UGANDA: Sudan and South Sudan Bishops Conference visits their people at Bidibidi Refugee Settlement Camp
Bishop Hiiboro with Refugees at Bidibidi Settlement Camp
A delegation from the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference led by their President Rt. Rev. Edwardo Hiiboro Kussala, from 21st to 26th September 2018 made a second official visit just within two months to Bidibidi Refugee Settlement Camp, where the majority of South Sudanese refugees currently are.
According to Bishop Hiiboro, the visit was inspired by a number of reasons, among them being their recent Ad Limina Visit to the Vatican where Pope Francis encouraged them to be close to the refugees.
listens to the stories of experiences from the refugees
in Bidibidi Settlement Camp
Speaking to AMECEA Online News via phone from his Diocese of Tombura Yambio, Bishop Hiiboro explained that during their November 2017 Plenary Meeting, the Sudan and South Sudan Bishops scheduled the visits to the refugee camps to give the refugees hope and support.
Bishop Hiiboro who himself lived as a refugee in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said that from personal experience, he perfectly understands what the people at the camps are going through and therefore he felt compelled to lead the delegation to give hope to refugees.
“I felt the need to share with these people the fact that a refugee camp is not the end of the road and once you find yourself there, the experience should help you to become a better person who in future would help to avoid situations that lead to such circumstances,” Bishop Hiiboro told AMECEA Online News.
This second visit of the Bishops Conference delegation concentrated in Bidibidi settlement which is a home to approximately 274,000 refugees from South Sudan. Bidibidi has Five Zones and Bishop Hiiboro and his team visited all of them.
“We celebrated Mass with the refugees and listened to their tales of violence, challenges and needs and this has saddened us but we assured them that the church will support them in every possible way,” he explained adding that the real dire situation one is confronted with upon visiting the camps is totally different from the pictures portrayed by the media.
“Listening to the stories the refugees went through before they escaped alive, and their children being traumatized by violence, fear and uncertainty, it hits you right in your heart.”
Displaced People in the Camps within his Diocese
He commended the humanitarian work by Caritas Uganda, Catholic Diocese of Arua, Religious congregations such as the Divine Word Missionaries, Comboni Missionaries and the Salesians of Don Bosco as well as an Irish Catholic medic, Dr. Noelene who has dedicated her life to serving refugees. He also thanked the bishop of Arua Diocese Rt. Rev. Sabino Odoki as well as the local community in Arua for accepting and welcoming the refugees.
“It makes you feel proud to be Catholic to see how our Church reaches out to meet the needs of those people who need love, care, compassion, and tenderness, to make them feel the dignity of being considered as human beings.”
Bishop Hiiboro encouraged the refugees not to despair but rather aspire to acquire any necessary skills that would help them rebuild their lives once this chapter of seeking refuge away from home comes to an end.
“At the moment people with every kind of skills are needed in South Sudan – brick layers, barbers, electricians, cooks, and many others. Every skill is important at the moment. Use this opportunity to embrace education and acquire all the necessary skills and come back with forgiving hearts ready to open new chapter.”
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By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
