Slice OF Life
Frederick man works to bring healing to Sudan
By ADAM BEHSUDI News-Post Staff abehsudi@fredericknewspost.com
The small hospital under construction in Kaujok, Sudan, was not complete, but people had already moved in, eager to have their ailments treated. The sight was one of many the Rev. John Deckenback witnessed during a recent visit to the southern region of the African country that has for years been ravaged by war. “There’s no running water, no electricity, no sewage systems,” he said. But scenes of human suffering and disaster are not unfamil iar to the Frederick resident. Deckenback is a board member at International Relief and Development, a nonprofit organization that implements projects to help people in areas of the world affected by conflict. The organization provides nearly $500 million each year in assistance to countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Most of the work is carried out through contracts with the United Nations and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Deckenback visited Sudan for 10 days last month to check on the progress of basic humanitarian projects that included providing reliable sources of water and basic facilities such as a hospital and school. Providing basic services is often the start of stability in an area affected by war, he said. The population of Kaujok had expanded from 500 three years ago to 20,000 today, Deckenback said. “With the peace agreement, many of the refugee camps in the neighboring countries were closed,” he said. The peace agreement, signed in January 2005, ended a nearly 22-year civil war between the Muslim, Arab north and the largely Christian, indigenous
south. A separate war in the Darfur region to the west that began in 2003 is ongoing. More than 1.9 million people have died as a result of violence, famine and disease. Deckenback said his organization is also working with the United Nations to organize the country’s upcoming elections — not an easy task when the illiteracy rate in a village like Kaujok is 99.5 percent. Deckenback is the conference minister of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ and has served on the relief organization’s board for 10 years. He has also visited refugee situations in Iraq and Jordan and will be traveling to the West Bank in July. “We don’t just sit in an office or a meeting room and hear about projects,” he said.
Courtesy photo The Rev. John Deckenback, center, a board member at International Relief and Development, stands next to Mayuot Akec Mayan, the minister of agriculture for the state of Kaujok, southern Sudan, who is leaning against Deckenback.
