THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF TOMBURA-YAMBIO CELEBRATES ITS ANNUAL CATHOLIC EDUCATION DAY UNDER ITS PATRON SAINT DANIEL COMBONI ON 10.10.2023.
By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
As the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio celebrates Catholic School Day today 10/10/2023, Bishop Eduardo has described this day as a day to honor the great St. Daniel Comboni who was a beacon of hope and enlightenment in South Sudan and Sudan.
According to bishop Eduardo, Catholic School Day was initiated in 2012, the diocese declared St. Daniel Comboni as the patron saint of all Catholic schools, an honor he truly deserved. His legacy was not just a tale of religious fervor, but also a narrative of social transformation and empowerment, especially in the African nations of Sudan and South Sudan. He added that St. Daniel Comboni’s teachings had transcended mere religious boundaries. He had brought forth not only the gospel of Christ but also the gift of education and social development. His vision was simple yet profound: to empower the people, to liberate them from ignorance, and to enable them to seek their rights and freedom explicitly.
“In 2012 we initiated Catholic school day while we celebrate St Daniel Comboni and we decreed him in our Synod as the patron Saint of all our Catholic schools, Daniel Comboni is spared and loved and showed direction for the people of Africa and particularly the people in South Sudan who are now part of them in the Republic of Sudan. Daniel Comboni brought not only faith, the gospel of Christ but also the social development that included among many education sector and this actually has set a crowd for the people of South Sudan to get their liberation to get their freedom and to be able to explicitly seek their rights and this has actually been at the core of all the pursuit of justice and peace and the development in the Republic of South Sudan and in Sudan and so the CDTY values the missionary work of St. Daniel Comboni, what he has brought a faith that is transformed life here and also education we also match the Daniel Comboni, therefore, all our Catholic schools are embodied under the patronage of St. Daniel Comboni”, bishop Eduardo narrated.
In his message shared with Rurugene through WhatsApp, the prelate underscored that the celebration of the day focuses on instilling unwavering trust in God, to provide education to all, regardless of age or gender, and cultivating the essence of true service and leadership.
“The celebration focuses primarily on three things one to believe and trust in God, God takes the first place in our life and He is the center of all we do for children in school, for teachers, for parents, for our community, and number two is to provide education to all people, all categories, children, adults, and women and men, education in all formatted skilled event, tertiary, university all these form under the patronage of St. Daniel Comboni and this is meant to empower all the people of Republic and this Diocese, we also would like to stand that education that we’re are seeking must be excellent and to be people of service and that is what I would like our Catholic schools to focus on”.
He stressed that education is the cornerstone of a peaceful nation, with pens and papers in hand
2023
St. Mary crown Champions of the South Sudan Cup in Yambio.
By Joseph Ernesto.
St -Mary FC – Yambio, Champions of the Yambio Local Football Association of South Sudan Cup 2023 after defeating Al Waida FC 2-0 in the final game played on Sunday at Yambio Freedoms Square.
The club will represent Yambio Local Football Association in the National South Sudan Cup in Juba early next year for the first time, St Mary FC is one the oldest football clubs in Yambio formed about 10 years.
Speaking during the event, Bishop Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kuala of the Catholic Diocese of Tambura Yambio applauded both teams for demonstrating a peaceful game urging that players must always embrace peace during matches for sports are known for unifying people.
He adds that it is a blessing to win such a highly competitive match, and also thanked the organizing committee for their efforts in organizing competitions that bring out talents while calling on the government to always maintain peace in order for such activities to grow in the Republic of South Sudan.
He encouraged players to prioritize education as an important tool for their life journey.
Hiiboro who also participated in taking penalty shootout during the second half break, missed a penalty in excise as the ball hit the bar, government dignitaries participated in the excise including the president of YLFA Mr. Joseph Ndepi amazements of the expectotors.
Mary FC celebrated their trophy with Hundreds of fans gathered on the streets of Yambio town signifying Santa Maria going to the bishops secretariat curia and they also moved to the tomb of their long-term supporter late Siham Said.
2023
St. Tereza Mission Hospital Launches Neonatal Care Unit, Saving Precious Lives
By Baraka John
The administration of St Tereze Mission Hospital in Nzara County has officially launched a Neonatal care unit which was established early this year at the hospital.
Neonatal is a health care unit where infants born prematurely with low birth weight and with medical conditions are admitted.
Speaking at the opening of the unit on Friday, the medical director at St. Tereza Mission Hospital Mr. Mathias Kuichluoch said the unit aims to help the community in the surrounding areas by providing lifesaving treatments to babies born with health-related complications.
According to Mathias, the unit was established in June this year and equipped with two incubators through a partnership with the Catholic medical mission board and the administration of St Tereza Mission Hospital.
He said 57 premature were recorded at the unit between June and September this year, out of which 10 died.
Meanwhile the director general in the state ministry of health, Rose Obede commended St. Tereza Mission Hospital for closing the gaps through the opening of the new healthcare unit at the hospital.
Rose said the health ministry plans to equip St. Tereza with more medical staff to rescue the influx of patients there.
Most of the health complications are now referred to St. Tereza Mission Hospital, and these include patients from Yambio and the surrounding areas.
However, the deputy director of the Catholic Organization for Peace and Development David Ngbaanisa Ariyo acknowledged the State Ministry of Health for always standing firm with St. Tereza Mission Hospital through its projects.
The neonatal care unit is part of any hospital which provides care for babies, soon after they are born.
The major causes of low birth weight and premature birth are attributed to young mothers who conceive at an early age and develop the tendency to give birth before time because their bodies are not fully developed.
2023
King Atoroba Gbudue Advocates Traditional Farming to Preserve Azande Heritage
By Jackson Gaaniko
Azande king in Western Equatoria State, His Majesty King Atoroba Peni Rikito Gbudue, urged all the clans within the kingdom to promote and grow traditional crops.
King Atoroba spoke on Saturday, September 30, while addressing the Avungara clan of the Azande people.
He advised all the clans within the kingdom, especially those in Yambio municipality and other towns, to grow and promote traditional food.
His advice came after the Avungara clan paid a royal visit to the king at the palace over the weekend.
The king said that as Azande people, they should respect the culture of everyone living in the kingdom.
“We should be mindful of what Azande used to eat and grow traditional food. The restoration of the Azande kingdom was to restore, strengthen traditional leadership, and promote the indigenous culture of South Sudan,” said King Atoroba.
He underscored that it’s good to grow cultural foods like Mapese (rice), palm oil, papaya, cassava leaves (Gadia), millet, Simsim, Dura, traditional beans, sugarcane, and some fruits.
King Atoroba tasked the Avungara clan and other tribes in the kingdom to grow traditional foods to sell the culture of the Azande people or the people of Western Equatoria state as a whole.
The King promised to call all the Azande clans to register and support the necessary needs that promote the culture and its diversity.
“We should not forget to farm in order to produce more food to feed our people,” the king stated.
For his part, the Chairperson of the Avungara (Bakungba) Clan, Mr. Albert Maku, said the aim of the royal visit was to meet and greet the king of the Azande Kingdom with the little gifts they delivered.
He said they would heed the king’s advice as they remain committed to growing and promoting cultural food and are ready to obey the king and support it.
Since the restoration of the Azande kingdom, many tribes living within the kingdom have paid their royalty to the kingdom.
Many of our people have forgotten their cultural ways of life, especially how our great-grandparents used to live.
“I am appealing to the kingdom, especially our king, to restore our culture through traditional leaders, church leaders, and youths to how our people used to grow our traditional foods,” Albert appealed.
2023
Mr. John Kimwathi is Elated with the Progress of the SARD Institute Preferring Skills Over Handouts
By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
As the second-year students of Sustainable Agriculture for Rural Development (SARD) Institute continue with their attachment at Riiemze, Mr. John Kamwathi the Principal of SARD Institute is elated with the progress the institute is making after receiving students for their fourth intake describing “Agriculture as their wisest pursuit that will contribute to real wealth, good morals and happiness at the end”.
He added that they managed to get mostly ladies stressing that it has a significant positive impact on society.
“We also managed to have the fourth intake as earlier on informed and now they’re doing well. We managed to get mostly ladies which it’s a positive impact on our society”, he continued, “This is because when you empower a woman you empower the whole community”.
Mr. John acknowledged the presence of their program manager Mr. Brother Kyalo who has been guiding the students on different “organic farming technology”.
Focusing on organic farming and urban setup technologies is particularly relevant in today’s context where sustainable and environmentally friendly practices are essential. By incorporating these methods, one is not only ensuring food security but also promoting eco-conscious agricultural practices, which is crucial for the well-being of the planet.
The principal further said, “We are determined to do our best as far as the training is concerned and having the hope of change in agricultural activities in Western Equatoria. As an institute, we are in full support of our Lord bishop who lets everyone do and practice agriculture as the only way we can be self-sustainable”.
He encouraged all the interested persons to join SARD Institute and to remember that handouts are seasonal and skills and knowledge will lead to food security.
“Handouts are just seasonal but skills and knowledge to our youth and women will lead to food security. We continue to encourage more interested persons to join our institute”.
2023
Bridging Divides: Traditional Healers and Medical Professionals Unite for the Sake of Community Health
By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
A three-day workshop organized by Fr. Alberto for two parishes in Source Yubu Payam, Tombura County bringing together medical professionals and traditional healers to bridge the gap between these two groups and foster cooperation has been described as “one of the initiatives around the Centenary of the evangelization in the area”
“Last long weekend (Thursday to Sunday) we held the first workshop for medical staff and traditional healers of our two parishes, this is one more initiative around the Centenary of the evangelization in this area, trying to reach out to those estranged from the Church, those at the peripheries, according to Pope Francis”, Fr. Alberto narrated.
Fr. Alberto, the assistant Parish Priest of Ave Maria Parish and St. Thomas stated that the aim of organizing and bringing together the health professionals and traditional healers was to “discuss together how to. improve the health of the inhabitants of this area”, he continued “until last weekend they had been despising one another, and the worst affected were the sick people themselves, so we thought that cooperation among them could replace animosity and prejudice”.
Fr. Alberto a member of the Missionary Community of Saint Paul the Apostle noted that 24 people attended the workshop and the dialogue and mutual learning that took place during the workshop enabled the two groups to appreciate each other’s contribution, and they were able to work together and devise strategies for cooperation.
“The dialogue during the three days was edifying and respectful. Both groups learned much from each other”, he added, “The first positive fact is that 11 of them overcame their long-standing suspicion of the church and responded to the invitation and the second positive and unexpected outcome was the appreciation shown by the health professionals, both from the government and the church facilities, towards the contribution of the traditional healers”, Fr. Alberto explained.
He added that during the workshop dramas were performed and distribution of certificates to showcase the benefit of such collaboration to the wider community.
During an online interview with the Rurugene Online Newsletter, the Spanish-born priest disclosed that “Due to the 100-year history since the first Comboni missionaries arrived here, traditional healers were weary of the Church’s intentions towards them. In the past, their chams were burnt, and from the pulpit, they were signaled as superstitious magicians, who terrorized the people, that is why only 10 of them attended the seminar, and others were enquiring how it was and in 2024 we will organize another combined workshop for all the health workers, and the absentees said this time they will attend.
Fr. Alberto further said, “We are inviting all of them to come and reflect together on how to cooperate to improve the health of our people, using their talents and resources to that end. Therefore, we are encouraging those who practice black magic to leave this practice behind and seek God’s blessings”.
2023
Pope Francis Calls for a Merciful and Hospitable Church; at the Opening Mass for Synod
By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
At the opening of the 16th General Synod Assembly, Pope Francis underscored that the primary task of the Synod Assembly is to refocus their gaze on God and to be a Church that looks mercifully upon humanity.
“The primary task of the Synod: to refocus our gaze on God, to be a Church that looks mercifully upon humanity”. He continued, “A united and fraternal Church – or at least one that seeks to be united and fraternal – that listens and dialogues; a Church that blesses and encourages, that helps those seeking the Lord, that benevolently shakes the indifferent, that initiates paths to introduce people to the beauty of faith. A Church centered on God and, therefore, not divided within and never harsh outside”.
In his homily, he reminded the participants that “they are not there to hold a parliamentary meeting but to walk together with the gaze of Jesus, who blesses the Father and welcomes those who are weary and oppressed”.
The Holy Father noted that despite Jesus experiencing rejection and seeing so much hardness of heart around him, he did not become imprisoned by disappointment, he did not become bitter or silence His praise, therefore with this gaze “Lord also invites us to be a Church that, with a joyful spirit, contemplates God’s action and discerns the present. And amid the sometimes turbulent waves of our time, we do not lose heart, do not seek ideological loopholes, do not barricade ourselves behind acquired convictions, do not yield to convenient solutions, and do not let the world dictate the agenda. This is the spiritual wisdom of the Church, summarized with serenity by Saint John XXIII: “It is necessary, before all else, that the Church should never depart from the sacred patrimony of truth received from the Fathers; but at the same time, she must ever look to the present, to the new conditions and new forms of life introduced into the modern world, which have opened new avenues to the Catholic apostolate”.
Reflecting on the welcoming gaze of Jesus, Pope Francis said that Jesus is inviting us to be a “Church that is hospitable, not with closed doors”, saying, “In a complex time like ours, new cultural and pastoral challenges emerge, requiring a warm and kind inner attitude to confront them without fear. In the synodal dialogue, in this beautiful “journey in the Holy Spirit” that we undertake together as the People of God, we can grow in unity and friendship with the Lord to face today’s challenges with His gaze; to become, a Church that “becomes dialogue”. A Church that has a “gentle yoke” (cf. Mt 11:30), which does not impose burdens and repeats to all: “Come, weary and burdened, come, you who have lost your way or feel far away, come, you who have closed the doors to hope: the Church is here for you!” The Church with doors opens to all, all, all”.
He called upon all the participants to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis, “Let us walk together: humble, fervent, and joyful. Let us walk in the footsteps of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Saint of poverty and peace, the “madman of God” who bore the stigmata of Jesus in his body and, to be clothed with Him, stripped himself of everything”.
Pope Francis further said that just like St. Bonaventure tells us that the Crucified once said “Go and repair my Church, so the Synod also serves as a reminder that “our Mother Church always needs purification, needs to be “repaired”, because we are all a People of forgiven sinners – both things: forgiven sinners – always in need of returning to the source that is Jesus and placing ourselves on the paths of the Spirit to reach everyone with His Gospel”.
Admiring the life of St. Francis of Assis, the Holy Father said, “In a time of great struggles and divisions, between temporal power and religious power, between the institutional Church and heretical currents, between Christians and other believers, did not criticize and did not attack anyone, embracing only the weapons of the Gospel, namely humility and unity, prayer, and charity. Let us do the same! Humility and unity, prayer and charity”.
The Pope reminds that the Synod is a place of grace and communion, guided by the Holy Spirit, and encourages everyone to trust in God and be open to His action within the Church.
2023
King Atoroba Rikito Peni Announces Establishment of Royal Palace in Bazungua Payam
His Majesty King Atoroba Rikito Peni in his visit over the weekend to Riimenze, made a pronouncement of Bazungua Payam as an area where his Palace will be established.
King Atoroba together with some elders from the Kingdom assessed areas of Bazungua Payam and identified verse land where the Palace is expected to be constructed, although it’s not clear when the construction process will start.
Speaking at the site His Majesty King Atoroba Peni Rikito Gbudue lauded the people of Bazunguwa Payam under Yambio County for accepting the Kingdom Palace to be established in their area, citing that these will open the way for development in the Payam.
“You people should be aware that the kingdom is coming with a lot of changes such as changing some names of the areas, the introduction of other tribes that may be willing to work with us, burning of witchcraft, bad culture, dressing code among youth, laziness as well”.
Rikito further called upon people addicted to alcohol to refrain from acting and embark on farming to produce more food.
On the other hand, the paramount chief of Bazungua Payam Mathew Nvuru said that his people are very happy with the decision taken by the Kingdom and elders to locate the headquarters of the Palace in the area.
“We from Bazungua are happy and we are ready to support the palace headquarters programs anytime because now we are the blessed child whom our father is coming to stay near our house, we need to own the kingdom by supporting it with Truth not ziréé” (gossip).
Nvuru assured the king of their readiness to start opening the roads and clear all around the allocated area of the palace headquarters voluntarily as part of their support towards the kingdom of Azande people.
Bazungua Payam is one of the 6 Payams under Yambio County located in the East along Maridi Juba road, and it is 7 Kilometers away from Yambio Central Town.
2023
Tambura County Faithful Unite in Prayer for Upcoming Peace Conference
By Waure Eddy
Faithful from different denominations in Tambura County have launched prayers in preparation for the peace conference scheduled for December 2023. The faithful gathered on Tuesday at St Mary Parish Tambura to conduct prayers and ask God to restore permanent peace in Tabmura.
The Chairperson of the Inter-Church Committee in Tambura Rv. Charles from the Lutheran Church said that the aim of organizing the payers is to embrace peace, unity, and forgiveness among the local communities to pave the way for the scheduled peace conference.
Rv. Charles noted that the peace conference is expected to discuss the root cause of the conflict that claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of others.
“As we are waiting for the peace conference in Tambura County this year, we have to start to prepare ourselves now by asking our beloved God for forgiveness which allow us to attend the peace conference with confidence since a lot has been happening for the last two year in Tambura people, we need peace”.
On the other hand, the Commissioner of Tambura County Hon. Mathew Mabenge, applauded the Inter-Church Committee for the initiative and expressed his support towards the process.
“If I commissioner influencing the conflicts in Tambura, God will revile everything, nothing can be hidden in this world, all that is happening in Tambura County will be reviled by God during peace conference if anyone here among us were in the action happen, he/she and you know the root cause God will punish all of us who were involved”, Mabenge stated.
He called on the tribes residing in Tambura County to embrace peace and unity as the County nears the planned peace conference, he retreated his government’s commitment to bring sustainable peace in the county.
“Peace starts right from our hearts and moves out to others; through our understanding, we will develop faster than other countries”.
The Commissioner further urged all the tribes in Tambura County to work together as one family for the betterment of the communities.
The launching of peace conference prayers brought together different denominations operating in Tambura County to join hands to pray for everlasting peace in the area.