First transfer of money from our support group

I transferred over one million Ugandan shillings to Atem today. He will order more school uniforms for the children; perhaps 100 uniforms will be made. The uniforms are yellow tops with blue skirts and can be seen in the photos on this site. Most of the children are orphans. (John)

Forming the support group

So far we have received donations from eight individuals. Three have committed to donating monthly. A bank account has been set up to manage the finances. We have not yet met as a group face to face, although most are known to each other.

Rector Rebecca Newland has had to retire from parish responsibilities, after serious health problems, and now lives with her husband on the New South Wales coast.

John Symond is leading the project in Canberra, and Atem Miot is leading in Nyumanzi, Uganda.

Starting Out

This project began on July 20, 2013, with a meeting of three people, Anglican Rector Rebecca Newland, South Sudanese former refugee Atem Miot, and local O'Connor resident John Symond.

The project has, of necessity, changed considerably since that meeting. It's original purpose was to help a village of amputees in South Sudan, victims of the 20 year civil war which ended with the Declaration of South Sudanese Independence in 2011. Funds had been raised in Sydney and Canberra, and material goods had been donated. Atem had made one visit to the amputees and some of the money was expended.

On a second trip, Atem was caught up in the outbreak of a second civil war in December, 2013, before he had even made contact with friends and family. He walked out of South Sudan, accompanied by 58 people, for six or seven weeks until they reached the refugee camps in northwestern Uganda, where they still remain.

Now the focus of our project is on the Nyumanzi refugee camp in Northern Uganda, where Atem Miot has lived since early 2014.