Sudan: St. Mary's Orphans' Care Center - Mayo, Khartoum

SUDAN HOME

LOCATION

Sudan is the largest country in Africa – more than 967,499 sq miles (2.5 million square kilometers) in size – and ranges from vast expanses of desert in the north to regions of tropical forest in the south of the country. It is bordered by no less than nine other countries - Egypt, Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The capital city of Khartoum is home to 5.7 million people, about 6.7% of the total population, estimated to be about 38 million people.

HISTORY

St. Mary’s Church, located in the midst of an extremely poor refugee camp on the outskirts of Khartoum, has had the vision for several years to open a Home for the many street children and orphans living in the area. The church was unable to fulfill this dream until it began partnering with Kids Alive International in January 2006, opening the St Mary’s Orphans’ Center. The Center is now caring for ten children, many of them refugees who have been displaced from their homes in the south of Sudan as a result of the civil war.

FACILITIES

The Center has one large bedroom, where the ten boys sleep. The several other smaller rooms are used for classrooms and staff accommodation. The buildings are primarily built from mud and straw – a typical form of construction in this very poor area. There is plenty of room on the site for future expansion.

PROGRAM

The residential program at the Center provides for the needs of ten children between five and fourteen years of age. These children have been living on the streets and desperately need to experience love and security as well as have their physical needs met. Many of the children will also soon begin attending school for the first time. The Center is managed by Pastor Lamech Lumori, who is assisted by several volunteers from the local church community.

FUTURE

Future plans for the Center include:

• enabling all of the children to attend school and helping them start to achieve academically
• developing vocational training opportunities for the older children
• expanding the facilities to help up to fifteen more street children, and
• considering options for developing income-generating activities