Scottish Catholic Observer

Fr Beatus Mauki, SJ, was based in St Peter and Paul’s Parish in Dundee, and Sacred Heart Lauriston while studying at Abertay and Aberdeen universities, but has said life has been very tough since moving on to South Sudan.

“The country is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis,” he said. “The life is becoming very difficult. The prices of commodities are going up all the time. It has been a month now with no sugar, rice in the market, etc. It is hard.”

Since becoming the World’s newest nation in 2013 South Sudan has been wracked with violence and instability.

The priest said the world had grown bored with the suffering of his land, but it continued.

“With no end in sight, the media has grown tired of reporting the killings and the situation on the ground is now fading in the minds of those around the world,” he said. “Republic of south Sudan never managed to get back on its feet. So many issues with alliances based on tribal lineage is eating away our social fabric like cancer.”

He has been running a school but said it had become very difficult.

“We are here continuing running the school despite the worries and uncertainty facing the country,” he said.

“I must confess that it is difficult to run the school at the moment; paying the teachers and workers is becoming increasingly difficult. We completely rely on the school tuition to pay these teachers and workers, but without students paying the school fees, running the school has become very difficult. I am also worried about the number of students who drop out from school because their parents had to move to safer place. Some, especially girls, are getting into early marriages or given family responsibilities. It denies the students their basic right to education.”

He now hopes that he may get some help from Scotland and his former old parishioners to start a ‘food programme in the school’ to encourage attendance.

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