Darfurian woman immigrant tells story of her struggle during UMW school of Christian Mission
By Daniel R. Gangler
Bakhiet
Darfurian women face many challenges…
INDIANAPOLIS – Mastora Bakhiet, a native and immigrant of Darfur now
living in Fort Wayne, Ind., shared her personal story and story of
Sudanese government oppression during the South Indiana School of
Christian Mission at the University of Indianapolis on July 20. She was
accompanied by her husband, Abdulah and son, Mohammed.
Sensing impending danger, the the Bakhiet family, like many
well-educated Darfurians, left Darfur in 2000 for the United Arab
Emirates from where they immigrated to the United States in 2004
through a lottery system.
The Bahhiets were introduced to the school by the Rev. Joe Johns of
the Fellowship Missionary Church in Fort Wayne. Johns has provided
support to the Darfurian community living in northern Indiana in and
around Fort Wayne.
Mastora Bakhiet, founder and executive director of the Darfur Women
Peace and Development Network , a grassroots non-profit organization
based in Fort Wayne, said Darfurian women face many challenges
including: information and connection, family responsibilities (many
times without adult males) and homeland obligation to their people.
Most recently this year, the expulsion of 13 non-government relief
aid organizations from Darfur caused great concern among Darfurians.
These NGOs provide hands-on relief in the form of food, water,
education and health care in United Nations-run displacement camps with
up to 150,000 refugees, each living in barren rural areas of Darfur and
Chad.
Bakhiet has led the Darfur Women Peace and Development Network for
the past two years, whose mission is to strengthen and create
opportunities for Darfurian women to achieve sustainable development
for women and children in both Chad and Darfur. Research show the
highest humanitarian needs are among orphans, widows and women heads of
household.
The network is working, according to Bakhiet, “as agents for social
change to people who have endured six years of suffering and failure.
One of the personal struggle of her family living in Fort Wayne is
to make enough money from minimal jobs to survive and pay the bills.
Their college and university degrees mean little in the United States
to qualify them for middleclass employment.
Bakhiet asked the women in the audience to get the word out of the
plight of Darfurian women and to support the Darfur Women Network.
According to Johns, Americans can assist Dafurians in their struggle
through support the U.N. Peacekeepers, U.S. pressure on Sudan for
criminal justice and victim justice, educational reform, and prayer for
the people of Darfur.
Sadly, Bakhiet and her family see little hope for the future of the Darfurian people.
Her presentation to the United Methodist Women School of Christian
Mission was part of the geographic study being presented throughout the
United States this year by the General Board of Global Ministries.
More than 150 women, men, youth and children attended the school at the University of Indianapolis the last week of July.
For more information about the United Methodist Church’s mission to help the people of Darfur, visit www.gbgm-umc.org search “Darfur,” and www.savedarfur.com.
World Day of PrayerBy Leigh Rogers* First
initiated by American and Canadian Christian women as a Day of Prayer
for World Mission in 1884 to unite women in support of women’s mission
projects, the World Day of Prayer has exploded into a global ecumenical movement of women guided by the belief that prayer and action work together to influence the world.
Celebrated the first Friday of March, the World Day of Prayer relates primarily to women’s mission activities, issues, and projects, including concern for women, children and youth and the role of prayer in mission work.
As
of 2005, World Day of Prayer incorporates more than 170 participating
countries of women from all race, ethnic and faith backgrounds.
The
aim of the movement is to unite women of all traditions in a common day
of prayer and connect them to each other in closer partnership for
action and service.
Every year, the World Day of Prayer worship
services focus on a specific country in the world and a theme. For
2009, the country is Papua New Guinea, and the theme is “In Christ, Many Members but One Body.” *Leigh
Rogers is a public relations executive with the Women’s Division of the
United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. For more information, go to the World Day of Prayer International Committee Website: http://www.worlddayofprayer.net.
Elmira Sellu Discusses Food and Faith in Sudan
Ugandan regional missionary Elmira Sellu explains the food situation
in Southern Sudan and how the war affects food security for refugees.
Darfurian woman immigrant tells story of her struggle during UMW school of Christian Mission
By Daniel R. Gangler
World Day of PrayerBy Leigh Rogers* 