Republic of South Sudan
On July 9, 2011, the Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest country, as it gained a long-awaited independence from the Republic of Sudan. Since the end of colonialism in 1956, Sudan suffered decades of civil war with over two million dead between the largely Arab and Muslim north and the black, Christian or animist south until a peace agreement was signed in 2005. South Sudan’s independence followed a provision of that agreement, a January 2011 referendum in which 98.83% of Southern Sudanese people voted to create their own nation.
Education, health care and ethnic rivalries are daunting challenges for the new nation, which is landlocked and only beginning to develop. The official language is English, but Arabic is more widely spoken, literacy rates are low, and many speak only their own tribal language. The church’s task is to minister to this traumatized but hopeful population while moving rapidly from oppression into a position of national favor and influence.
ALARM in South Sudan
ALARM has been active in South Sudan since 1999, long before the war between the North and South ended. ALARM now has four offices throughout the country, including Juba, the capital, and in nearby Yei. The two other offices in South Sudan are in Lietnhom in the Bahr el Ghazal region and Malakal in the Upper Nile region combine to cover South Sudan’s three geographical regions.
ALARM sees this moment of new beginnings as a timely opportunity to serve God in South Sudan. Church leaders like to describe the country as a newborn baby, and the baby still needs nourishment and instruction. The war years saw a vast movement toward Christ. The leaders of this new flock now need training; their churches and communities need rebuilding; and the land needs the peace of Christ to help the country overcome its ethnic dividing lines.
Training of pastors is essential in South Sudan, where decades of war have prevented the pastors from receiving even the most basic training in theology and in skills to help them grow and lead their congregations. ALARM established the Christian Leadership Institute of Sudan in 2003 to train future Sudanese church leaders. The three year program involves intensive coursework at the Institute in Yei, South Sudan for several months of the year, plus field ministry in the students’ home regions during the rest of the year. ALARM also trains pastors closer to home with Pastoral Leadership Training Institutes (PLTI’s) and regular conferences and workshops.
To help serve Christ in South Sudan, ALARM provides training in leadership and reconciliation to key leaders including pastors, government officials, traditional chiefs, women’s civil society leaders, Sunday school teachers, and police officers. ALARM strives particularly to serve the women and children of South Sudan, often the most vulnerable in society. To this end, ALARM has developed a holistic community development strategy including microfinance groups that strengthen social bonds and teach skills. ALARM also operates a primary and secondary school in Lietnhom.
Staff
• Country Director (Juba): Rev. James Baak Nhial
• Director, Christian Leadership Institute of Sudan (Yei): Rev. Manasseh Kenyi
• Regional Coordinator, Bahr el Ghazal Region (Lietnhom): Rev. Peter Garang Deng
• Women’s Program Coordinator (Juba): Sunday Andrea Ladu
• Regional Coordinator, Greater Equatoria Region (Juba): Mohandis James Apugi
