Moving Forwards

Thank you, trustees of Together for Sudan for appointing me as your new Director. It is a great privilege to be asked to continue the remarkable work which Lillian Craig Harris and Alan Goulty have done in developing life changing projects for women in Sudan and South Sudan.

During the next two months I will be working closely with Lilian and Alan to prepare for a visit to our staff in both countries. In April we will travel  together to introduce me as the new director to our project leaders.

In the future, I see the role of Together for Sudan to be a partnership between generous donors, workers who are making things happen locally and the people who need help most. Developing this partnership in education will give us a renewed sense of purpose, building on the firm foundations of the past and responding positively to the challenges of the future.

This partnership will become even stronger as we listen carefully to the women who need us, try to remove the barriers to progress and plan quickly and act generously. Our first task will be to ensure that the projects which are running well are properly funded and well supported  in difficult times.

Through the generosity of our donors, there is so much going on which is life changing and my hope is that we continue to stay close to the women who are in need of educational support.

On our return from our visit to Sudan and South Sudan , Lillian and I will together write a news letter to introduce you to our friends in Africa and the hopes that we and they have for the future. We want to share more stories with you where Together has made a difference.

I have been a teacher and head teacher in challenging schools where pupils have needed education most and without education, talent would have been wasted.  I have seen first hand how education opens doors and makes a difference. As your new Director of Together for Sudan it is my dream that every education project and every Together for Sudan scholar should be Hopeful and I want Together for Sudan and our Partnership to be Hopeful in all that we do.

Thank you for your support and I look forward in Hope as working Together we grow stronger.

International Woman's Day

Neimat speaking at the British Embassy 

Together for Sudan was well represented at the celebration of International Women’s Day organized this month by the British Embassy in Khartoum.  Country Coordinator, Mrs Neimat Hussein, gave the first speech, focusing on the literacy teachers’ training organized by Together for Sudan and funded by the British Embassy.  She also gave an interview to a local TV station.

Fatihia, Mona, Eman, and Muahib,  literacy teachers attended he celebration

Five of the trainees also attended and briefed the participants on their experience of the training.
Please consider supporting our Women's Literacy Project, to learn more click here.

A Trip to Juba

During an early October visit to Sudan  Alan and I make a quick trip to Juba, now the capital of South Sudan.   Two of our substantive staff from Khartoum, including  Deputy Country Coordinator Victor, had moved to Juba and we hoped to check out how feasible it might be to expand TfS work to South Sudan. We were impressed by the vitality of the new state and the need for literacy training for women, HIV/AIDS Awareness outreach and other work  which would fit our projects.  Although TfS has at present no funding to begin working in Juba we would welcome all donations to do so!


Lillian Craig Harris

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SUDAN AT A TIME OF GREAT STRESS AND GREATER HOPE

This is a difficult time for everyone in Sudan as well as for Sudanese abroad and people who know and love the Sudanese – northerners as well as southerners, easterners and westerners. Understanding and compassion is needed for all Sudanese as the referendum voting continues and as they face a new and uncertain future in its aftermath.


There are many concerns but among them is the plight of thousands of southerners who have congregated on the outskirts of Khartoum in the belief that their journey south would be facilitated by government, international or church efforts. This is not apparently happening sufficiently and major health and security issues could develop.

Together for Sudan has lost two of our five key colleagues in the Khartoum office. One hopes to return after the referendum but may not be able to do so. Nonetheless, we are determined to carry on as a charity dedicated to helping, in particular, women and children who are marginalized and in need of education. But major adjustments seem to lie ahead.

TfS remains dedicated to Sudan and to its multi-cultured and worthy people. At this difficult time of enormous change we hold hope for the Sudanese people and ask God to guide and protect them.

May peace and justice prevail,

Lillian Craig Harris

Director, Together for Sudan

A Christmas Exchange

Lillian the Director of Together for Sudan sent a Christmas message to the hardworking TfS Centre staff. Read it and the heart warming reply below.

Dear Neimat,


Alan and I ask that you give our greetings and the hope for blessings at Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our Together for Sudan colleagues, including those in the Nuba Mountains. This has been an extraordinary year filled with opportunities and challenges, problems and achievements. The biggest achievement is that we are still going and still going strong. The US government has, for example, just agreed that we may begin fundraising here. Given all the difficulties and opposition which we have faced, this seems something of a miracle. And I am deeply grateful to you all for your ongoing loyalty to Together for Sudan during this time of tension and financial difficulty.

On behalf of the Together for Sudan trustees I send you our love and greetings and much gratitude for the dedicated work which TfS colleagues in both Khartoum and Kadugli have provided. Without your cooperation and hard work Together for Sudan would no longer exist. Relying on our Sudanese colleagues we can continue to reach out to people who are displaced, marginalized, illiterate and, in some cases, needing hope to keep on living. It is a blessing and a privilege for us to work with you and through you with them.

May God continue to bless and keep you in 2011. This coming period in Sudan’s history will be difficult for us all, in particular for those of you on the front line of caring and helping. Be assured of our prayers and may God give your strength and wisdom. It is my hope and expectation that the work of Together for Sudan will enable more people to understand that Muslims and Christians can successfully work together in service to people in need. This is a path to understanding, reconciliation and friendship which will help make our world a better place for us all. I ask God to protect you all at this time of tension and change in Sudan.

Thank you, Neimat, for sharing this message with all our colleagues in Khartoum and Kadugli.
With much appreciation for your leadership,

                                                                    Lillian
 
Dear Lillian,


Many thanks for your wishes to staff for Christmas and New Year. We return the blessing wishes to you and Alan hoping for a brighter future to Together for Sudan under your guidance and leadership.

It is good news that the US government has agreed that TfS may begin fundraising in USA and we pray that God will give us all the strength to continue supporting the work of TfS and keep us here all safe in this difficult time of stress and complexity.

We are all appreciating your encouraging words in this letter and feeling that there are people who care after us, pray for us and wish all the best for us. The staff felt happy when I read your message to them. Your words had a great comfortable impact on the staff including Ibrahim in Kadugli when I passed some words from the message to him through the telephone.

Thank you very much for this message which comes at a time when the TfS staff and all people in Sudan need such spiritual support.

I am attaching our Christmas card wishing you and Alan all the best for 2011.

Regards,   Neimat -- with greetings from all the staff