The Juba Project

SALAM's main project is the Juba Project. Juba, the capital of South Sudan, has in the last two years opened up and become accessible after many years of inaccessibility and hardship due to the civil war. This is a strategic place for the home-base of our mission, as in the 2011 referendum South Sudan may possibly become its own country and Juba would then be the capital of a new African country.

Since the north/south peace agreement of 2005, Juba seen immense repatriation as displaced civilians return to find their families and homes and to re-begin their lives. Due to the extensive devastation wreaked by the war, Juba does not have the infrastructure in place to support the growing population of returning refugees. All residential accommodation is full to overflowing. Many people have been forced to live in tents without access to clean drinking water and latrines. There is large-scale unemployment.

In October 2005, SALAM acquired two large plots of land which have been approved for the development of an orphanage, school, Bible College and medical clinics. We will also be opening a church on the property. The property has been named Juba City of Hope.

Richard returned to Sudan in 2006 to put in preliminary plans for the work, which were approved. He then oversaw the construction of the septic tank and a small building (4x4 metres). A company was contracted to bore the well at that time but the equipment required was commissioned elsewhere. The boring of the well is now expected to go ahead in March 2007.

Richard again returned to Sudan in late January 2007 to oversee the design of a water tower, further building beginning with the orphanage, fencing of the land, the addition of toilets, and the placement of a generator. He has also registered SALAM as an NGO in Sudan under the name HIM - Hope International Ministries and applied to function as a tax-free entity, a significant factor when import tax in Sudan is 100% on goods. When the facilities are adequate, the Jock family will permanently migrate to Sudan to facilitate the work on the Juba base.

The main need of the Juba project is funding. We are currently using locals for the work on the ground, although much of the design to date has been done by Australian architects/town planners (Dimidium Group) and engineers (Ross McDougall).

Sudan is currently an extremely expensive place to build due to the strain on resources in this post-war period. Quotes of approximately US$1,000,000 have been given us for the construction of the first building, the orphanage, which will include small living quarters for the Jock family. We are now looking at ways to drastically reduce the cost by importing containers filled with building materials from Australia.

Why the Juba Project?

Why an orphanage in Sudan?

1.3million orphans in Sudan
9% of all Sudanese children are orphans
War and HIV are leaving behind a parentless generation

Why a school in Juba, South Sudan?

In South Sudan, there is 1 school for every thousand students.
46% of teachers in South Sudan have had no training at all, while a further 46% have had less than one year training.
10% of South Sudanese schools are in permanent buildings.
80% of the children have no bench to sit on
Only one third of the schools have access to latrines and half have access to safe clean water.
South Sudan has the lowest rate in the world of primary school completion - 2%, ie, 1 in 50 children finishes primary school.
one out of every five children of school age is in class
Sudan's adult literacy rate is 59.9%

Why medical clinics in Sudan?

There is currently only 1 doctor for every 10,000 people
Only 59% of 1-yr-old children are immunized against measles
Sudanese have a life expectancy of 57yrs
Infant mortality rate is 12 times higher than that of Australia
400,000 Sudanese live with HIV /AIDS, including 21,000 children
Only 1 out of every 250 people living in a malaria-risk area uses effective malaria prevention measures.

Why Christian Education Centres in Sudan?

22 years of Shariah law has severely diminished the church's ability to train leaders. Many pastors possess only one Bible (some not even that) as their sole ministry tool. The targeting and destruction of churches has scattered members.
Many pastors have had no formal theological training, resulting in theological problems on a wider scale within the church. With the peace agreement's end to Shariah law in the South, there is new religious freedom. But the window must be accessed while it is still open.
Islam has an agenda for Sudan. Widespread forced conversions have been documented. To strengthen the church, one must begin with the leaders.

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