From Buttevant to South Sudan with love

Fr. Eugene Baker PP Buttevant is the repres-entative for Trócaire in Cloyne Diocese, and this year’s Trócaire Lenten Campaign focuses on its work in South Sudan which is the newest country in the world, but has suffered greatly from civil war.
To help bring attention to the important work of Trócaire, Fr. Eugene is inviting as many people as possible to undertake a virtual walk from Butte-vant to Juba, South Sudan, which is a distance of 9,144kms. If any person can do this walk, it would take 70 days and 16 hours of continuous walking, much of it through the desserts of Algeria and Niger. So, a virtual walk with a couple of hundred people on board over the 40 days of Lent is possible but it will require lots of people helping out.
What Fr. Eugene asks is that all the people who go on their daily walks, jogs, runs, cycle, rollerblading or any other energy sapping exercise, would count the kilometres they have clocked up each day and share it through the Buttevant Parish Facebook page (Buttevant and Lisgriffin Parish Pastoral Council) where your effort will be logged. You can also download the Strava App which will monitor your activity, and join up with the Buttevant Parish Group. A map of progress will show how much of the journey is completed.
Fr. Eugene has set himself a target of 200kms over the 40 days of Lent. Many people could do much more and others might not have started at all. Come on board and be part of this community initiative. Everyone is welcome to be part of it. This is a journey of love and support and friendship together for Awut and Ajak, who feature on this year’s Trócaire Box. A donation to Trócaire can be made at the end of the challenge towards Easter, if you like, through a donation button on the Facebook page.
To flee brutal armed conflict, Awut gathered her beloved family and they ran for their lives. Days passed without food or water. By the time they reached safety, they had lost nearly everything. Then Awut met another weary mother with even less. Awut welcomed Ajak and her children. Together the two mothers have forged a friendship and work tirelessly to make sure their families aren’t lost completely. But they are caught in poverty and the awful violence continues. Awut and Ajak are living in fear but Trócaire will help them to survive and thrive.
The Irish seanfhocal ‘Ní neart go chur le chéile’ holds good and true here. It is when a whole community of people work together with a common goal that strength and greatness is achieved. Fr. Eugene also asks you to spread the word to family, relations and friends elsewhere who might be interested in involving themselves in this community act of love from Buttevant to South Sudan.