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Sudan Geography Total area: 2,505,813 km2 Population: 42,272,000 (2009 est.)
Language Literacy: 46% Official languages: Arabic, English
Economy GDP (PPP) per capita: $2,309 (2008 est.)
Politics Government: Federal presidential democratic republic President: Omar al-Bashir |
Religion Religions: 70% Muslim, 25% indigenous beliefs, 5% Catholic, <1% other religions Open Doors persecution index: 30th (North) (January 2009) |
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Prayer points
The Sudanese military are accused of bombing a refugee camp in South Sudan where thousands have fled to escape violence and persecution in the North. The Yida refugee camp in Unity state is home to some 20,000 people from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan where northern troops are said to be targeting groups considered 'disloyal' to the northern regime, including Christians. According to the BBC, at least 12 people were killed and 20 injured in an aerial bombardment on 10th November. The northern government denies involvement in the attack which took place 10 miles from the north-south border. Pray for an end to violence and persecution being inflicted on civilians in South Kordofan and that politicians in both Sudan and South Sudan will stay committed to building the peace and to upholding all citizens' religious rights. (Release International - January 2012)
The countries of Sudan and South Sudan urgently need our prayers. Whilst no longer in the news headlines, these nations still have many issues to work out between them and meanwhile the suffering of their people is, in places, intense. On 2nd September 2011 the SIM base in Blue Nile State, north of the new dividing line, had an emergency evacuation as bomber aircraft were approaching. Just minutes after the plane carrying the SIM staff left, a bomb exploded just off the edge of the airstrip. Since then fighting in Blue Nile State has continued, with the sound of bombs being heard daily at the SIM base in Upper Nile State, 40km away. On Tuesday 8th November a village in South Sudan was the victim of a serious and deliberate aerial bombing. Many people have been wounded as a result of the bombings and gun fighting. An estimated 40,000 refugees have fled so far from this region, most into Ethiopia. The country of Sudan has already endured 40 years of civil war and the celebrations this year in July as the Republic of South Sudan was born, were full of hope that a new chapter was beginning for these nations. Please pray that individuals, communities and even these nations will find peace, restoration and healing in Christ. Pray against further violence, revenge, greed and bloodshed. Pray for the church to be a growing, unquenchable light in the darkness and for its leaders to be full of wisdom, love and faith. Prayer from Psalm 68: “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death… Summon your power, God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before… Cush will submit herself to God.” (SIM - November 2011)
For the past ten years, literacy education in Torit, South Sudan, has been improving lives and opening doors. The ability to read and write offer people an opportunity to further life skills - simple things like writing a letter, counting money, or casting a vote with some knowledge of how it will affect your future. Literacy is also the key to education, but even more, it is a doorway to the Word of God, which a literate person can read for themselves and be transformed. Give praise that, to date, over nine different people groups and languages have been taught literacy since the ministry began, leaving a trail of self-sustaining literacy classes all over South Sudan. In helping people access the Bible for themselves, those involved in the ministry describe it as “one piece to the puzzle in building the church in South Sudan.” (AIM International - September 2011)
On Saturday 9th July Sudan split in two and the world’s newest country, South Sudan, came into existence. Its birth follows a referendum in the south at the start of the year where people voted to separate from the north. The referendum was part of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 that ended 21 years of civil war in Sudan. The change has brought hope to many and expectations are high, but big challenges lie ahead. As well as widespread poverty, there’s been a big influx of people returning to the south and they will put already limited services under strain. Pray for a peaceful start for the new nation of South Sudan and for the church to be a force for reconciliation as well as an agent of Christ’s compassion that changes people’s lives. (Tearfund - July 2011)
The Kimr people of Sudan (population 143,000) live along the border of Chad and Sudan. Although they adhere to Islamic teachings, they also mix animism and witchcraft with their Islamic practices. Ask the Lord to bring a team of believers to the Kimr people to share the love of Christ with them. Pray that they would be released from the spiritual powers which are keeping them bound. Pray too that key leaders, both in the Sudanese government and among the Kimr, would be come to know Jesus and would boldly share the gospel. Read more... (Frontiers - July 2011)
It’s been a bloody 2011 for South Sudan. According to the UN, so far more than 800 people have died in 151 incidents across nine of the South’s ten states. Worryingly, 94,000 people have fled their homes as a result of this, adding to the mass of those displaced after years of earlier conflict. Tribal conflicts are a big factor behind the violence as well as militia groups and the Lord’s Resistance Army, an armed group that has its origins in Uganda. One detrimental effect of this violence is that people are dislocated from their everyday activities, such as planting crops for food and this leads to hunger down the line. All this is set against a backdrop of thousands of returnees arriving in South Sudan from the north, many needing urgent humanitarian aid. Please pray for and end to the fighting so that those who have been displaced can return home. (Tearfund - June 2011)
Africa's largest nation has only recently emerged from a devastating civil war which consumed the country for decades. Although the civil war centred around control of land and wealth, it also had a strong religious element with the Khartoum government declaring Jihad or holy war on southerners. Churches and Christian organisations were specifically targeted. Even now, life for Sudan's Christians is tough, particularly in the North. While attempts to extend Sharia law to the whole of Sudan have failed, Sharia has frequently been applied to Christians in the north, particularly Khartoum. Christians face discrimination in the workplace and churches have been closed, destroyed or not allowed to be built at all. Some church leaders say that security forces in the south are rewarding people who convert to Islam and forcing others to do so in an effort to influence the outcome of the referendum in 2011. (Release International - March 2010)
One of the consequences of the civil war in Sudan - which has been going on (with some breaks) since 1955 - is that generations of children have grown up in poverty. Less than half of all Sudan's children finish even a rudimentary primary education. Even in areas which saw little fighting there were no resources to keep schools openor pay teachers and for decades it was too dangerous for outside agencies to come into Sudan to help. They and their families are condemned to repeat the cycle of poverty. In divided Sudan, illiteracy fosters all the factors which push the country back towards war. Education is the doorway to improving income, improving health, and to strong and peaceful communities. Pray for organisations such as the Evangelical Presbyterian Church who are running schools with the aim of transforming Sudanese society. (Worldshare - January 2010)
The Nubian people of Sudan were once a Christian people. However, over the centuries, Muslim Arabs invaded Nubia from Egypt, bringing Islam with them. By the 15th century, the last church had closed. The Nubians are now officially classified as an unreached people group. Pray that believers will gain a vision to see the Nubians of Sudan reached with the gospel. Pray too for the Nubians to rediscover their Christian heritage and desire once again for it to be their own. (Frontiers - May 2009)
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