On 30 November 2023, the Annual Assembly of Solidarity with South Sudan will be held at the Generalate of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. This Assembly is the competent authority to approve the annual budget and all expenditures, thus ensuring certified reports and data for donors. It is also responsible for appointing the Board members.
This year, around 70 people will attend the meeting, including four members of embassies and a representative of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development,
more than 30 congregations and various donors.
The key topics of this day will be the financial situation report, the presentation of the new Strategic Plan and the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Association.
Since its inception, Solidarity with South Sudan has always aimed to create self-sustainable educational, health and pastoral institutions and programmes that help empower people in South Sudan to build a just and peaceful society.
Solidarity is a collaborative effort of institutes of men and women religious, representing the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and the Union of Superiors General (USG) respectively, and the Church of South Sudan in cooperation with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sudan.
It all started in 2008 with a request from the Sudanese Bishops’ Conference. The keyword was ‘solidarity’, and the focus was South Sudan: hence the name of the project.
In the first ten years alone, between 2008 and 2018, Solidarity with South Sudan managed to train 475 primary school teachers, 190 nurses and midwives, over 1,000 farmers and more than 1,500 pastoral agents.
Currently 19 members of Solidarity with South Sudan, from 13 different countries, (including religious and lay people representing 14 Catholic religious congregations), volunteer their time and talents in 4 separate communities.
A total of 260 congregations, private donors and international agencies support the project with funding, personnel and expertise.
Working closely with the local Church, the project runs a teacher training institute, a health training centre, a sustainable farm with an outreach programme and pastoral services.
For the future, Solidarity, while wishing to continue to respond to the social and economic realities that affect people’s daily lives, will focus its efforts more on creating even more sustainable programmes. All in the name of peace and solidarity.