The Portal August 2017 | Page 20

THE P
RTAL

Aid to the Church in Need

August 2017 Page 20

Precious people of Sudan are loved by God

Murcadha O ’ Flaherty relates Fr Daniele Castura ’ s story

Despite severe poverty in Sudan , Christian children are being supported by the Church in their faith and education . Fr Daniele Castura , an Italian priest living in Sudan for more than 10 years , spoke to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need about working with the people . He said : “ It is an extremely difficult pastoral field we work in here as priests .”

In Sudan , 90 percent are Sunni Muslims but those from the Nuba Mountains are Christians . Acknowledging the hardships his displaced parishioners endure because of poverty , Fr Daniele said : “ They are totally uprooted people . The parishioners we are dealing with here are for the most part former country dwellers from the Nuba Mountains in the south of Sudan .” Fr Daniele added : “ Their lives there were marked by the customs and traditions of their villages . But here , far from their homeland , they are completely lost .”
Having once lived as cattle farmers , the men now struggle to provide for their families as day labourers ., Fr Daniele said : “ Many of them simply drift around idly when they don ‘ t have any work . In their traditional view of themselves , they are herders and warriors .” He added : “ But since there is no fighting and no herding to be done here , all the work falls on the shoulders of the womenfolk .”
Fr Daniele ’ s focus is developing the faith of every Christian in his parish . He said : “ I want to show people , above all , in spite of their poverty , that God loves them – and indeed each of them individually .” He has cause for hope as “ the people come in large numbers to church . On Sundays our church is full .” He said : “ It is extremely important that the church should be a beautiful and worthy place . It is undoubtedly the most beautiful place in the lives of these people , since they otherwise know only their own poverty-stricken huts and homes .”
But he is concerned about the children ’ s educational and emotional development . He said : “ Many of the children would spend the whole day roaming around the streets if they didn ‘ t come to us in school . Their parents show little concern for them . Attention , and even tenderness , is something most of them have never experienced , and above all not from their fathers .” He added : “[ W ] e scarcely have money for teachers
Fr Daniele with pupils at St Kizito School , Sudan
and books , and nor do our pupils either … However modest our means are here , without education the children will have no chance of a better life .”
Fr Daniele finally spoke about the growth of schools in the Muslim-majority capital . He said : “ Our schools gain us acceptance among the majority Muslim community , and above all with the state . It is strongly Islamic , and yet , because of the rapid population growth , the number of people moving into the towns and the limited public resources [ mean ] it is overstretched and unable to provide enough schools . Hence it is happy to see the Church involved .” He added : “ As a Church we maintain almost 20 public schools in Khartoum city alone , and permission to build schools – unlike for churches – is something that is always granted to us .”
ACN is continuing to help Catholic schools in Sudan , including Saint Kizto School in Dar El Salam , in the north of Khartoum where Fr Daniele works with the faithful .
Aid to the Church in Need - www . acnuk . org contact : acn @ acnuk . org or call 020 8642 8668