The Anglican Alliance, in partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development, supported a team of three accompaniers to visit the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and their outreach agency the South Sudanese Development and Relief Agency in July to enhance and strengthen their capacity in responding to ongoing struggles across the country. The visit took place under the Partners in Resilience and Response initiative.
The Episcopal Church in South Sudan (ECSS) and the South Sudanese Development and Relief Agency (SSUDRA) had identified a need for capacity and organisational support in order to help them continue to support the most vulnerable in their communities.
Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, the Most Revd Justin Badi Arama commented on the accompaniment: ‘It is true that SSUDRA is sick, we are happy that you have come to diagnose and prescribe the remedies for healing, we thank you.’
During the visit, the accompaniers attended a series of meetings with Patrick Mulu, General Manager of SSUDRA, SSUDRA staff, board members, local partner agencies, funding agencies, and other members of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. Meetings focused on finance, administrative procedures, governance and project management. Their aim was to provide recommendations to strengthen existing procedures and put new structures in place to create sustainability and enable SSUDRA to maximise its capacity into the future. Accompanier Robert Hayward, said:
‘I look forward with confidence to the time when the PiRR accompaniment will have helped SSUDRA to even more effectively support vulnerable communities within South Sudan through the Episcopal Church.’
Accompaniers Florence Achapa from Kenya and Revd Carlos Respeito from Mozambique had both completed the Partners in Resilience and Response (PiRR) Global Resilience Course. Following on from this they had trained as accompaniers to work alongside local churches to help build their resilience and disaster response. They commented on their experience:
‘This accompanying visit has been enlightening for me. I’ve learned more than I expected, and I’m returning with joy, knowing that our contributions will be helpful to SSUDRA at this time. I eagerly anticipate witnessing a more robust and resilient SSUDRA—one that all partners can rely on and trust, and that the people of South Sudan can depend on in the future.’ Revd Carlos Respeito.
‘I thank the Anglican Alliance and Episcopal Relief & Development for Partners in Resilience and Response (PIRR) accompaniment. For SSUDRA’s accompaniment I am happy that the empowering support did not only benefit SSUDRA but also ECSS as confessed by some of the members.’ Florence Achapa.
In the video below, Patrick Mulu, General Manager of SSUDRA comments on the accompaniment:
The visit was co-ordinated through the Anglican Alliance’s Partners in Resilience and Response (PiRR) programme of work in partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development. PiRR includes an accompaniment component, whereby trained volunteers can be deployed to accompany churches in other parts of the Communion (always and only at their request) to provide specific help to build their capacity. The vision of PiRR is for every Anglican church to have the ability to prepare for, and respond effectively to, emergencies. The accompaniment programme takes place on a regional level and provides additional support for the local church, clergy, parishes, dioceses and staff to build their resilience.
South Sudan is in its twelfth year of independence and has been confronted by ongoing challenges including conflict, violence, natural disasters, economic instability and political crises. These issues have caused widespread extreme poverty, violence, food insecurity and displacement. An estimated 7.1 million people required food assistance between April and July 2024 (Integrated Phase Classification).
We hope that the accompaniment will provide a strong foundation on which SSUDRA will be able to build its capacity in responding to crises across the country. The accompaniers will be following up with a series of online meetings to provide ongoing support in implementing their recommendations. We look forward to continuing to work alongside ECSS and SSUDRA to support their vital work into the future.
