Salesian missionaries are supporting displaced and vulnerable communities in places such as Tonj, Maridi, Kuajok, Wau and Don Bosco Gumbo in Juba, as well as in neighbouring Uganda at the Palabek refugee settlement, providing education, shelter, vocational formation, child and youth protection, humanitarian aid and peace-building activities.

Ara Tena, a volunteer with Misiones Salesianas, the Salesian Mission Office in Madrid, sums up the Salesians’ work in the country as a presence that combines emergency relief with development. Misiones Salesianas is currently active in South Sudan, both in the field of development and in the humanitarian sphere,” she explains.

At Don Bosco Gumbo, the Salesians have for years been supporting people displaced by the conflict, providing shelter, food, basic services and assistance to particularly vulnerable individuals, such as single mothers, orphans and the elderly. In recent months, they have also stepped up emergency aid in the refugee camp. “We have just completed an emergency operation in the Gumbo refugee camp, where we distributed plastic sheeting to cover tents and food supplies, as part of the ongoing support we have been providing for years,” adds Tena.

Alongside this humanitarian response, development projects aim to reduce dependence on aid and create opportunities for the future. In the Tonj area, Misiones Salesianas works with particularly vulnerable rural communities to improve their nutrition through sustainable agriculture. The initiative also includes awareness-raising activities on Hansen’s disease and a peace-building component integrated into all Salesian projects in the country.

In Tonj and Maridi, the Salesian presence is focused on providing technical formation for young women. A similar facility already exists in Tonj, whilst in Maridi there are plans to build and equip a technical formation centre specialising in cooking, food preservation, sewing and dressmaking.

For Ara Tena, this type of work addresses a clear priority. “We believe it is necessary to empower women, especially economically, so that they can generate their own income and improve their social status,” she says. In a country where gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched, vocational formation can pave the way to self-reliance for women and families living in situations of extreme vulnerability.

In Kuajok too, the Madrid Mission Office, together with the Salesians of Don Bosco-BOSCOAID, has developed inclusive, equitable and high-quality educational projects as a driving force for development and peace-building. Furthermore, the Salesian projects include a scholarship programme for children that will support a thousand pupils from ten selected Salesian schools in the country’s most deprived areas.

For displaced or vulnerable children and young people, returning to school means regaining a sense of routine, protection, trust and a future. And for communities scarred by years of violence, education represents an investment in peace.

“We understand that everything we do for peace and peaceful coexistence is fundamental, because South Sudan is a country that has never known peace,” emphasises Ara Tena.

The crisis in South Sudan is also having repercussions beyond its borders. In Uganda, the Palabek refugee settlement is home to nearly 100,000 people, most of whom come from neighbouring South Sudan. Many arrived after fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their backs, having lost family members, homes, schools and livelihoods.

In Palabek, the Salesians do not merely run projects: they live in close contact with the refugee population, and their work focuses on education, pastoral care, vocational formation, the protection of children and young people, and community support.

The Salesian missionary Ubaldino Andrade, who has been supporting the refugees in Palabek for years, points out that war leaves behind not only material destruction but also deep wounds in people’s hearts. “War is a destructive experience. It destroys not only homes but also hearts. Everything is left behind; everything vanishes from one day to the next,” he explains.

Fifteen years after independence, therefore, this young country needs stability, protection and a future for its people. In Tonj, Maridi, Kuajok, Wau, Don Bosco Gumbo and Palabek, supporting, educating and standing alongside those who have lost almost everything is also a practical way of building peace.

Source: Misiones Salesianas