400 people benefited from humanitarian aid workers of CODEP in CDTY

At least 400 internally displaced persons in Tombura County have benefited from both food and nonfood items which were distributed by the humanitarian aid workers of the Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CODEP), which is the social arm of the Catholic diocese of Tombura Yambio.

 In June, this year there was a lot of insecurity in Tombura which led to the displacement of many people from their homes. The insecurity was a result of a clash between the rebels and government forces and this made people flee from the areas where the shootings were taking place.

 Although calm has returned, there is still fear and in addition to that many people lost their properties and have nothing to return home to. CODEP, therefore, collaborated with Caritas South Sudan and secure the food and non-food items which were then brought to Tombura and distributed to the people. However, what is currently being distributed is far from being enough as the needs are overwhelming.

 The acting humanitarian manager of CODEP, David Mr. Gbanisa said that they encountered a number of challenges during the distribution especially the huge turnout of needy people who were beyond their expectations. He indicated that many of these internally displaced people currently lack reliable sources of water, shelter as many houses were burned down or destroyed during the clashes and also medical support.

 In terms of progress on their activities, David indicated that they have so far completed some of their projects such as cash for

work in Namaku Parish and Holy Family Parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio.

 Activities of CODEP

The Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CODEP) is the social arm of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio and is the Caritas for Diocese, which is part of Caritas South Sudan. When the Bishops Conference created Caritas South Sudan, each diocese was tasked to open a branch. The Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio already had a department for development and peace as its social wing through it conducted activities to support the community. As such, it was not necessary to change the name from development to Caritas Tombura-Yambio, thus the title, Catholic Organization for development and Peace was maintained.

 According to His Lordship, Barani Edwardo Hiiboro, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, the diocese ‘fell in love with’ with Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical RERUM NOVARUM where he said that Peace is Development and Development is Peace, therefore, the diocese holds that when you do development, you are actually building peace and when you are building peace you are actually creating development.

 Under CODEP, the diocese carries a number of social programs these includes the Humanitarian Response Department which caters to people who are in need of emergency support. For instance, the internally displaced people in Tombura who are currently receiving some support.

 The second program is the Sustainable Livelihood Program Department under which the diocese carry out different agricultural projects as well as other activities that have an item of income-generating activities. The third program of CODEP is the Humanitarian Assistance Department which assists people in the community to grow their own food and manage their farm. The program gives farmers tools and seeds and make them do their own farming and as a way of supporting them. Under the program, the diocese also gives some money to needy people in the community who can afford to develop an acre or two of a farm by growing food for both consumption and sale. The money given to them helps cater to other needs of the family. This is basically a motivational fund which is meant to encourage farmers and the communities at large to grow their own food. The initiative is called cash for work and is supported by Caritas Germany. The Humanitarian Assistance Department has been going on for the last five years and has lots of success stories. Through the activities of this project, the diocese can be said to have turned the lives of people in some villages for the better. Among the places where the project has been successful is in Gangura, Namaku Parish, St. Joseph Parish, St. Peter and Paul Parish, and St. Charles Lwanga Parish in Iba.

 The other program under CODEP is Education which encompasses kindergartens in almost all the 35 parishes of the diocese, primary schools also in most of the parishes and secondary schools which are now six. In addition, CODEP Education Program has an institute that trains skilled workers in tertiary programs.

 The other department under CODEP is Wellness and Wholeness Health Services under which the diocese has primary health centers and hospitals. Through this department, the diocese also runs some mobile clinics where its health workers usually go around communities explaining about contagious diseases. The department also had a huge HIV/Aids programs which are carried at different levels and the diocese is known to have the best centers addressing HIV and Aids especially mother to child transition.

CODEP also has a program for Women and Family Development which mainly empowers the family members to respect each other and grow together in harmony. An element of this has is a program for the youth which focuses on behavior change and other issues that affect the youth. Last but not least among the departments and programs of CODEP is the Social Media under which the three diocesan Radio stations fall.

By Joseph Ernesto Chakaya