Work can either affirm life or destroy it, argues a new LWF publication, Dignity of Work-Theological and Interdisciplinary Perspectives.

Part of the LWF’s Documentation series, the publication grew out of a 2011 symposium on the theology of work organized by the LWF’s Department of Theology and Studies (DTS).

“Work or labor constitutes a fundamental aspect of human existence regardless of whether or not one believes in God,” said LWF General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge in the book’s preface. “Individuals of all cultures and traditions associate work not only with sustenance but also identity.”

In his introduction, the publication’s editor, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, DTS study secretary for Lutheran Theology and Practice, noted that work is central to the shared life within and outside the communion of faith. “The fruits of our labor can be shared equally or become the basis for greed and marginalization.”

Dignity of Work looks at Luther’s theology of work as a basis for a just economy, examines how work is understood in different contexts and illustrates how the world of work is skewed against women.

Dignity of Work is available in English and German for EUR 12 | USD 15| CHF 15.

Order Dignity of Work

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In this issue:

• New Year Message Urges Recognition of Human Vulnerability
• Local Solutions to Global Environmental Problems
• Youth Gathered in Durban Offer Hope on Climate Change
• A Pledge for Active Involvement in Environmental Justice
• Workshop Launches Diaconal Reconfiguration Process in Europe
• Diakonia Can Light Up Communities in the Midst of Economic Insecurity
• People Flock to Serbian Province of Vojvodina Expecting Wealth
• FEATURE: London’s Chinese Lutheran Church Reaches Out to Migrants
• Church Challenged to Fight AIDS Epidemic As It Once Did Apartheid
• Positive Masculinity Needed to Stem Tide of AIDS Crisis
• HIV Prevention Tool Kit to Help End Silence on AIDS
• FEATURE: Hope for the People at Cape Town Lutheran Center
• FEATURE: Siahaan Looks Forward to a Family Christmas Visit
• New Book Examines Dignity of Work
• Lutheran Church in Great Britain Celebrates 50th Anniversary
• Surinamese Church Celebrates 270 Years
• Argentine Church Endorses Lay Members Inclusion in Ministry

LWI 12/2011 is available in English and German.

EN Low Resolution (1.1 MB) | EN print quality (1.4 MB) | DE low resolution (1.5 MB) | DE print quality (5.6 MB)

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Related posts:

1. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 10/2011
2. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 11/2011 “Called to Walk Together”
3. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 04/2011
4. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 01/2011
5. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 05/2011

In this issue:

• In Pursuing Christian Unity, We Have a Double Accountability
• Walking Multiple Pathways toward Christian Unity
• Anglican – Lutheran Agreements Have Laid a Solid Foundation
• Deaconesses Illustrate Character of Tanzanian Church
• Reflection on the Forum on Bilateral Dialogues
• Ecumenism between Lutherans and Roman Catholics in Japan
• Finnish Church’s Hospitality Offers Space to Other Churches
• Lutherans and Orthodox in Finland Live Side by Side
• Unity in Reconciled Diversity: Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
• Lutheran – Orthodox Dialogue: Significance and Expectations
• Meeting around the Table Deepens Levels of Fellowship
• Chile: By Working Together, “Another World Can Be Possible”
• Canadian Lutherans and Mennonites Strengthen Relationships
• Full Communion in the ELCA: Boldly Reaching Out
• Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations Mutually Enhance One Another
• Faith and Work Perspectives from a Refugee Camp
• Cameroon: Ecumenical Approach Strengthens Youth Response to HIV and AIDS
• Let Young People Participate in Peace Work
• Adolescents in Uruguay Give a “Vaccination Dose” against Maltreatment
• Liturgical Material: Called to Walk Together

LWI 11/2011 is available in English and German.

EN Low Resolution (1.2 MB) | EN print quality (1.6 MB) | DE low resolution (1.1 MB) | DE print quality (1.35 MB)

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Walking Multiple Pathways
toward Christian Unity

Related posts:

1. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 05/2011
2. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 04/2011
3. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 07/2011
4. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 02/2011
5. Lutheran World Information (LWI) 10/2011

The Lasting Effect of Conflict on South Sudan’s Education System

JUBA, South Sudan/GENEVA, 8 February 2012 (LWI) – There is a hunger for education in South Sudan that is obvious wherever you go.

Young people will travel hundreds of kilometers to attend school or university. Old people in the most impoverished areas will ask a visitor for food, but young people will ask for scholarships.

Violent conflict all but destroys education systems and leaves the resident population with the skills needed to survive, but without the knowledge needed to rebuild a country. In this way, education is an important catalyst as a country transitions from war to peace.

But no one dies from not going to school, and other life-threatening needs–for food, water, shelter or healthcare–can seem far more urgent during an emergency. It is only in the last few decades that education has become an integral part of emergency response.

In 1996, as an expert appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General, international children’s rights advocate Graça Machel prepared a landmark study, “Impact of armed conflict on children.” that described how conflict harms children not just physically, but socially and emotionally as well. The cognitive development of children suffers during war because skills such as literacy, numeracy and critical thinking are delayed.

Barriers to Schooling

Elbeah Kashemba is 26 and, against the odds, has finished secondary school and is trying to complete a degree in natural resources management.

He started the course at a university close to his home in the Nuba Mountains which is in the disputed area in the north of South Sudan. He fled to Juba over six months ago when his home was bombed by the Sudanese military.

Along with approximately 40 other students he is now living in a makeshift hut trying to make ends meet while he studies his degree.

“There is the problem of fees, accommodation and an income. Those in the Nuba Mountains are missing out,” he says. Altogether, there are 135 students like him who are trying to continue their education in Juba.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a founding member of the ACT Alliance, has helped Kashemba and his group with a one-time grant for basics–food, blankets, cooking utensils and the materials to build their huts–but they will need more help if they are to complete their degrees.

Groups like Kashemba and his friends are common. Some Sudanese students travel as far as neighboring Uganda or Kenya, without their parents, to go to school. During the war, many ended up in the LWF-managed Kakuma refugee camp some 380 kilometers from Juba. Over the past six months as many as 150 refugees from South Sudan have been arriving every day in Kakuma.

Building Local Schools

But travelling far from home for an education is not a good solution for children and their families. Ideally schools should be located closer to towns and villages where people already live. In recent years, the LWF has built 13 schools in some of the more remote areas, which has increased the number of children attending school.

The buildings that the LWF has constructed withstand conflict better than traditional buildings which means that children can return to school soon after violent attacks. During a recent cattle raid in Duk Padiet, the concrete school building with iron-sheet roofing was not easily burnt, unlike some of the traditional grass and clay huts in the town.

Cattle raiders broke into one classroom and destroyed textbooks, exercise books and blackboards but, compared to a school, these are inexpensive and simple to replace. In fact, they will be purchased before classes resume in mid-February.

But despite the best efforts of Sudanese youth and non-government organizations like the LWF, there are still more than 1.3 million primary school age children in South Sudan who are out of school.

The country is second-to-last in world rankings for net enrolment in primary education–and at the bottom of the world league table for enrolment in secondary education according to a report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published last year.

For girls the situation is extremely dire–a girl in her early teens in South Sudan is three times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than to reach grade eight.

A lack of education causes a vicious cycle. It means that there is a dearth of trained teachers to staff schools. According to the UNESCO report, in some parts of the country a single teacher can teach up to one hundred students.

Education is fundamental to South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, for more than just practical reasons. The founding father of the country, Dr John Garang, constantly stressed that education fosters self-reliance, expands choices and shares prosperity.

Education will underpin peace, and if a South Sudan, independent since July 2011, is to be Garang’s lasting legacy, then the education system must continue to improve. (823 words)

(Written for LWI by Melany Markham in Juba, South Sudan)

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Mental Healthcare in the Wake of Conflict in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan/GENEVA, 7 February 2012 (LWI) – January the 16^th was like most other days in the town of Duk Padiet in Jonglei State, South Sudan. Achol Agol had walked through the heat and dust to the borehole to collect water for her three children, her brother and her father. The family lived together in a small compound close to the center of the town.

She looked up and, some distance away in the southeast, she saw hundreds of men running towards the town–Duk Padiet was under attack by a group of cattle raiders. The raid lasted no more than 20 minutes, but it left her father dead and her three-year-old brother in the hands of the armed raiders.

Agol fled with her other children into the surrounding bush. She stayed there three days until she had the courage to return to the town. When she did, she discovered her father’s body and her brother gone.

“I was very sorrowful and I thought my life had come to an end,” she said.

She misses her brother terribly. “I have so much to tell you. I have lost my father and my brother. Life is going to be terrible,” says Agol.

Agol’s brother is unlikely ever to return to their home. Although child abduction is a common practice during inter-ethnic cattle raids in South Sudan, few children ever make it back home.

Agol’s grief is compounded by the death of her father, who was the family breadwinner. She says that life and death have become the same and she also fears that she will become a target when next a cattle raid occurs.

When talking to Agol, it is easy to see that she is overwhelmed by fear and grief, but she must overcome her feelings so that she can find a way to make a living and support the rest of the family.

With little if anything of an organized social security safety net available in South Sudan, humanitarian aid providers like The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a founding member of the ACT Alliance, are the only places that people like Agol can turn to for help.

State of Fear

After such traumatic events, aid agencies provide food, water and health care to meet people’s basic needs almost immediately. Treating the trauma–that can be just as debilitating–is a particular challenge.

Justin Mokili Elias works for the LWF as a peace-building officer. He says that the most recent wave of violence is not normal cattle raiding but rather tribal hatred. Other staff from the LWF also say that the attacks around Pibor have been of a scale that is much larger than previous years.

Elias is originally from Central Equatoria State, which has been relatively peaceful since the referendum last year, but he saw the effects of the violence in Jonglei recently when he took part in an assessment in a town called Waat.

Elias said that people have fled to Waat because there is a contingent of 500 soldiers in the town. “They feel safe there,” he notes.

Like others throughout the state, most of the people who sought refuge in Waat had fled in fear of further attacks. It is a common reaction as towns and villages that have not been attacked may well be the next target. This is evident driving south from Agol’s town.

Most of the villages between Duk Padiet and Bor, a distance of some 200 kilometers, are almost completely deserted. In some, goats are still tethered, waiting for the occupants of the village to return and feed them.

Regardless of whether they have fled because of fear of violence or the recent attacks, often one thing they take with them is their trauma.

“There was an urgent need. The people are really traumatized. They live in a state of fear and that requires emotional support,” says Elias. He says that psychosocial support will help them stand on their own, deal with their fear and cope with the challenges they face.

Psychosocial Support

Psychosocial is defined as the close relationship between the psychological and social effects of a disaster or conflict. Emergencies erode the normal community support structures at every level and increase the risks of other problems as well as social injustice and inequality.

According to Else Berglund, psychosocial specialist at ACT Alliance member Church of Sweden (CoS), traumatic experiences can cause painful reactions. People are hyper-vigilant, anticipating the next wave or tremor or explosion, like the people who have fled to Waat. People can also feel helpless or hopeless, or even disoriented, like Agol.

Only during the last decade has mental health been considered part of emergency response. Recognizing this need, the LWF has trained staff like Elias to provide psychosocial support to traumatized communities in South Sudan.

To help those who are suffering emotionally in the wake of the recent cattle raids, two psychosocial specialists from CoS will travel to South Sudan this month to work with LWF staff to offer more in the way of psychosocial support and to help people like Agol get back on their feet. (863 words)

(Written for LWI by Melany Markham in Juba, South Sudan)

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1. Learning through War

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2. DWS Certification Shows People at Center of Humanitarian Response

Name | Rev. Arnoy Borre

Country | Norway

LWF Member Church | Church of Norway

Diaconal Organization | The Church City Mission of Oslo

 What kind of diaconal work are you doing?

The Church City Mission is a diaconal foundation created in 1855 that works in accordance with the confessional basis of the Church of Norway. Today, 1150 employees and even more volunteers are involved in around 45 programs and institutions. I am a pastor working as advisor in one of our three departments with projects like:

• housing and guidance to children, adolescents and families
• an “open church” offering a phone hotline, fellowship and meaningful activity
• shelter and care for former sex workers
• assistance to persons affected by the HIV virus
• health care for illegal immigrants

What challenges you in your work? What motivates you? 

My challenge is mainly to stand behind the workers in the forefront: to support and advise without taking over their mandate. To see employees and volunteers developing their skills and strengths motivates me a lot in my role.

How does your faith link to your diaconal engagement? 

My faith is my starting point for my job. [After serving] as a traditional “talking” pastor, I now hope to express my faith through what my organization is doing in our everyday work, meeting people in the city.

First “Seeking Conviviality” Workshop

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1. “Seeking Conviviality” | Rev. Steinar Eraker
2. “Seeking Conviviality” | Dr Ulla Jokela
3. “Seeking Conviviality” | Maria Halldén
4. “Seeking Conviviality” | David Lin
5. “Seeking Conviviality” | Gunnel Claesson

Name | Alexandra Ap’onkina

Country | Ukraine

Church | German Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ukraine (Belongs to LWF member church: Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States)

What kind of diaconal work are you doing?

In the Dnipropetrovsk congregation of the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, I work with children in Sunday school, helping with organization and planning for holidays like Christmas and Easter. This year we carried out the second children’s day camp held in our community.

Last year our community organized a fair and was able to raise money for a Christmas tree for the children’s psyсhiatric hospital. We continue to collect warm clothes, hygiene items, household products.

Our community participates in a project started last year called “From the Pensioner to the Pensioner.” We make this action for Christmas. With a group of volunteers I help to work with children in an orphanage: games, crafts, competitions.

 What challenges you in your work?

Shortage of helpers.

What motivates you?

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. (1 Peter 4:10)

How does your faith link to your diaconal engagement?

The Lord served us, loved us first and as a Christian I want to show [this] love to others.

First “Seeking Conviviality” Workshop

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1. “Seeking Conviviality” | Nicole Borisuk
2. “Seeking Conviviality” | Dr Ulla Jokela
3. “Seeking Conviviality” | David Lin
4. “Seeking Conviviality” | Katarzyna Kukucz
5. “Seeking Conviviality” | Paweł Gołuszko

Name | Dr Peter Szynka

Country | Germany

LWF Member Church | Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oldenburg

Diaconal Organization | Diakonie in Niedersachsen

What kind of diaconal work are you doing?

I am coordinating services for homeless people and doing social planning and monitoring for the Lower Saxony state government.

What challenges you in your work? What motivates you?

The complete system of homeless services is going to be restructured. Every city and county has to be involved in the network of services and should offer comparable facilities and standards–together with the state government [and diaconal organizations] Diakonie and Caritas.

How does your faith link to your diaconal engagement?

I believe that we should realize love and justice amongst us.

First “Seeking Conviviality” Workshop

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2. “Seeking Conviviality” | David Lin
3. “Seeking Conviviality” | Fritz Blanz
4. “Seeking Conviviality” | Rev. Steinar Eraker
5. “Seeking Conviviality” | Alexandra Ap’onkina

LWF Meets Immediate Needs while Addressing Causes of Poverty in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan/GENEVA, 3 February 2012 (LWI) – There is a general rule that a person can live for three minutes without air, three days without water and three weeks without food. In disasters where people have lost everything, this rule of “three” governs emergency relief priorities.

Non-food items (NFIs) such as blankets, sleeping mats, jerry cans, soap and cooking utensils won’t sustain life, but they will help families get back on their feet after losing everything. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a founding member of the ACT Alliance, has been distributing NFI kits after the recent wave of violence in Jonglei State, South Sudan.

There is a lot that can go wrong when these supplies are being transported from point A to point B. Potholed roads, cumbersome bureaucracy and inclement weather can all slow down or stop aid consignments.

In the heat of a hot Sudanese day, LWF staff sit discussing what to do about a truck that is several hours late. It was supposed to arrive at the compound for another load of NFI kits before distribution the following day.

“If we keep waiting for it, the kits won’t get there tomorrow,” says Manyok Ajangdit, a program officer who is based in Panyagor, Jonglei State.

Ajangdit was from the town where the distribution is happening, so he knows the area and the people well. Most of the staff based in Panyagor come from the surrounding area and are constantly gathering information about everything–from the state of the roads to the level of security.

Late in the afternoon, Ajangdit and his colleague John decide to go into town and look for another truck to transport the remaining consignment to the distribution point in Duk Padiet. If all of the kits are not there, the distribution may have to be delayed and people would have to wait another day for desperately needed supplies.

The Most Needy

When large numbers of desperate people gather during disasters, unfair aid distributions can cause riots or stampedes. Local authorities are essential in finding the people who need aid the most, but need to be well organized to make sure that it gets to these people.

The next morning, the staff is up before dawn for the three-hour drive to Duk Padiet. It is too dangerous to drive in the dark, so they leave just as the sun is rising. Breakfast is on the road–a cup of tea and fried bread. They reach Duk Padiet around 10 a.m. and find that the kits, which were kept in a guarded warehouse overnight, are all there. Once they are counted, the distribution can go ahead.

Everyone sits under the shade of a huge tree while officials call out names. Individuals then collect their kit from the warehouse and place a fingerprint next to their name by way of receipt. At around 2 p.m., most of the people have received their kits. As staff needs to get back to the compound by nightfall, they aim to be on the road again by 3 p.m.

It’s at least 40° C and, even though the staff are used to the heat, everyone drinks a lot of water on the drive back. They drive back with the windows down, but the hot wind brings little relief.

When they finally reach the compound at around 5 p.m. there is a feeling of satisfaction and relief among the staff. It’s been a ten-hour day already, but the work isn’t finished. They need to check in with the headquarters in Juba, compile reports, answer e-mails and administer ongoing development projects before the day officially ends.

Symbol of Wealth

Ultimately, the cause of this emergency is the same that fuels violence and conflicts in many parts of the world, namely poverty and inequality. Cattle raids, during which homes were burnt, people killed and children abducted, have been occurring since December last year.

Mary Obara is from neighboring Kenya but has worked in South Sudan for three years. As the LWF’s program coordinator, she is familiar with Sudanese cattle culture, which she says is hard to change.

She notes that cattle are a symbol of wealth in South Sudan and attributes the current conflict to a lack of basic services. “Changing the cattle culture goes hand-in-hand with overall development,” she emphasizes.

This is the main reason why the LWF has had education, food security and water programs in South Sudan for a number of years–to bring development to impoverished rural communities where cattle-raiding is rife. To provide the people in Jonglei with alternatives to cattle herding, the LWF will begin large-scale agricultural projects this year.

Although cultural change happens slowly, it is possible. Pastorialism used to be prevalent throughout the country. Olaa Augstin is from Eastern Equitorial, bordering Uganda, and his grandfather used to herd cattle. He says that violence caused them to give it up. Both he and his father pursued an education and have worked for a number of years in Juba.

Violence is not the only reason for South Sudanese to switch from cattle herding to other forms of agriculture. Diseases such as foot and mouth kill cattle in large numbers and Obara says that if the climate changes drastically, the farmers will lose a lot of their herds.

The conflict that has caused the most recent emergency has ancient causes that will not be resolved by any amount of emergency aid. In the long-term, however, LWF programs help to provide those living in Jonglei and other states with a way out of poverty and a different way of life. (946 words)

(Written for LWI by Melany Markham in Juba, South Sudan)

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