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Church at Mabok |
The Diocese of Aweil is a missionary diocese of the Anglican Catholic Church
located in Southern Sudan near the border with Darfur. The diocese was received into the Anglican Catholic Church in October 2007 by Archbishop Mark D. Haverland. The Bishop of the Diocese is Bishop Wilson Garang. He is of the generation of “lost boys” of Sudan and became a Christian when he was living as a refugee in Ethiopia. In 1992 he returned to his family village of Adoor in Sudan and started his ministry. He currently has 15,000 members in the diocese and it is growing daily. The diocese covers a large territory in the state of Barh El Ghazal of which Aweil is the capital. Distances are very great because there are very few roads and fewer vehicles. There is no access to many of the areas of the diocese during the rainy season (July through November).
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Donkey cart with water |
Southern Sudan has recently won semi-autonomy from the government of Northern Sudan. It is desperately underdeveloped and people are doing what they can to overcome generations of war, famine, and disease. The parishioners of the diocese are subsistence farmers living on the sorghum (millet) each family grows. They have no electricity, no running water, no infrastructure and very limited and minimal medical care. Southern Sudan has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world. Every year many in the diocese die due to malnutrition, water borne diseases, malaria and other treatable medical conditions. They are also fighting to become and remain Christian in an area of the world pressured by Arabic language and Islam.
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Makeshift housing after the 2008 floods |
Bishop Wilson Garang prays and works for literacy and self-sufficiency for the people of his diocese. They are most grateful for the assistance we give. It means so much to them to know people in the outside world care. If you can offer assistance, The Missionary Society of the Anglican Catholic Church is helping the people of the diocese by raising funds to buy a vehicle for use in the diocese and to provide medical assistance. There is 900+ orphans within the diocese and would be grateful for assistance with housing and education for them. |
