The untold stories

By Alexandra Bingham

Posted in Culture

Jesus was the ultimate storyteller. His story of sacrifice and loving the ‘least of these’ literally changes lives and transforms hearts. It is a story for all and we have been invited to the table to listen and share.

I am a storyteller, drawn to those stories that often go untold and those people who often go unheard.

At the age of 26, I moved my life from Adelaide, South Australia, to the Philippines to undertake a one-year volunteer placement with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). In this role, I work together with the UnitingWorld co-sponsored Indigenous Peoples program to train communities and staff in the use of film, photography and communications to bring about positive change through storytelling. We focus mainly on exposing injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples of the Philippines, aiming to bring about transformed communities free from poverty and corruption. As the Indigenous peoples are great storytellers themselves we work to ensure they are equipped to share their own stories.

Close to the end of my assignment, UntingWorld approached my colleague, Alex Baker, and I to share stories from other life-bringing projects around the world. We were tasked with travelling to India, China and Papua New Guinea to collect meaningful stories to share as part of the 2017 Lent Event campaign. First stop: Nairobi, Kenya, to document the Peacemaker program in South Sudan.

South Sudan is the world’s youngest country, but in its short life it has known an unimaginable amount of death, war and suffering. After gaining its independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan experienced a short period of peace. However, since 2013, civil war has raged across the country and affected the lives of many. Alex and I would soon hear firsthand accounts of the impact of this violence on all South Sudanese communities.

Soon after our arrival, we were met by Rev Tut Ngoth, Deputy Director of the Presbyterian Relief and Development Association and a key player in UnitingWorld’s Peacemaker program in South Sudan. He shared his story of fleeing the country, of attacks on Nile Theological College, the destruction of the Presbyterian Church’s National Compound in Malakal, and the loss of those women, men, children and pastors who were caught in the crossfire between rebel and government forces.

The weight of Tut’s story dawned on us in the following days as we began to piece together all he had told us and saw the sorrow on his face as he recounted his lived experiences. But despite these many hardships, Tut’s hope for a brighter, peaceful future is unwavering. This hope is reflected in his tireless efforts to deliver the Peacemaker program, including the rebuilding of schools and hospitals, and facilitating peace talks to bring about reconciliation.

Stories like Tut’s often go unheard – sharing them is a great privilege.

This year, Lent Event will include stories shared from people in China, South Sudan, India, Papua New Guinea, and beyond. I invite you to join us at the table this Lent, from 1 March, to hear these stories. And I encourage you to take this experience a step further – to give up something from your everyday life and put that money aside to support one of the projects spoken about in these stories.

For more information about Lent Event and UnitingWorld’s projects, please click here or call (02) 8267 4267.

 


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