Our newsletters and visit reports

In addition to the latest quarterly letter, you will also find on this page the archives of past letters, downloadable in pdf format (Acrobat), the latest visit reports from our director and the external evaluation reports. 

LETTER TO FRIENDS OF SISTER EMMANUELLE

« (…) I was called to the five continents to respond to the dramas of poverty, violence and war, where man is a wolf to his fellow man. But everywhere I met young go-getters, bursting with dynamism; they never admitted defeat, no matter how horrible the tragedies. » (Sister Emmanuelle)

Dear Friends,

Before giving you some news about our programs, I share with you this moving testimony, which gives an idea of ​​the hell experienced by some South Sudanese and the impact of your support for our actions in this wounded country.

“My name is Lodu Thomas Loku, I am 27 years old. I am a South Sudanese born in Yei River County, in Central Equatoria State.

At the age of 10, I was abducted from my village by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the Ugandan rebel group at the time. They forcibly recruited me to make me a child soldier, participate in their terrorist operations in the equatorial forests and carry out all sorts of dirty missions. Under their control for ten years, I suffered brutal exploitation, including torture. I saw many inhumane acts perpetrated in front of me. I survived, without hope nor any prospect for the future.

In 2017, I was saved by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which freed me from the clutches of the ARL and kept me for four years, first in Uganda, then in the DRC and finally in South Sudan, in Yei [150km south of Juba].
I went through a long period of depression. The ICRC did its best to heal me from my psychological trauma.
I thought about my family in need and felt helpless.

God supported me and three years ago, I was able to visit my family in the village once: my father had died and my mother was living with my little brother, with no one to help her.
Then the ICRC brought me to Juba. I found myself at 24 in the capital, with no means of supporting myself. I had only completed the first two years of primary school. The ICRC asked me what I wanted to do to improve my life: I told them I was interested in a vocational training program. My goal was to quickly find a job to help my mother who was stuck in the village.

At the end of 2022, I came across information about the Lologo Vocational Training Center, run by the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Society, Juba [SVDP]. I applied for the Construction training and was admitted for the 2023 session. I graduated with very good results: as I was among the top 20 graduates in my section, I received in April 2024 a toolbox with all the equipment needed for construction work.

Today, thanks to the skills I acquired, I am doing well working here and there: I earn about $15 a month, and I was able to bring my mother and brother to Juba, where they live with me now!

I am very grateful to God for the light brought into my life by the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Society and its supporters: you have given me a second chance, the unexpected possibility of becoming a human being of value like the others, after having lived like a wild beast in the bush during my childhood.”

Thanks to your donations, the trainees of the latest section created, Refrigeration, now benefit from premises adapted to their theoretical and practical learning in the beautiful two-storey building recently built. In addition, two graduates of the Construction training and eight trainees from the 2023 session participated in the first stages of the work last year!

But as you know, dear Friends, we are not counting only on your generosity: to ensure the sustainability of the development programs of our local partner, SVDP, we help it to develop Income Generating Programs.

Thus, the new poultry unit in Nyariwa, also completed this year, has started its activity well. The laying hens are doing well, without major cases of infections or common diseases that often affect chicks. The relatively low mortality rate recorded on the 1700 chicks imported from Kampala testifies to the better adaptation of this breed to local climatic conditions.

130 fruit tree seedlings have been planted on the farm: banana, orange, lemon and mango trees.

Since the beginning of September, the guest house restaurant has been used (in the absence of guests of course) for a clientele both on site (the teams, trainees and pupils of the Lologo Center) and residing in the neighborhood.

As for the Be In Hope street children program in Rajaf, it welcomed at the beginning of the year 8 new boys whom SVDP was able to enroll in the first three primary levels of the village school.
If you would like to help the alumni of the program who wish to continue their studies, know that through our sponsorship program, 250 CHF can ensure the schooling of a boy for one year.

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In Haiti, the project manager, Jean Claude François, wrote to us from Hinche: “The regional director of Public Health in Hinche recently died of kidney failure. This doctor had supported the recognition of our dispensaries and the authorization of our herbal medicines. Following his death, a delegation from the city asked me if I could use a room in our city dispensary to set up a dialysis center. This center would operate for five years, while we wait another space to be built. We accepted: this will help relieve kidney patients in the region, about ten of whom have died in the last five years.”

Many thanks for your donations which have such a positive impact on the lives of so many underprivileged people!

Patrick Bittar
Director