone countries).

Today, the founding congregations are not able to support Solidarity with personnel as they did in the past. One exceptional congregation sent 5 members at the beginning but it can no longer send that number of people but supports Solidarity in other ways. We are reaching out to other congregations beyond the Founding Members and they are coming on board, e.g. Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I.C.M.) is sending 3 new members; Regional congregations e.g. the Sacred Heart congregation has a sister working in Solidarity, Brothers of St. Peter Claver is sending 2 brothers to solidarity. There are changes with which congregations continue to support this project. Even the requirements are changing.
As congregations age, we have a number of people coming from India and Africa.
In terms of structure, we have the unions of superiors general, a governance board, an executive director, Friends of Solidarity based in the US, personnel in the Rome office and in the four Solidarity projects.

Major decisions are made at an annual general meeting. Solidarity has set up institutions in South Sudan needing people to run them. There is an organogram and job descriptions in each institution. The executive director oversees the four projects of Catholic Health Training Institute, Solidarity Teacher Training College, Agricultural project in Riimenze and the Pastoral work in Juba. The executive director reports to the bishops and to the Board. He is assisted by the principals of each project and an interim advisory Committee.

Solidarity’s collective impact is evident in the following achievements:
– 834 primary school teachers have graduated from the Solidarity Teacher Training College, with
77% currently employed in the national education system.
– 393 nurses and midwives have graduated from the Catholic Health Training Institute, with 92%
now working in the national health system.
– Over 1,500 pastoral agents and community members have been trained by the Solidarity Pastoral Team across all dioceses in the country.
– More than 2,700 farmers supported by the Solidarity Sustainable Agriculture Project in Riimenze have improved their livelihoods and living conditions by adopting environmentally friendly practices.

Solidarity is a collaborative initiative of Missionary Congregations, represented in South Sudan by both women and men religious from various nationalities. This diverse presence offers a powerful example to the project’s beneficiaries, who come from a conflict-affected background. They witness first-hand the value of peaceful coexistence and collaboration. Currently, 22 members of Solidarity offer their time and talents in 4 communities. These members come from 13 different countries and represent 16 Catholic religious congregations.
Sustainability is an integral aspiration of Solidarity as it works towards an eventual handing over of the ownership and responsibility of the mission while maintaining quality standards and its ethos. The focus is on building stronger relationships with local church and involving it in decision-making, but there are challenges of readiness to handover, finance, qualified personnel, sustaining the commitment of members and involving new ones.

South Sudanese government has postponed elections from December 2024 to December 2026. There is no constitution, no independent and unified military, no national census, etc. The country continues to struggle with conflict, worsened by climate change. By August 2024, over 710,000 people were affected by severe flooding, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis marked by food insecurity, economic collapse, and disease outbreaks. Flooding has damaged infrastructure, isolated communities, and raised food prices.
The ongoing war in Sudan has displaced 769,264 people into South Sudan, further straining resources and impacting vulnerable populations. Solidarity operates within a precarious context. High exchange rates contribute to widespread apathy, which affects Solidarity as well, resulting in strikes and reduced service levels from its workers.

Thank you.
Sr. Carolyn Anyega, SSND
On behalf of the Governing Board of Solidarity with South Sudan