Why Bishop Hiiboro is passionate about his Bishop Trees for Life Campaign (BTFC)

“Just when I became a Bishop and in the subsequent years, I began to think about autonomy and financial self-sustainability for the diocese. I therefore invested in programs, various activities and projects to raise money, but in the end, without the community development component, the investments were a complete failure,” Bishop Hiiboro confessed.

Not a person to give up easily, the Bishop came up with a number of slogans such in bid to encourage the people from his diocese to work towards self-sustainability. Such slogans included: Holy Bible in one hand and Hoe in the other hand; Slow to idleness but quick to work hard (Sosoro sosoro ku Kurungbu yo Warakasa ku Etiyo,) and most recently Teaching Poverty a Lesson through planting Trees of Life.

In May 2019 the launched the plantation of Coffee Trees which became the official diocesan policy to eradicate poverty and bring about sustainability for the faithful of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio. Bishop’s Trees for Life Campaign (BTLC) is the development model which strives through partnerships with communities to leverage their assets and resources to move from subsistence to self-reliance, while emphasizing on sharing, caring, witness and environmental stewardship.

More than 95 percent of the population of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio people live below the poverty line, a percentage similar to the rest part of South Sudan’, according to UNDP statistics.

“I love this project of Trees for Life Campaign, because its success means a lot for my poor community. I want to fight for development and sustainability of my people in the diocese. As such an overall increase in the production through cultivation of a wide range of foods, including tree fruits and vegetables is key.”

According to Bishop Hiiboro, the approach of Trees Plantation simultaneously fosters environmental conservation, social responsibility and economic viability. The Project therefore is first foremost, meant to be tool to conserve ecosystems and wildlife, safeguard local communities and protect the rights of farm workers and their families,

“I understand that the financial stability is as vital to the long-term success of stability as environmental protection and social justice,” the Bishop explained. He strongly believe that poverty can be kicked off from Tombura-Yambio because Western Equatoria is very fertile is a very fertile region.

“We must begin this mission of Trees for Life with a simultaneous goal of improving the economic livelihoods of the farmers in the community and the life of the mission stations or parishes. I am optimistic about this Trees for Life Campaign to secure the stability of our diocese and dignity of her people. Hence I say, we must build the road as we walk it,” the bishop expressed adding that “We are that new tree, and everyone in the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio (CDTY) must be the example of that new church that has taken the risk, - we build the road as we walk it; this describes the journey our diocese is now on.”