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About South Sudanese Friends International
OUR MISSION
To share the love of Jesus Christ with the people of southern Sudan in a way that leads them towards peaceful and self-reliant living from the grassroots level, so that available resources will meet the needs of their communities.
WHAT WE DO
Peacemaking - SSFI works in Sudan at grassroots, national, and inter-national levels to initiate and encourage peacemaking. Wal and Julia Duany specialize in working behind the scenes, bringing people together for talks, and helping them find common ground for reconciliation.
Advocacy for self-governance - SSFI helps people in Sudanese communities learn to support one another and live together in peace by teaching and applying principles of pluralism, democracy, and respect for human rights within the context of the Christian faith and the Sudanese culture.
Community Development - SSFI conducts self-reliance programs in Sudan to help families both individually and collectively to solve their own problems. SSFI has distributed seeds for home gardens, provided fishing nets, and taught community health workers and mothers ways to improve nutrition, hygiene, and water purification.
WHY WE DO IT
War in Sudan
- War has killed more than two million people since 1983, mostly civilians from the south.
- Wal and Julia Duany, citizens of Sudan, attempt to promote peacemaking, reconciliation, and unity of purpose among the southern Sudanese.
- The southern Sudanese people want the northern-dominated political machine to recognize their desire for self-rule.
- The leadership struggle among the southern elite has created south-south conflict between the Dinka and the Nuer peoples and also between the Nuer clans.
- The immediate challenge is to end the south-south conflict and bring peace to the citizens in this war-torn land.
The Grassroots Peace Movement
- In 1999, the New Sudan Council of Churches facilitated the Wunlit Dinka-Nuer Peace Conference which produced a Peace Accord that is gaining wide acceptance among the southern Sudanese people.
- Without immediate follow up, the Accord will fall apart.
PLANS
Our current work includes
HISTORY
South Sudanese Friends International (SSFI) is the outgrowth of the vision, scholarship, and professional experience of Drs. Wal and Julia Duany, citizens of southern Sudan now living in the United States. Wal and Julia laid the groundwork for SSFI during their peace-making mission to southern Sudan in 1993. They traveled to the cities, the refugee camps, the towns, and the remote areas. They saw that nine years of civil war had all but destroyed Sudan. They heard stories of overwhelming hardship and horror. And surprisingly, they heard ideas about the future.
Wal and Julia returned to the United States and founded SSFI in 1994. They firmly believe that the best way to help the people of southern Sudan is to involve local people in projects that use their talents, preserve their dignity, and encourage self-reliant living. SSFI’s goal is to work with existing women’s groups and churches to establish locally managed multi-service training centers.
The centers will recruit trained native Sudanese to provide medical outreach programs, basic education seminars, and vocational training. The trainers will multiply their effectiveness by training others.
In several communities in southern Sudan, SSFI has initiated self-help programs. These programs provide people with the tools they need to provide for themselves.
MORE INFORMATION
For more information on SSFI, you can
- print our fact sheet and brochure
- view our 2003 annual report
- explore this web site
- contact us
To view and print the fact sheet and brochure, you will need Acrobat (also known as Adobe) Reader. Click on the button at the right to download a free copy.
NON-AFFILIATION
Though we are guided by Christian principles, SSFI is not affiliated with any religious or political entity and offers hope to people in need irrespective of race, culture, or religion.
NON-PROFIT
South Sudanese Friends International is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation founded in 1994 to promote peace, justice, and democracy in Sudan. Our activities are funded by contributions from individuals, religious organizations, and civic groups that share our love for the Sudanese people.
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS