Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail MA ‘18, a Sudanese Episcopal bishop in exile, advocated for his people at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. this summer. His graduation from CJP more than a year ago has freed his time to fully concentrate on his role as bishop of the Diocese of Kadugli of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan. He works from the United States and a liaison office in Juba, South Sudan, to pastor his dispersed congregation, many of whom are in refugee camps in six African countries.
The people of the Nuba Mountains, along with areas of Abyei, Blue Nile and Darfur, are caught between the governments of North and South Sudan and suffer from raids, bombing and starvation. More than 50,000 refugees live in the United States. To minister to them, Andudu has traveled to 35 states.
Before he completed his degree, he developed a powerful and promising model to help the Sudanese refugee community to learn more about trauma and resilience and restorative justice. With the help of co-instructors such as Kajungu Maturi MA ’18, of Tanzania, Andudu organized and facilitated a series of educational workshops in diaspora communities in Dallas, Texas; Richmond, Virginia; and Denver, Colorado.
Andudu hopes to work with CJP to host more workshops and to encourage Sudanese and south Sudanese community leaders to gain more training at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute. “This is the right place for Sudanese and south Sudanese,” he said. “This is a place where we can heal.”
The same blessing might be said of his own work. “You are like an apostle moving in the world,” said Professor Carl Stauffer. “You model deep commitment to your family and the needs of your church and your nation. Your work is valuable to the Sudanese and South Sudanese community and to the Anglican Church. We are honored to accompany you in this work, because you are helping us all.”