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 Following our time in Khartoum, Bishop Cooney and I spent three days in Darfur, my second visit to that part of the country. The last time I was in Darfur was a year into the conflict that has overturned the lives of millions of people. Traveling with Ken Hackett, president of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), I heard about whole desert communities forced from their villages; those who survived the violence made their way, shell-shocked, to meager camps where agencies like CRS scrambled to meet their basic needs.
Three years later, the conflict has not ended and the needs have only increased. More than two thirds of Darfur's 6 million people are affected by the crisis and now depend on humanitarian aid. Groups like CRS have learned to work within alarming constraints. Aid convoys are attacked on a regular basis. Banditry is common. Violence is a prevailing concern, and the delivery of basic humanitarian assistance often depends on the daily security report.
Though we were unable to travel beyond El Geneina, the provincial capital of West Darfur and base of CRS' field operations in Darfur, we saw the incredible humanitarian assistance the agency offers. Some 750 families recently received new shelters, protection from the heavy rains that were about to start. An enormous water tower beside the camp bears the CRS logo and serves the needs of thousands of people. CRS also helped build classrooms to give children a place to learn and a sense of normalcy. Beyond El Geneina, the agency delivers food to communities along a 40-mile stretch, reaching some 150,000 people.
We spent time talking with a local wali, some sheiks and an imam, who represent the civic and religious authority in the town. They expressed gratitude for CRS' work, and the engagement and response of American Catholics and the American people. In those conversations, and the ones I had in Khartoum, I sense a different mood in Sudan. I believe civic and religious leaders - along with the Sudanese people - are demonstrating a new confidence in their ability to move toward peace. I hope that American Catholics, who have responded generously to the conflicts in Sudan throughout the years, continue to provide financial contributions to support ongoing emergency interventions. And I pray that these are matched by a serious diplomatic effort by American leaders in Washington. For the Sudanese people to realize their whole human potential, they must be able to live in peace.
Pope Paul VI said in his magnificent encyclical letter Populorum Progressio that development brings about peace, and peace is synonymous with development. It is my hope that both peace and development will cross Sudan.
How to Help: Pray for the people of Darfur. Educate yourself and your communities about the situation. Become an advocate for Sudan. Donate to CRS. More information about donating to CRS' is available here:
http://crs.org/ and more information about how to help the people of Darfur is available here:
http://sudan.crs.org/help.htm.
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