Program Update

Fundraiser beads have arrived. If you want to help sell beads, let Jessica know. (Photos)


Water school starts on Saturday. To carpool, please plan on arriving at KLC by 7:30 AM Saturday. For everyone planning on attending water training Saturday-Wednesday, please email Jessica and confirm that you can attend. (This is important, I need to do a final check to see how many people we have). Fuel contributions will be about $30 per person if we take the church van. We have registered 8 people, so we have room for one or two more. I am told that most of the teaching is done without speaking, so if someone would like to attend, but doesn't speak much English, that is ok—please encourage them to attend.

A new opportunity: Today, I was introduced to a Burundian man named Prosper. He is flying from Nairobi to attend the water training, and he is willing to stay in town for a few more days to meet with other churches and mission teams to explain what he has done, and help to provide information. He has extensive experience building in Africa. He has built schools, orphanages and more in Burundi. Would anyone else be interested in meeting with Prosper one day after the water school for dinner or something to learn more about what they’re doing, and how we can apply what they know to our projects? Here is some information about his projects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ypQshyI5M - You can also download the YRWD/JRMD PowerPoint on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuuXR6VMxC4 and facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=238561311217

The next (scheduled) meeting is July 24th, at Kent Lutheran at 11:15 a.m.

Fundraiser Beads

beads from uganda, a set on Flickr.

These beads are for sale to support our mission trip to South Sudan. Beads are priced as marked (in photo description) + $5 shippping. The beads were hand-made in Uganda and range in size. If you have questions, email Jessica about the strand you want (identify it with the number) jessc098@gmail.com. We will do our best to keep inventory updated, and sold items marked as such.

Sewing

Many of our South Sudanese brothers and sisters have wanted to learn how to sew, to take that skill to South Sudan. Treadle (pedal power) sewing machines are available there, and we hope to make a microbusiness out of locally-making mosquito nets. Mosquito nets are very expensive and an absolutely necessary supply to prevent Malaria.

Six members of our congregation attended a sewing class at SewUp Seattle to learn to sew on June 25th.

Kent International Festival

Thanks to all who came to meet us at the Kent International Festival today! I'll post photos as soon as I get them. We appreciate all of the support and excitement about the planet's youngest country and it's amazing people and culture!

If you missed the coloring contest and you (or a little person in your household) would like to submit your artwork, you can download the page here and send it to the church. (Click the photo to get the full-size version.)

We need to receive entries by July 1st.

Entries can be scanned (color please) and emailed to klcsouthsudan+art@gmail.com or mailed to KLC COLORING CONTEST 336 2nd Ave S Kent WA 98032.

Be sure to include the following:
Artist's name
Artist's age
Parent's contact info (in case the artist is a winner) Email or phone is fine.

Prizes will be awarded in age groups up to 6th grade, but older artists are welcome to submit their artwork as well. We will try to display as much of the artwork as we can during Kent's Cornucopia Days, which coincides with South Sudan's independence day.

Independence Day, July 9, 2011

July 9th will be South Sudan's independence day. In the sates, we celebrate our independence with fireworks, but South Sudan will be celebrating with song.

There will be singing, dancing and drums I am told. Here are some Sudanese drums (thanks Gatch D. for the photo!).

Also, the new national anthem will be sung.

I don't know the lyrics, but YouTube tells me this is the anthem. Someone tell me if I'm wrong.

Hello! Thanks for Joining Us!

This page exists to share information about the South Sudan Community Restoration Project, a ministry of Kent Lutheran Church in Kent, Washington in the United States. More information will be posted soon, but in the meantime, here's the story of how we got started.

Kent Lutheran Church was blessed by the membership of a large group of Sudanese families in 2010. Their stories of war, relocation and living as refugees touched the entire congregation. Now, in the wake of Sudan's independence, many in our congregation hope to help with repatriation efforts, to assist those living as refugees around Africa, and the world to return to their homeland if they wish to.

Near-constant war since 1985 has left South Sudan's infrastructure in ruins. While refugees could technically return, they have no jobs, homes, clean water sources or schools for their children to attain any quality of life.

Our mission trip hopes to make repatriation possible for those who wish to return.

We have several goals for this trip, which may become the first of several.

WATER AND SANITATION
While surface water is abundant in much of South Sudan, and certainly in Upper Nile, water is full of bacteria, pollutants and parasites. The team will be installing biosand water filters which can eliminate every pollutant except for pesticides and salt from surface water. The biosand filters are very inexpensive and fast to build. They are also efficient--each filter serves approximately 70 people for between 25-30 years with very minimal maintenance.

EDUCATION AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH
The climate in South Sudan leaves many days "too hot" or "too wet" for school. Presently school and church meetings are held under trees for shade or shelter. Teachers are not available to students at this time, and students lack classroom materials and uniforms. Our goal is to build a multipurpose building which can serve as a church and school, and to provide the necessary implements for a successful school year.

JOB CREATION/MICRO-BUSINESS
Most of South Sudan's population is subsistence farmers, but we hope to establish a few microbusinesses as well.
Water Filters
We will be teaching people how to build the biosand water filters and leaving equipment to replicate the process in other communities to earn a living wage.
Sewing
With the abundance of surface water in the region, there is also an abundance of mosquitos. Malaria is a very serious risk and mosquito nets are a critical tool to survival. We plan to provide treadle sewing machines, mosquito netting and instruction to locally manufacture mosquito nets, keeping jobs local, and costs low to enable more people to buy nets.

*Early estimate last updated 6/2011.