Sean Callahan, CRS executive vice president for overseas operations, recently traveled to South Sudan to witness first-hand the state of the new nation and Catholic Relief Services’ work there. Here are some of his reflections on peace and the role of the Church:

When South Sudan gained independence from its northern neighbor last year, it was a moment of tremendous victory for the new nation. But nine months after secession, the country—counted among the most impoverished in the world—continues to face significant challenges.
Tensions and violence on the border with Sudan remain, especially in the areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and the border itself has not yet been demarcated. In recent weeks, there have been concerns over oil revenue, with the South accusing the North of stealing its oil—subsequently shutting down all production. Since this is the major source of income for the government of South Sudan, it has put into place austerity measures, which could hamper development efforts.
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Where gang members used to turn up dead, children now play basketball.

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By Michael Hill

The rain thundered down in Juba, the capital city of south Sudan, making for what seemed a rather inauspicious beginning to the 101 Days of Prayer campaign that was kicking off on the International Day of Peace, September 21.

After all, hundreds of people were expected to march through the streets of Juba to official ceremonies held at the cultural center of the University of Juba. That seemed impossible with the heavy downpours turning the dusty dirt streets into oceans of mud.

But it turns out that the Sudanese would not look at rain on their parade as a bad sign. In this part of the world, where people live close to the ground, where droughts are all too well-known, rain is a good sign. Rain brings life. If it rains on a couple’s wedding day, that’s a fine omen. Rain was blessing the 101 Days of Prayer for Peace.

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by John Lindner

In yesterday’s post I said peacebuilding is a well and a school and a traffic light. Today, I look at another thing peacebuilding is: It’s boring.

Of course I mean that in a really good way….
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Students at Olikwi Primary School share water from a well CRS built. By removing anxiety over access to water, wells become important peacebuilding tools. Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS

by John Lindner

Peacebuilding is a well. It’s a school. It’s a farm, a clinic, a nurse, a community center, a soccer field, a church and a traffic light. And wherever people are living together in peace, that peace has been built.

In the U.S., we don’t think about peacebuilding because most of the heavy lifting has been done for us. Most of the maintenance structures are in place. For instance: At our intersections, we have traffic lights.
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by John Lindner

Father Joseph Mawa gives us a good definition of peacebuilding.

“A lot of people say peace is a ceasefire,” he said one afternoon under a shady tree outside St. Patrick’s Church in Nimule, Sudan.

Nimule (nim-U-lay) is just across the White Nile from Uganda. Many of the Sudanese now living in Nimule have returned in the past few years from long exile on the other side of the river.

“Peace is more than a ceasefire,” Father Joseph said. “It is freedom from fear, freedom from anxiety.”
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A woman walks through her village in Nimule, near the Uganda border. CRS peacebuilding aims to spare villages like this from a resurgence of violence. Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS

by John Lindner

“Rwanda changed us.”

I quote Michael Weist, CRS vice president of Charitable Giving, and a longtime CRS veteran.

In 1994, within the span of 100 days, 800,000 Rwandans were murdered during a grisly ethnic massacre made all the more ghastly by having been perpetrated by fellow Rwandans.

I detect a distinct atmospheric shift in any room of CRS headquarters when the subject of Rwanda is raised. Veteran CRS staffers take Rwanda personally.
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While southern Sudan desperately needs more schools, efforts are being made by the government, CRS and other agencies to give children the education they deserve. Photo by Debbie DeVoe/CRS

Tom Purekal moved to Juba in July 2009 to serve as CRS’ program manager for peacebuilding and governance in southern Sudan. Here is his first report from the field.

I chose a critical time to work in southern Sudan. So much of what happens over the next two years will set the tone for the country’s future, which is especially relevant for my work in peacebuilding and governance.

After finishing an intense two years with CRS in India, I was looking for a challenging project that would bring me to Africa for the first time in my career. In terms of need, Sudan doesn’t disappoint.
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In an ironic twist of fate, riots in Kampala affected a Caritas- and government-sponsored peacebuilding conference in Kampala. The riots broke out yesterday in reaction to a planned Saturday visit of a local king to an area near the capital that says it has seceded from his kingdom, according to the BBC. Caritas Internationalis’ head of communications Patrick Nicholson shares an update from the conference, which fortunately was able to continue. Our prayers go out for a rapid return to peace and reconciliation.

Rt. Rev. Cornelius Korir, Bishop of the Diocese of Eldoret in Kenya, addresses guests during the official launch of a book and video documentary that describes his peacebuilding methodology. Photo by Gilbert Namwonja/CRS

CRS Kenya recently helped to honor the Bishop of the Diocese of Eldoret, Rt. Rev. Cornelius Korir, at a ceremony introducing a book and video documentary highlighting the Bishop’s extensive peacebuilding efforts after the disputed elections in Kenya in late December 2007.

At the ceremony, speaker after speaker lauded the Bishop’s relentless pursuit of peace. For the past 17 years, Bishop Korir has been brokering peace at the community level among different communities in the diocese. His efforts became even more critical when the post-election violence erupted. Catholic Relief Services and Caritas Australia, using funding from AusAid, enabled the Bishop to increase peacebuilding activities across the diocese as part of the Rift Valley Amani (“Peace” in Swahili) project.

The Bishop explained to the audience that his peace model worked very well in resolving conflict between the people of the Marakwet and Pokot ethnic groups. Instead of holding peace conferences for elites in air-conditioned hotels, his method facilitates amani mashinani—peace at the grassroots—right where the people most affected by violence live.

Impressed by the Bishop’s considerable results, CRS documented the peacebuilding activities in both a book and video. These materials describe the step-by-step methodology used by the Diocese, which starts with person-to-person contact and then grows over time into group-to-group encounters, community-connecting projects and eventually localized peace agreements.

Fr. Dr. Pius Male, executive director of Gaba campus for the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, is one of many who plan to leverage the new peacebuilding materials. “The book is going to become one of our manuals in the short courses we offer on peace,” he noted.

Reported by Gilbert Namwonja, CRS Kenya information services unit manager.