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Greetings!
According to ancient belief, the Roman god Janus had two heads--one looking forward, the other backward - and he gave his name to the first month of the year. January is a natural time for looking at what 2009 held for all of us and what lies ahead in 2010.
For Mercy Beyond Borders, 2009 marked a time of wonderful growth as we moved from just under 250 donors in 2008 to well over 800 donors in 2009. This surge of support across the country even before our 2nd birthday as an organization is surely reason to celebrate: it means we have resources for significantly expanding our work among displaced women and girls in Sudan over the coming months.
Mercy Beyond Borders is poised this month to inaugurate the GO (Girls'Opportunity) Scholarships for top academic achievers finishing 8th grade in Sudan, and the WE (Women Educated) Scholarships for those finishing 12th grade and able to continue on to teaching or nursing training. We are now interviewing Sudanese candidates in Nairobi to supervise these MBB scholarships awards and monitor the progress of the recipients year-by-year. In the years ahead, as revenues permit, MBB expects to offer scholarships to girls at more and more schools throughout Southern Sudan.
Thanks to you, 2010 promises to be a Happier New Year for many Sudanese women and girls. May you, too, share in this joy!
Gratefully,
Sister Marilyn Lacey
P.S. Many thanks for all the kind expressions of support I received after my recent surgery. My medical prognosis now is entirely hopeful-so good, in fact, that I do not even need chemotherapy. I am delighted to be back fulltime with MBB. | |
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Did You Know? |
Sudan is a signatory to the African Union's Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, which under Article 5, prohibits and condemns all forms of harmful practices which negatively affect the human rights of women and which are contrary to recognized international standards. Despite this, the Khartoum government this past July arrested and publicly flogged several women (including 3 from Southern Sudan) for wearing trousers.
- New York Times, Sept 7, 2009
Only 15% of girls in Southern Sudan attend school for more than 2 years.
- New Sudan Centre for Statistics and Evaluation (NSCSE) and UNICEF, "Towards a Baseline: Best Estimates of Social Indicators for Southern Sudan," May 2004, p.62. Statistic based on NSCSE and UNICEF calculations of illiteracy rate of girls aged 15-24.
A girl in Southern Sudan is more likely to die at childbirth than to finish primary school...[C]ultural factors driven mainly by attitudes and traditions leading to early marriages and pregnancies are some of the leading contributors to girls dropping out of school.
- "Overcoming Barriers to Girls' Education in Southern Sudan," posted July 8, 2009 by Edward Carwardine at www.unicef.org |
| Read Our Blogs |
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Mercy Beyond Borders blog provides a weekly commentary from MBB's founder, Marilyn Lacey, rsm, on MBB activities at home and abroad.
Mercy in Sudan blog chronicles the experiences of Kathleen Connolly, rsm, who moved to Africa in Jan 2009. She is living at St Bakhita School in Sudan. |
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Ambassador Of The Month
 Bob Begley, former President of the Hotel Council of San Francisco and legendary for knowing everyone in "The City," has long been involved in supporting many charitable organizations. In 2009 he added Mercy Beyond Borders to the top of his list by making monthly contributions: "Who wouldn't want to be part of this mission? I'm impressed by the way MBB couples compassion with such practical action in helping women and girls emerging from war," says Bob. "And speaking as a businessman, I can attest that MBB is really a well-run organization!" |
Archived Newsletters
You can find previous issues of this newsletter in the below links.
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One of the blessings of working with displaced persons is the inspiration you receive from the survivors you meet, and how that changes your perspective on your own life. Consider these two individuals whom even war could not defeat:
 Sunday Adelino was born on Christmas Eve 1989 in Torit, Southern Sudan. While Christian choirs 'round the world sang "Unto us a child is given...," celebrating the Prince of Peace in lovely liturgies, Sunday was delivered into the chaos of a country riven by civil war. When she was 5, the war killed her father and caused her mother to flee with her family into the bush. Eventually they came to Narus, where they discovered-miracle of miracles-a school for girls. Sunday joined the other girls (27 of them) as they met for class beneath the shade of one tree, dispersing when bombs fell. Her favorite subjects, she says, were physics and history and business. Sunday stuck with it, and graduated from St Bakhita Secondary School in 2008. What happened then? Her mother became ill with a kidney disease, so Sunday lives in their shared mud-and-thatch hut, caring for her mother and her six siblings and growing maize and sorghum in the tiny adjacent lot. Sunday still clings to the dream of becoming a teacher, though she has not yet had any chance for higher education.
Mercy Beyond Borders is working to find a college placement in 2010 for Sunday and several of her fellow graduates.
 Bishop Paride Taban, the first Catholic Bishop of Torit Diocese, has done more to advance women's rights than anyone in Southern Sudan. "We've been educating boys for fifty years," he told Sister Marilyn in 1998, "and all we get is war. We need to educate girls!" In the midst of the war, with almost no resources to deal with the nearly one million displaced persons in his diocese, and bucking a decidedly patriarchal society, Taban started St. Bakhita Girls Primary School in 1997. He chartered a bush plane and flew from outpost to outpost, talking to families and begging them to allow one girl per family to attend the school. Now it serves 830 girls from two dozen tribes-all of them learning in English and forming friendships across traditional tribal barriers. Taban's own house was bombed more than once by the Khartoum government during the war, and he himself spent 100 days in prison. He remains a voice for peace; even now, he works relentlessly for reconciliation.
Since retiring as Bishop of the Diocese, Taban has started Kuron Peace Village in a remote corner of Eastern Equatoria, S. Sudan. He envisions a community where Arabs and Blacks, Muslims and Christians can live together in harmony-and (perhaps even more startling) a place where women's rights will be recognized and honored. To that end he once gathered a group of local warriors and flew them to Kenya to show them that women there went to school, drove cars, held jobs, and even taught at universities. The warriors were stunned. Taban insists that education of girls-which of course requires postponing early marriages-- will be the path to lasting peace for Sudan.
Mercy Beyond Borders is currently funding year-long pre-nursing internships for four young Sudanese women at the medical clinic started in Kuron Peace Village by Bishop Taban. |
Fostering Hope in Sudan
Mercy Beyond Borders knows the risks of working in Sudan. Just look at what happened in 2009 to three of four Sisters with whom we partner there: one was bitten by a scorpion in her hut; one was seriously ill for a month with malaria; and another was shot in the leg by bandits who ambushed the truck in which she was riding. Mercy Beyond Borders also knows that some of its projects may never succeed, or might be destroyed if fighting flares up again. This does not stop us from working with the women and girls of Sudan, who struggle with obstacles and danger on a daily basis. MBB is committed to bringing hope to the Sudanese by our very connection with them. Our choice to partner with them means they have not been forgotten. Our being there signals to them that the outside world remembers them and that resources will be coming their way for building a future.  One of the reasons that MBB gives priority to the education of girls is because education cannot be taken away. Once a girl is literate and learned and aware of her own talents, she has been empowered. She will value education for her own children--and slowly, slowly, the culture will change and some day all girls will have the same chance she did. By supporting the 830 girls at St Bakhita School and now funding scholarship programs for the most capable 8th grade and 12th grade graduates, MBB contributes mightily not only to the transformation of young women but also to the future stability of S. Sudan. |
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You're receiving this email because of your interest in MERCY BEYOND BORDERS. MBB was founded in 2008 by three colleagues-- a Sister of Mercy, a university professor, and a medical doctor--determined to improve the lives of displaced women and children living in extreme poverty. We are a 501(c)(3) registered in California and committed to linking U.S. resources with displaced women & children overseas. We are currently targeting Southern Sudan, which has one-quarter of the world's displaced peoples.
Please feel free to forward this to others who may be interested in hearing about us.
Sincerely,
Sister Marilyn Lacey
Executive Director
Donations to support the work of Mercy Beyond Borders can be made online by clicking on the button above or sent to Mercy Beyond Borders, 1885 De La Cruz Blvd #101, Santa Clara CA 95050-3000. |
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