Catholic Church Good Shepherd Parish Kassala Sudan

Wau Nur Centre
Mary Immaculate Centre
The Wau Nur pastoral-centre is the biggest offshoot of the parish of Kassala. The
center is situated approximately 7 km north of the centre of Kassala. After a twenty minutes’
trip, one comes into an area, that is admittedly positioned geometrically (rectangular ordered
crossroads, that form the residential-area somehow), but on the other hand it cannot hide its
poverty: Everywhere wood-cottages with reed-roofs and reed-walls or cottages out of clay
with reed-roofs. Here and there one can see a donkey-cart transporting a water-barrel,
occasionally teenagers ride around by bicycle or even by motor cycle. The chickens and the
goats run in the wide streets, that can be regarded quite also as communication-centres for the
people. Curiously, more and more children and teenagers appear to see the visitors.
The population of this area consists of
refugees from the former civil war-area of
the South-Sudan. The standard of living of
these people is very low, and in accordance
with this low standard, these people want to
live also outside the city-area because it is
easier there to build houses from reed and
wood. Inside the city they would have to
rent houses, in which they could not afford
the rent.
Many of the people here are unemployed which results in a very low standard of living.
Soldiers are the majority of those men, who have work, and thus they get a small income.
With the women, the situation of employment is especially bad. In order to rear up their
children many of them produce "local beer". So they obtain a low income through its sale. But
the brewing of beer is a very risky issue: So much in the South-Sudan beer may belong to the
reason-foods, however, it is prohibited in the Muslim embossed north according the Islamic
law, the Scharia. If women will be caught by brewing beer, they will go to prison for three to
five months. Many times the police will take also away most of the materials belonging to the
women.
Because the distance to the "Good Shepherd" - Parish in
the centre of Kassala however is rather big, the pastoralcentre
of Wau Nur has been opened in this area. The place
is approximately big 25m times 25m large and comprises a
chapel (about. 4m times 15m big), sanitary facilities and a
surrounding wall. At the moment bigger events take place
outside, smaller meetings of activists as well as catechism
and primary school-instruction take place in the chapel.
The Wau Nur centre takes care of approximately 300 Christian families, what corresponds to
a number of approximately 1500 believers. Events and church services always take place in
the evening, because then the people are at home from work.
There is also a plan to set up further buildings on the site: A school class for children for
catechism and primary school-instruction. Further it is planned to build a multi-function-room
for women ("women’s hall"), it should serve as meeting place and as a vocational training
centre for them. The women should learn to sew there in order to have thus an alternative to
5 www.prosudan.at