Diocese of Winchester

Woman breaking road stone in Kajo-Keji

Kajo-Keji is situated in the southern area of Sudan on the border with Uganda. Until recently the area was subject to nearly 20 years of civil war, which has left families scarred, whole communities displaced, and the regions infra-structure almost destroyed. There is very little for the people who are still settling back into the region from exile or from living in the bush. There are few churches, little medical care, few houses and schools. Food is scarce and roads poor – a journey of 40 miles by car would take a whole day because the roads are so bad.

Towns don’t have hospitals, although some have clinics provided by the government, which cannot cope with the level of need. The government also pay some teachers, but most are not qualified, so teaching is not necessarily accurate. Church schools are staffed with volunteer teachers.

In the villages, there are some small shops, now run by local people, who buy supplies in Juba to sell in local villages. Some homes are a long way from village centres or schools, so children can’t reach them. Also the level of poverty is such that many parents can’t pay regularly for their children’s education which therefore becomes sporadic. Sister Waraka told us there are Primary 1 classes with young people of 18 years old attending.

Woman carrying thatch in Kajo-Keji

Most of the women in the region are involved in doing the routine activities of cooking, fetching water, and caring for their children. Those who try and do business are only able to participate in minor micro business, selling agricultural produce in markets.

Among the poverty and devastation there are signs of hope. One successful regional activity is the production of lulu oil and from it shea butter moisturiser and soap. The shea nut tree, known in Arabic as ‘lulu’, thrives in the region and has been used for oil and food for centuries. In the last few years, small co-operative projects based on this crop have been expanding.

The Diocese of Kajo-Keji emphasises the role of Mothers’ Union and women in the growth and development of churches and communities in the region: the information collected states that “women form 80% of the church’s active believers and therefore the strength of the people.”

To help this, the Mothers’ Union decided to build the Bethlehem Tailoring Training Centre, which provides vocational skills to young people in the diocese who have not had access to education, and give them opportunities for self-reliance.

The Poultry Project is the most recent activity to be developed by Mothers’ Union members in Kajo-Keji Diocese. This project involves keeping, rearing and sharing chickens, employing people at the main rearing sheds and developing a market for the final products. Eventually it is hoped to use the main project as a workshop offering training and start-up stock for those wishing to try this form of income generation, which has the added advantage of providing improved nutrition.

Bethlehem Training Project Kajo-Keji

The information on this page was gleaned through contacts who visited Kajo-Keji in 2008, and through the visit of a Mothers’ Union worker from a neighbouring area for the Lambeth Conference the same year.