_{MSC Mission Office and South Sudan, Sister Rita Grunke OLSH.}

_{The OLSH Sisters, Australian and international, have worked in South Sudan in recent decades. Not easy.  And this week there was the sad news report of two sisters killed in an ambush,} their congregation, Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

_{A message from Sr Rita Grunke OLSH from the recent past in South Sudan: "These photos will probably mean little visually but for us and for the youth they’re a great success. They were nurtured with water twice daily for #ThePast several months from little more than 5 inches high. It’s the dry season and since their transfer to the orchard there’s not been a drop of rain. The youngsters have done a great job. Each week we deliver some support food #ForWork for the group.}

_{"It is only when you have been water-deprived over many years that you can know the joy of having it close to your doorstep, only a 30-minute walk away."}

_{Three sites in South Sudan now have access to fresh water after successful installation of water pumps with the assistance of the MSC Mission Office. Sr Rita visited the sites to see the impact that access to clean water has had in the local community. She shared with us her experiences.}

_{"I have just returned home to our OLSH compound after spending four hours journeying among the Jur through roadless acres of grassland and forest, monitoring the progress of drilling for fresh water. Only an experienced driver like Juma is able to safely negotiate such terrain without punctured tyres," Sr Rita wrote. "Two sites are now yielding fresh, clean, cool water; though the first site required a second drilling at a location a short distance on. Women and young girls dance and sing their gratitude for a much closer, fresh, clean water source." In many communities where families do not have access to clean water, the burden is on women and girls to walk long distances to collect water. This can impact girls' schooling and can create opportunities for abuse.}

_{Sr Rita shared details of the ceremony that accompanied the first water pumped in Alel Deberra. She wrote "The third site, Alel Deberra, was a joy to behold. Our arrival there coincided with the first water being pumped from the newly drilled borehole. Dozens of people were there rejoicing, clapping, pumping, drinking, washing faces, watering their goats, assisting little kids to drink, to wash faces and fingers. One lady led a prayer of gratitude for what had been accomplished."}

_{The joy of having access to fresh water was shared by all in the community. Sr Rita writes "The chief, the soldier providing the security for the drillers, the administrator – all were childlike in their joy and gratitude for the water. Everyone tasted it including myself and it was crystal clear, literally so - pure, fresh, cool and delightful."}

_{Sr Rita was thankful to those who made this clean water project possible. "The donors who so generously and continuously give to the MSC Mission Office are to be thanked profusely," she wrote, "You cannot know the joy you provide for these isolated, genuine and unsophisticated thirsty people. The story is the same for those who so generously contribute to the OLSH Overseas Aid Fund. It is only when you have been water-deprived over many years that you can know the joy of having it close to your doorstep, only a 30-minute walk away. Be Blessed."}

_{The current situation in South Sudan}

_{These projects are part of an ongoing restoration of peace to South Sudan following years of conflict. Sr Rita shared how the political conditions have developed under the Unity Government and why projects like these need the support of external donors to be funded.}

_{"The formation of the Unity Government, so long in the making, was finally met with much jubilation but also with equal scepticism. Jubilation because people are so war weary and desperately want peace; scepticism because there seems to be little attitudinal change among leaders where competition for top ministerial positions is so aggressive. Ministers have now been assigned and grassroots people pray for and plead to their leaders to fulfil the hopes and expectations for an established peace that will enable development."}

_{"Prior to the formation of the Unity Government the word commonly used by many around Mapuordit in relation to life in South Sudan was “Useless”. "Leaders were termed “useless” because there was no connect with grassroots lives; roads were “useless” because lorries were overturning in huge pot holes on the highway, with drivers and supplies being delayed for weeks; land cruisers were getting stuck in unforgiving mud; governance was similarly termed “useless”; the litany went on."}

_{"Since the return from 28 States back to the original 10 States, many upper level citizens remain “unemployed”," wrote Sr Rita. "Serious efforts are being made to find “jobs” for those now seen as redundant. Lord, let us not return to 28 States!"}