Susan Tabia is the founder of the Amazing Grace Orphanage and St. Bartholomew Orphanage. Her gentle and persistent leadership has led to the care of thousands of vulnerable orphans, widows, and disabled people of Southern Sudan.
In August of 2007, Edwin Angote sat down with her for an interview.
EDWIN: How does faith impact your life?
SUSAN: Faith helps me to act with courage in times of suffering or sickness. It gives me hope, peace and confidence of things that I hope for. Thus, it does not allow me to struggle.
EDWIN: How does Lahash help you?
SUSAN: Lahash acts as our mouth. It has aired our burden to the world and enabled us to receive sponsorship for some of our orphans, and monthly funding for feeding the St. Bartholomew orphanage. We now have decent buildings for the Babies home and 2 permanent dormitories for boys, computers, and medical support. It has also helped the leper colony in many ways, for example, blankets, clothes, utensils, medicines and some food stuff. It constructed huts for some desperate lepers, provided some lepers with wheel chairs as well as feeding some orphans who live in Kampala. Lahash helps some of our staff with medical funds and grants a bonus each year for our staff.
EDWIN: What are your future plans?
SUSAN: My future plans are to construct more dormitories, nursery, primary, and secondary schools for the kids. I would like to have a dispensary, mixed farm, vocational training centers, set up counseling centers in other villages where widows/orphans could be counseled and listened too. I would also like to take IWASSRU activities to other parts of Southern Sudan apart from Kajo-Keji. Another plan is to have a guest house for generating money to meet some of our financial needs.
EDWIN: What are your hopes for the children?
SUSAN: My hope for the kids is to see them continue schooling and get jobs in the future. I would like to see them get married and have families, and also be strong people of the Lord and be good citizens who love all people.
EDWIN: How can people help you in different ways from other countries?
SUSAN: People can help us in different ways from other countries by raising funds for the ministry; send relief items in the form of food, clothes, beddings, utensils, agricultural tools, computers, medicines, school materials, etc.
EDWIN: As a woman leader, what is your advice to the other fellow women, and
men too?
SUSAN: My advice to both women and men is to have faith and be strong in the Lord. When we live in God’s presence, the devil hardly makes us stumble. I encourage both women and men to work hard in order to curb poverty in their families and their country. I advise girls not to rush into marriage but to study hard in order to reach high institutions. I also advise families to solve their problems amicably rather than seeking divorce or separation. Bring up children in a good way and lead them to the Lord.
EDWIN: In your opinion, is there any economic and communication change in
Southern Sudan as of now?
SUSAN: There has been a big economic and communication change in Southern Sudan since the peace agreement took place. Traders are able to market their goods in different parts of Southern Sudan at reasonable prices and people travel freely by road and air despite the rocky cracked roads that have not been repaired for 22 years due to the war. Trade is increasing, especially in Juba and Bahr el Gazal. Neighboring countries like Uganda, Kenya and Zaire are making money in Southern Sudan as well.
EDWIN: Do you have a plan of combining all three orphanages (St.
Bartholomew, Amazing Grace, and Kampala) to form one central orphanage?
SUSAN: Yes, I have plans of continuing the 3 orphanages and form one big orphanage if God provides enough resources for doing so.
EDWIN: Are there people you have to turn away and how do you go about this?
SUSAN: There are many widows, orphans and disabled people who come to IWASSRU seeking support. Since IWASSRU has nothing to give most of the time, we always turn them out. We have to counsel them, pray and send them away. Whenever we receive assistance that is specifically for such group, then we would call those who visited and counsel to take their gifts. If they are school children, then our staff has to visit and pay the school dues, etc.
In short, it is difficult to turn or send away a needy/desperate person who really needs help, empty handed. The person leaves with pain and uncertainty of what to do or where to return to, and we also remain in pain because we personally know and have experienced suffering. We always pray that Jehovah touch the hearts of many people to help those in need.
We are forced to turn people away after conducting serious interview with them. We can also carry out fact finding missions to know precisely that such a person doesn’t deserve admission
EDWIN: What are the challenges/problems you are facing?
SUSAN:The challenges/problems that I face are many:
- Lack of adequate funds for feeding the growing number of children. They have one type of food everyday.
- Lack of more permanent buildings to accommodate the children because the grass houses may decay shortly.
- Lack of nursery school for the small children.
- Lack of dispensary as it is hard taking them to the civil hospital all of the time due to their constant illnesses.
- Lack of office and store, as of now we have none.
- Salaries for the few staff that help the kids.
- A van for easy transport. We can’t visit some of our orphans in foster families or widows for counseling, etc. Transport between Kajo-Keji, Adjumani, and Kampala is expensive and tiresome by public means.
- Lack of school fees to cover all of the children and those living with foster parents.
- Lack of bedding and clothes.
- We need relief in the form of food, seed, clothes, blankets, utensils, etc. for desperate widows and their families.
- Need of funds earmarked for repairing the bedding, huts of aged widows, or disabled members who are really in need.
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