South Sudan – Don Bosco Kuajok: Street Children at the heart of Salesian Apostolate

30 March 2022

(ANS – Kuajok) – Only three years ago the large compound of Don Bosco Kuajok was a bare land even with not much of agricultural use. Now the Don Bosco Kuajok, the youngest Salesian community in South Sudan (2020 canonical erection) with 3 Salesians (Rector Fr. Leo Aorckianathan) becomes a soul of this part of Kuajok, the capital of Warrap State in South Sudan.

Primary school with 300 children and 9 teachers, Street Children program (CCC - Children Care Center) with daily half a day program for de-addiction and rehabilitation of street children who are roaming the market in the center of Kuajok, daily Oratory open to the neighbourhood became a point of reference of this distant part of Kuajok, inhabitated by most IDP (internally displaced persons) who are leaving here.

Thanks to Br. Lothar Wagner (now in Liberia-Monrovia) an adequate program of assistance and rehabilitation of the street children was started by this young community in 2019. So far some 150 children (between 8-17 years of age) returned to their families and even some of them started their schooling with the help of the Salesians. Thanks to the Don Bosco Mission in Bonn (Germany) that sponsors this program, the Salesians are able to focus on this educative-pastoral side of this outreaching mission.

The large compound of 200x400 meters is now home to the Primary school, humble Salesian house (even without rooms for Salesian guests, just with two possible volunteer rooms) and is being slowly developed. The Salesian lay mission partners (9 teachers and house staff) are coming from the local community. Don Bosco in short time became part of the local territory - thanks to the simple health services (clinic and medical dispensary) and offering the community car in emergency to lift up local citizens to the town hospital in case of strong malaria attack or other necessities.

Street children and three-member strong Salesian community have many dreams: young people without any school experience dream to become teachers and Salesian dream to provide more qualification to their teachers and social workers. At present Kuajok together with Wau (seat of the nearby diocese) are the two venues where the favourite Don Bosco children are closely accompanied by the Salesians in South Sudan.

During the 3 days of Extraordinary Visitation, Fr Vaclav Klement had a good chance of deep insight in the hearts of these youth and their Salesians working with many lay people.

Sudan and South Sudan Delegation (AFE province) has as present 3 communities in Sudan and 5 in South Sudan, with 50+ confreres, 15 of them still in the initial formation and majority being missionaries from the following countries: Kenya, Tanzania, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Italy, Poland, Malawi and South Sudan.

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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