Diocese of Down & Dromore

Our link diocese of Maridi in Southern Sudan has been working with CMS Ireland and in partnership with the parish of St Gall's Carnalea, to help alleviate suffering in the area.

In the last few years, Maridi in Southern Sudan has experienced a huge influx of people.  As a result of the violent actions of the infamous Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), thousands of people have had to leave their homes in the outlying villages of the diocese and relocate to Maridi Town.

This has put considerable pressure on the local amenities and provisions. For example, many women from displaced communities continue to make the perilous journey back to their home in search of food, walking up to six miles a day. In addition to this, the lack of good feeding practices (growing food to provide for their needs), particularly amongst the displaced communities, combined with the high cost of food and provisions have contributed to a very difficult situation. The Diocese of Maridi was unable to support the internally displaced communities on a long term basis, but felt a responsibility and a calling to intervene, to reach out with love and practical care.

The Diocese applied to CMS Ireland to assist them in addressing these circumstances through providing support for an agricultural initiative that would equip these communities to grow their own maize, and extend in the future to growing fruit and vegetables to provide for their families. The Mission Support Group at St Galls Parish, Carnlea has been supporting the work of Maridi Diocese in Southern Sudan through CMS Ireland for a number of years.  The group took up the challenge to raise the money to support this agriculture project in the Archdeaconries of Mabirnidi and Church Town in the Diocese. The funds raised were used to purchase tools and seeds, to rent a tractor, to transport people to the land and other ways to support this important agricultural project.

In March 2010, the project commenced with meetings between the Diocesan Development Department, the Archdeacons, clergy and local community leaders to agree how the project would be implemented and how each group would contribute to it. It was agreed that preparing the lands for the crops would be each community’s contribution towards the project.  The local communities set about clearing a site in their area, felling and uprooting trees. The Diocese hired a tractor to plough the lands.  The fields were then harrowed in preparation for sowing maize.  

These communities faced a number of challenges while working on this agricultural project, including the tree felling and uprooting taking quite a bit longer than had been anticipated. Also, the rains posed problems for harvesting the crop. Initially, rains were slow to arrive, causing fear that the crops would be lost.  The rains then became relatively consistent and very heavy, which could have washed away the seeds! However, CMS Ireland was delighted to learn that the maize crop has grown well, and that the communities are waiting for harvest time in the coming months.

The communities of Maridi Diocese have invited us to join with them in praying for an abundant first harvest from the maize crops. This will provide food for the displaced people, the poor and vulnerable in these communities.

For more information on Sudan and Maridi Diocese, visit the

CMS Ireland website