Equipping Ministries International: Blog

Word was received from Don Warren that on Sunday September 26, the supplies and tools were delivered and distributed to those who remain in desperate need of these goods for their very survival. Don said his heart was breaking for the current situation they are enduring, yet with gratitude they received these gifts from you, knowing they are not alone or forgotten in this trial.

After hearing this news, Rev. Paul Hurst of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, who had accompanied Don, Breven, and Wes into Sudan, but returned to the US last week before the goods arrived in Sudan, writes the following:

….a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. (I Corinthians 16:9)

These certainly are words that have been tremendous encouragement to the team in South Sudan with EMI Director Don Warren. It seemed that at every turn there were delays…delays…delays. Then there were unexpected changes and unforeseen diversions. The time frame for the opportunity to deliver seeds and farming tools to the beleaguered town of Ezo, South Sudan looked on numerous occasions as if it had completely elapsed and collapsed. Don was loath to give up and with dogged determination changed his own itinerary in order to press ahead and finish what he had started. So, here’s what I have heard so far. Don, Breven and Wes left Yambio, South Sudan on Friday September 25th to traverse the 100 miles or so to Ezo with a contingent of soldiers for protection. But having gone only part way, they stopped, having been alerted to LRA activity on the road ahead. They were also told that the SPLA would be going up the road the next day so Don decided to spend the night and settle in with the expected military convoy. Saturday came but the SPLA soldier convoy did not, so the truck with its seven tons of seeds, a thousand tools for hand farming, the unit of soldiers and Don and team went up the road. They were slowed by the road of which 70 miles of the Ezo line is not repaired…they are in the midst of the rainy season and the truck failed numerous times on the way. The last breakdown occurred just four miles outside the Ezo town and the team was forced to make the rest of the way into town on foot in the dead dark without using lights so as to attract the attention of the LRA. They entered the SPLA military ca mp site nigh unto midnight. As the EMI team trekked into one side of town, an LRA raid was on going on the other side of town opposite and in another location away from the road. Details are scant because of limited contact but this much is known. The seeds and tools were distributed. They were the delivery of hope they were intended to be. Don proved his mettle by keeping his promise to deliver the goods and to be there to do it. The plan is to return to Yambio beginning Monday morning. Don expressed his sorrow at having to leave so soon. There is great misery and suffering all around and many of our Sudanese friends in faith and ministry continue to labor on in Ezo.. We can only hope that the film and photos are able to portray the drama that such a scant verbal description has brought to mind. Ezo is ground zero for a major presence of the LRA in the Western Equatoria State. While many huge international agencies pulled out because of insecurity, Don fulfilled a promise to go in with what may prove to be the seeds and tools that will effectually save thousands of lives in the months ahead from starvation. Continue to pray earnestly for the team to come out safely and for the church in Ezo, that the grace of the Lord is sufficient.

There were many adversaries to this trip.

The project to get there was a great opportunity for effective service.

The door is wide open when the Lord leads the way.

Report from Don is that Breven and Chief Martin are healing well. She is in a lot of pain because of the abrasive nature of all the wounds but no infection. Don said a miracle that she or Martin weren’t killed just because in the area where they were side-swiped by an oncoming bike, there were small boulders jutting out of the ground everywhwere. Don said he didn’t know how they didn’t crash their heads into one of them when they skidded down the road. He is praising God for all the prayers and medical care that God provided in this desperate place.

Apparently yesterday Breven told her daddy to get out and go back to work. Sounds like Breven. So he had been out at a Congolese refugee camp and continuing the mission.The truck is again broken down on the road from Kampala. Chief Martin was well enough to travel to meet Pastor Godfrey to get it up and running again towards its destination.

In Him,
Suzy

On September 11, 2009 Don called from South Sudan to report that Breven was riding on the back of a motorbike driven by Chief Martin. They were in a very bad accident that left them both badly injured. It was reported that is was a miracle that they were alive because of the severity of the accident and their injuries. This news was reported about one hour after the incident. It is believed that they received treatment through Medecins Sans Frontieres. No further updates have been received at this time. The family is requesting prayer for healing and for continued safety on this mission.

Thank you so much,
Suzy

24 August 2009

Juba — Fresh attacks by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in Southern Sudan have forced thousands of people to flee their homes and created a worrying spike in humanitarian needs, UN officials and aid workers warn.

The recent attacks have triggered widespread panic and fear in regions bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR). In some areas, the UN has suspended humanitarian work.

Aid workers and UN staff were evacuated by two helicopters on 13 August from Ezo, close to Sudan’s border with DRC, after an attack blamed on the LRA.

The rebels appear to have timed their raid to coincide with a church service, looting stores and abducting several children.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said in a 21 August statement it “is deeply concerned about the fate of the large number of refugees and IDPs caught in the latest attacks in several villages along the borders of the three countries”.

Many of those fleeing had already been forced from their homes by previous LRA attacks, according to UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic.

Ugandan troops led a US-backed military operation in December 2008 against remote rebel bases after LRA leader Joseph Kony again failed to appear for a scheduled peace accord-signing cerem
ony. After the botched operation, the LRA mounted a wave of reprisal attacks, killing hundreds of civilians.

The LRA “continues to wreak havoc” in the region and “the numbers of refugees and displaced are rising steadily”, said Lise Grande, UN Deputy Resident Humanitarian Coordinator for Southern Sudan.

More than 180 people have been killed by the LRA in Southern Sudan since late July, Grande added.

“Altogether since late 2008, over 230,000 have been internally displaced as a result of the LRA; more than 25,000 people have entered Southern Sudan as refugees,” said Grande.

“In terms of the future, however, the picture does not look very good – violence is continuing in the DRC and CAR, raising the concern of future displacements and increased numbers of refugees.”

In addition, some 360,000 Congolese have been forced to flee successive LRA attacks in northeast DRC, according to UN estimates.

Terrorised

Aid workers report a worrying humanitarian situation, describing an “atmosphere of terror” in DRC.

“The people are stuck between a rock and a hard place,” said Katharine Derderian, a humanitarian adviser for the aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Belgium, who has recently returned from an assessment in DR Congo.

“They are too scared to return to the rural areas, so they are unable to cultivate their fields, or to even send their children to school because they fear the LRA will20attack,” Derderian added.

“But resources are being stretched in all areas – health, food and other services – within the urban areas where the people have moved to.”

Southern Sudanese officials say they are doing all they can to protect civilians – but attacks have even been made on the regional capital Yambio.

Colonel Joseph Ngere Paciko, deputy state governor of Western Equatoria, the Sudanese region hit hardest by the LRA, said the expert jungle guerrillas preferred to target civilians and avoid patrols by the Southern military, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

“They are avoiding any conventional attack… they are not willing to confront SPLA forces,” Paciko added.

But analysts warn that military might alone will not provide a lasting solution.

“The LRA still remain a threat not merely because of their numbers, but simply because they are a guerrilla group,” said Louise Khabure, of the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank.

“They move around in small groups and nobody knows when and how they will attack; the armies involved are using conventional means which are inappropriate for handling guerrilla operations,” she added.

With an upcoming vote for Southern Sudan on its potential full independence due in 2011, some fear the LRA may resume its role as a proxy force for those keen to block the emergence of a fully autonomous south.

Khabure said she suspected that “residual suppo
rt from Khartoum is still maintained”, referring to support north Sudan gave the LRA during Sudan’s 22-year civil war against Southern forces.

Finding a solution to end the LRA insurgency will be tough, she said, but the first step would be to renew contact with LRA leaders – who have been silent for months.

“Credible contact is needed with Kony,” said Khabure. “From there, hear him out first to get indications of what he wants. There will be a need to negotiate new terms of assembly, and then containment.”

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]

Copyright © 2009 UN Integrated Regional Information Networks. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

AllAfrica – All the Time

Sunday August 23rd Don will be flying out from the PDX airport to Kampala, Uganda

Sunday August 30th Breven Warren, Wes Parker, and Ed Robbins (award winning documentary filmmaker/journalist for TIME magazine) will be flying to Kampala, Uganda

Wednesday September 2nd Rev. Paul Hurst, of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, will join the team in Kampala

Thursday September 3rd the team of five will be flying with Mission Aviation Fellowship into Yambio, Sudan

South Sudan: 13th Aug LRA attack in Bereamburu, Western Equatoria Posted: 21 Aug 2009 09:03 AM PDTFrom UN News Centre, Friday, 21 August 2009:
Ugandan rebels drive thousands from their homes in southern Sudan Fresh attacks carried out by a notorious Ugandan rebel group have uprooted thousands of people and spreading panic in southern Sudan, forcing the United Nations to suspend its humanitarian work in the area, the world body’s refugee arm said today. The 12 August attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Ezo district, in the remote Western Equatoria region near Sudan’s border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reportedly killed two people and injured three others. The rebels also abducted 10 girls from a local church, and they pillaged and torched homes, stealing food. The following day, the LRA struck again in Bereamburu village, burning down the local church and health centre, as well as looting medical supplies. “On 13 August, as a result of the intensifying LRA attacks, the UN was forced to suspend all humanitarian activities in the area, and 29 humanitarian workers, including seven UNHCR staff, were evacuated by helicopter,”Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters today in Geneva. The recent LRA attacks have triggered widespread panic and fear in20the area bordering the DRC and the Central African Republic (CAR), he said. Most of those on the run have already been uprooted by earlier LRA incursions. “UNCHR condemns the continued LRA attacks on the civilian population and is deeply concerned about the fate of the large number of refugees and IDPs caught in the latest attacks in several villages along the borders of the three countries,” Mr. Mahecic said. Thousands of refugees from the DRC and the CAR, along with internally displaced Sudanese persons (IDPs) are now without protection or assistance, he added. Since October 2008, the LRA, which is said to be behind many attacks and atrocities, has “extended its deadly reach into the DRC, Sudan and the CAR, terrorizing the civilian population and causing chaos and mayhem,” the spokesperson said. Some 360,000 Congolese people have been forced to flee in successive LRA attacks in northeast DRC, while some 20,000 others have fled to Sudan and CAR, according to UN estimates. In a related development, the World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it plans to boost its food assistance to southern Sudan this year by 25 per cent due to the surge in the number of people facing severe food shortages to 1.3 million. Driving the deteriorating food situation are conflict, poor rainfall and high food prices, theagency said. “We need to act now to assist the increasing number of people facing serious hunger in southern Sudan,” said WFP Sudan Representative Kenro Oshidari. The agency’s move was prompted by the results of the recently-completed mid-year assessment of the region’s needs carried out by the Government of Southern Sudan and with the support of WFP and other UN bodies. Half of WFP’s assistance will go to Akobo, an area in Jonglei state that has been hit hard by inter-tribal clashes which have killed hundreds and uprooted thousands of others. Nearly half of the people in Akobo are said to be food insecure, according to the review. The agency has been airlifting food into Akobo since a mid-June attack on boats ferrying its aid down the Soba River.

Dear Rev. Don,
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, It was good to hear from you yesterday, I was in Ezo for four days and I returned home yesterday. Here is the precise story regarding the LRA attack in Ezo. On Wednesday the 12th of July at 10pm, the LRA attacked Ezo for two hours and 45 minutes. They focused their attack on Ezo because of the high population of the internal displaced peoples. The Ugandan People Defense Force could not manage to fight the LRA properly. Due to the mass chaos they could not fire at the LRA from fear of hitting civilians. The LRA killed 3 people in this battle. They also abducted 15 young boys and girls. Two children miraculously escaped in the nearby bush of Central African Republic. The LRA attacked and looted the house of the commissioner. The road into Ezo is very dangerous. The LRA has burned several motor bikes and cars. The only way to travel on this road is with an escort by the UPDF. The UPDF sent a convoy into Ezo that helped transport several families from the scene of the attack. I went to the site of the radio station and found that the LRA already climbed up the hill and attacked. They broke the door of the radio station, stole three solar panels and looted some items which were inside the station. The UPDF along with vigilantes are keeping watch over the site now. Please let people know that the people of Ezo are being forced into a living hell. The situation that these people face can only be resolved by works of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have received your letter notifying that you are coming. I have contacted the relevant authorities to confirm your entire trip. I know every authority will be happy that you are coming. Pray hard for the people of Ezo. Tell me exactly when you are reaching Kampala. Please greet my sister Breven and Mama Suzy.
May God richly bless you and your family,
Your son in Christ,
-Chief Martin Yasona

Posted: 10 Aug 2009 02:11 AM PDT

Here is a long awaited report from The Daily Telegraph’s Africa correspondent David Blair. I have lost count of the number of times over the past year that I wondered about his lack of reporting on Africa and even worried that he might be ill. So, it was a wonderful surprise for me a few minutes ago to find the following report filed from South Sudan’s Western Equatoria! Fingers crossed that he remains in the region to report more on what is really going on. On Monday morning (10 August 2009) I published news at Sudan Watch about southern Sudan where a humanitarian disaster more serious than that in Darfur, western Sudan is unfolding.

From The Daily Telegraph
Lord’s Resistance Army targets children of Sudan
By David Blair in Witto, Western Equatoria province, South Sudan
Published: 7:00AM BST Monday 10 Aug 2009

The Lord’s Resistance Army, which specialises in abducting and murdering the young, has turned on a new and pitifully vulnerable target: the children of southern Sudan, one of Africa’s most isolated and troubled regions.

Local people call LRA fighters the “ton-tong”, meaning “machete”, because this is their chosen weapon for murdering victims Photo: GETTY

The LRA, which emerged in neighbouring Uganda and has kidnapped tens of thousands of children during two decades of guerrilla war, is now striking across a vast area of bush and plain along Sudan’s south-western frontier.
These raids on defenceless villages, usually mounted by small groups of rebels searching for children to abduct and food to steal, have forced more than 55,000 people to flee their homes. Western Equatoria province has been worst hit, with scores of villages abandoned and new refugee camps springing up.

Local people call LRA fighters the “ton-tong”, meaning “machete”, because this is their chosen weapon for murdering victims.
Mary Anja, who does not know her age but looks about 30, lived in Diko district until the LRA attacked her village. Knowing that the rebels were hunting for children, local people tried to evacuate as many as possible, along with their mothers, on two tractors.

Mrs Anja gathered her three infant sons and climbed onto one vehicle’s trailer. Meanwhile, her daughter, Phoebe, who is about 12, boarded the second tractor.

But this tiny convoy drove straight into an LRA ambush. “The ton-tong fired bullets in the air, then they shot out the tyres of the tractor,” said Mrs Anja. “When people tried to jump out, they shot at the people.” As the terrified women and children tried to flee, one baby boy, less than a year old, was shot dead in the arms of his mother. Another woman was wounded in the leg, while a Sudanese soldier, who had tried to protect the convoy, died in a hail of bullets.

Mrs Anja managed to flee with her three sons. As she ran, she knew nothing of the fate of Phoebe, travelling on the second tractor. “I was thinking ‘Phoebe is not here’. I started crying while I ran,” said Mrs Anja.

By this time, Phoebe was already in the hands of the LRA. The guerrillas surrounded her tractor, firing in the air and singling out Phoebe along with five other girls and one boy. “They surrounded us. We couldn’t run and then they said ‘sit down’. One of the rebels tied us up,” said Phoebe.

The captives were led away into the bush. For the next three days, Phoebe was forced to march for 18 hours at a time. “If you don’t walk fast enough, you are beaten with sticks,” she remembered. “I was thinking, ‘I may be killed like those who have been killed by the ton-tong before’. And I asked myself ‘what has happened to my mother and my brothers’?”

Phoebe could not have known that her family was safe. They had managed to reach another village, from where Mrs Anja and her sons were brought to a refugee camp at Witto, some 50 miles away.

Shortly before dawn on the fourth day of the march, Phoebe and three other girls managed to slip away as their captors slept. For the next 12 days, they walked through the bush, surviving on river water and wild berries, until they reached the town of Tore Wandi.

Phoebe, emaciated and dehydrated, was taken to hospital, where her mother eventually found her. Today, she has recovered and the family lives in Witto camp, where Oxfam provides sanitation and basic essentials for about 500 refugees.

They cannot understand why they have become the LRA’s latest targets. This nihilist movement, which emerged in Northern Uganda more than 20 years ago, has no coherent aim. Its psychotic leader, Joseph Kony, claims to be a prophet and says that he wants to rule Uganda according to the Ten Commandments.

But Kony’s rebellion has no purpose save murder, so no-one joins him voluntarily. Hence the LRA must abduct children, who are then brainwashed into becoming soldiers and sent to kidnap more young recruits. In this brutal fashion, the LRA constantly replenishes its ranks.

Uganda has managed to expel the rebels from its territory with a series of offensives. But the LRA has scattered across a new killing ground, covering Sudan’s borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.

No-one can tell how many children have disappeared in this vast area. Joseph Ngere Paciko, the deputy governor of Western Equatoria, has recorded 250 abductions in his province alone.

“There have also been cases in far-away villages, where we have no access, so the real number is certainly higher,” he said. “Our people don’t understand why this is happening. Why should the LRA come and kill our people every day?”
Thank you for reading Congo Watch.

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony terrorized Northern Uganda for more than 20 years killing masses of people, an estimated tens of thousands, forcing some 2,000,000 to flee their homes and kidnapping approximately 66,000 children, boys for soldiers and girls as sex slaves.

By 2006, the LRA moved from Uganda to the Northern parts of Democratic Republic of Congo, where they continue these atrocities today.

Since Christmas Eve 2008 in excess of 2,000 people have been killed, over 800 brutally beaten and burned alive inside 13 churches while over 2,500 children were kidnapped, all during Christmas worship services only months ago.

250,000 people have fled their homes for refugee camps with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

The camps are remote and scattered. Very little to no aid is reaching these camps. These people are subsistence farmers who eat what they grow. If they do not plant, they do not eat. They have already missed the first planting season because of the unrest and many are already starving.

If they miss the second planting season that ends in September there will be widespread starvation. These people are eager to work to feed their families, but they are in desperate need of the seeds and tools that they were forced to leave behind.

There is land available around the refugee camps in Ezo, South Sudan where we have built a Community Christian Radio Station.

In Ezo, at just this one camp, there are more than 20,000 people currently seeking shelter.

We must raise $20,000 to supply the seeds and tools. We have raised $11,000 for this specific need since returning in July from the camp. We must raise an additional $9,000 to mitigate the pending widespread starvation that will occur if we do not act now.

Thank you for your support. Thank you for your prayers.
In Christ,
Donald James Warren