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2008 Overview

2008 was a year of great development for the Bloomin Bishop project in Yei, Southern Sudan.

EPC received the first shipment containing tractors and implements between Christmas 07 and the New Year.

The shipment had been delayed in Mombasa, Kenya, which meant that when a team from AST traveled to Yei in December 07 to see the container arrive they were disappointed.

Mike Carling, together with son Tom and Tim Parkinson were told just days before they flew to Africa that the container was behind schedule. So they decided to stay in Kampala longer than originally planned, during which time they visited the local Massey Ferguson dealer to check on spare parts availability.

When a second team from AST visited in February 08 (Stephen Wightman, David Partridge, Luke Carling and Tim Parkinson), the tractors had just been registered in New Sudan.

The team undertook ploughing trials with John, EPC's tractor driver using the Massey Ferguson while Stephen, David and Luke adjusted the plough settings.

As it was well into the dry season the ground was rock hard. When the rains came and the ground softened, John and the Agric. team wasted no time in planting the first harvest.

EPC invested in staple crops of maize and beans, but unfortunately heavy rains late in the growing season damaged the plants, knocking off the flowers that would have developed into the bean pods.

EPC also planted many pineapples and fruit trees. These represent a longer term investment that shows faith, determination and commitment to the agric project.

When Tim Parkinson and David & Gwenyth Carling visited EPC in June, the maize was standing tall and looked very healthy. A few weeks later the crops were harvested.

Soon after the June visit, EPC asked Active Service Trust for more equipment. They had discovered that the plough from the UK kept fouling up with grass and briers. The solution was an African disc plough which would cut up the scrub as it ploughed. EPC also were in need of a slasher to keep weeds down in between the growing seasons, and lastly, they really needed a seed drill, to enable more crops to be planted efficiently.

These three items were sourced from the Massey Ferguson dealer in Kampala - indeed the slasher and seed drill were there when the team had visited around 7 months earlier!

Stephen Wightman rang the dealer and a deal was hastily struck.

Bishop Elias arranged for the equipment to be collected in an EPC truck and transported back to Yei.

A few weeks earlier, Bishop had recruited a new head of Agriculture for the project, and Tito Manase was very encouraged by the arrival of this new machinery.

And so on to the second season. Manase decided to grow Sorgum as well as sunflowers at Goli, alongside the pineapples and fruit trees, maize and beans.

And this time the beans were not damaged by rain and produced a good crop.

Bishop Elias sent wonderful pictures of the harvest being brought in, as well as shots of fruit-laden mango trees and flourishing orange trees - all showing much promise of abundant harvests to come year after year.

We thank God for how everything has worked together to produce two good harvests in 2008, for the recruitment of new staff who are highly motivated to develop the agric project further, and for more varied and abundant harvests for the future.

Bishop Elias has said that he really needs at least one more large tractor to help the continued development of the EPC agricultural programme. Other items on his wish list include introducing livestock, like cows, pigs and chickens.

For now though, there is more than enough work in opening up more acres of land to grow staple crops and to plant fruit orchards. And as more land is brought into production, more and more work is needed to keep weeds under control.

Each member of the AST team are delighted to have played a part in helping Bishop Elias, his wife AnneGrace and the EPC team as they move this project on. We also wish to thank each supporter who has given time, money, or both to help us in this mission.

If one was to take a step back and look at the very great needs in this region of South Sudan, our achievements do seem very small, but as well as sowing valuable crops, we have also sown seeds of hope.

Food grown in South Sudan provides much more than mere nourishment. The EPC agric programme provides employment, training, and hope for a brighter, more prosperous future for a generation who have known little more than war and poverty.

And as Bishop Elias and the EPC church reach out in their community with not just words of hope through Christ, but in real, practical ways, we hope for an eternal harvest of much more value than we have seen in the fields of South Sudan in 2008.