Maridi Diocese is situated due west of Juba, the main provincial town in Southern Sudan and shares a southern border with DR Congo.

The civil war, which has had such a devastating effect on Sudan’s recent history, saw many people in the diocese forced into exile – mostly in DR Congo. However, in the past few years, many of those people have begun to return home and start a new life, from scratch.

During the war much of the infrastructure in the area was destroyed but the Church remained. As the resettlement process began to evolve it was clear that the Church, under the leadership of Bishop Justin Badi, would play a pivotal role in the rebuilding of Maridi.

This meant that, amongst other things, the diocese became involved in providing primary and secondary level education, ensuring basic healthcare and enabling HIV/AIDS awareness training.

Now that the peace process is being worked out across Southern Sudan the Church is continuing to meet the needs of its people and is looking to: train more teachers; improve and equip school buildings; upgrade the health clinic facilities; and provide clean water for those living in the area.

Local leaders are acutely aware that these physical responses are only part of the story and continue to share the love of Christ in word as well as deed – equipping people for evangelism and nurturing new believers.

CMS Ireland has walked alongside the diocese for more than 10 years and, in that time, has supported: the building of Chaima Bible School; construction of a Diocesan Health Clinic; refurbishment of Haddow and Amaki Primary Schools; a range of women’s programmes; and a number of leadership training initiatives.