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Reaching Out From A Foreign Land
—Since 2023, Sudan has been in the grip of a civil war which has displaced over six million people, many of them being forced to leave the country entirely.
The country of Sudan is in central Africa. Home to forty six million people, it borders the Red Sea. Sudan is a predominantly Muslim country, like all of the countries in this cluster from the Patmos survey, and Christians make up a very small percentage of the population. The conflict has claimed the lives of over 150,000 people, and the United Nations has said that the region is witnessing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Prior to the beginning of the war, the average annual income was around £600, and government officials report an eighty percent decrease in the state’s revenue over the past year.
The Bible Society in Sudan (BSS) is not immune to these problems, and its staff are scattered across Sudan and the surrounding countries. Several staff were missing and uncontactable for a period of many months, and others have relocated to Egypt, Israel and Ethiopia. After two years of war, a Christian in the Sudanese army who was able to visit the offices of the BSS reported it to be greatly damaged. Several church buildings were destroyed when fighters were suspected of using them as hiding places.
This destruction is mirrored in the lives of Sudanese refugees. The BSS has been able to work with many of the women (often widows) and the young people who have fled Sudan, offering programmes of Bible engagement and seeking to increase literacy and education in the Sudanese ‘diaspora’. The work of BSS currently focuses on the Trauma Healing programme being run for Sudanese refugees in Egypt, where more than 350,000 Sudanese people have fled.
The conflict has claimed the lives of over 150,000 people, and the United Nations has said that the region is witnessing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Prior to the beginning of the war, the average annual income was around £600, and government officials report an eighty percent decrease in the state’s revenue over the past year.
The Bible Society in Sudan (BSS) is not immune to these problems, and its staff are scattered across Sudan and the surrounding countries. Several staff were missing and uncontactable for a period of many months, and others have relocated to Egypt, Israel and Ethiopia. After two years of war, a Christian in the Sudanese army who was able to visit the offices of the BSS reported it to be greatly damaged. Several church buildings were destroyed when fighters were suspected of using them as hiding places.
This destruction is mirrored in the lives of Sudanese refugees. The BSS has been able to work with many of the women (often widows) and the young people who have fled Sudan, offering programmes of Bible engagement and seeking to increase literacy and education in the Sudanese ‘diaspora’. The work of BSS currently focuses on the Trauma Healing programme being run for Sudanese refugees in Egypt, where more than 350,000 Sudanese people have fled.
