Sr. Scholasticah Nganda from Kenya and currently serving in South Sudan, invites us in this article “to stretch your imagination and visualize yourself as a messenger of hope in the midst of turmoil.”

South Sudan

Extracts
This reflection shares how my community and colleagues and I try to keep hope alive in circumstances of utter helplessness and vulnerability.

When I volunteered for the Solidarity with South Sudan Mission… I was not aware that tens of thousands of South Sudanese had been killed while millions of them are living in neighbouring countries…

Gaining independence for South Sudan in 2011 did not usher in political stability. Shocking and paradoxical, isn’t it?

Many families in South Sudan are headed by women since men are absent. With absent husbands most women live by their wits, tending small farms, minding their children and running small businesses.

I have not found it easy to live imagining that a gun could be fired at me any time, day or night. Living in South Sudan, it is not uncommon to hear gunshots coming from all directions.

Sometimes hope has been ignited in me and in those I serve. Moments of my attentive listening to people who need help have enabled the other person to become aware of their inner strengths…

I have found it challenging to work with traumatized people with no personal supervision of my own.

In my own helplessness and vulnerability in my ministry in South Sudan, I have leaned on my faith in a loving and caring God. In God, my energy to serve has been affirmed and reinforced.

As a missionary in South Sudan I have learned to take in the pain of my people as they narrate their horrific stories, narratives that sometimes tore my heart.

I have been left in awe by their resilience.

To read the article in full, please click here.

Scholasticah Nganda
Kenyan Province