A BLESSED MOMENT IN HISTORY! By Fr. Ron Sajdak

Forty pre-registered

African Sudanese

voters along with

Fr. Ron Sajdak

boarded a Grand

Tour Bus early

Sunday, January 9th

to begin a journey

to Toronto Canada

where they would

cast their vote in

the Historic Refer-

endum for residents

of Southern Sudan. The bus, sponsored by ROTA: “Reaching

Out 2 Africa” Ministries of St. Martin de Porres Church

and CRS: Catholic Relief Services of Western New York,

was filled with great excitement and joy as these Sudanese

“citizens in exile” exercised their new

freedom in this way.

Most recently in Sudan‟s com-

plicated history, a peace agreement was

signed in 2005 which brought an end to

a violent civil war between the North

and South that had been raging for over

twenty-three years. Since the peace

agreement, the South and North have had inter-dependent governments with

government ministries in the South

occupied by southerners and the presi-

dent of the South func-

tioning as the Vice-

President of the unified

government for the

whole country. Another

tenet of the agreement

was the sharing of oil

revenue 50/50 between

the South and the North. These monies, in addi-

tion to providing for the

government offices of

the South ,assisted in the

development of infra-

structure that had been

absent for all the years of the civil war. The final stipulation of

the peace accord was the right of Southern Sudanese to deter-

2011 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Website: www.reachingout2africa.com

E-mail: reachingout2africa@gmail.com

An Outreach Ministry of St. Martin de Porres Parish/Buffalo 555 Northampton Street/Buffalo, NY 14208 716-883-7729

Rev. Ronald P. Sajdak, SMDP Pastor/ROTA Director

Mrs. Joan Ersing, Executive Director

mine if their country should remain unified with the Northern

government or secede from the North to form an independent

country; the fifty-fifth on the African Continent.

A stipulation of the Referendum

Commission was that over 60% of the regis-tered voters needed to actively participate in

order for the election to be valid. To date

over 98% of the registered voters partici-

pated. To register, people in Southern Sudan

had to travel long distances by foot and wait

for long periods of time to prove their citi-

zenship as Southerners. Southern Sudanese

in exile around the world had designated

polling places established by the commission and many had to

travel many miles to reach them. Then beginning January 9th

until January 15th registered voters had to make the journey

again; this time to place their thumb print on which they prefer: unity as it is or separation: South from the North.

Though the temperatures were frigid, the spirit during

the two and a half hour ride to the polling station was at fever

pitch. Songs of praise and worship filled the bus and both men

and women led the call and response

to songs and rally style cheers. Our

bus delegation waited for over three

hours in the bitter cold to finally enter

the small community center and have

the freedom to exercise their new

found right to vote. As the world watched, this Biblical people stood up

for themselves peacefully and with

great order and dignity, participated in

a life changing event for their whole

country. The final results expected

99% have officially voted for separation. The implementation

of the will of the people will take

place on July 9th, 2011; a new In-

dependence Day for Southern Su-

dan. Congratulations to all our

Brothers and Sisters who remind us

of the value of fighting

for valuable

freedom.

D‟YOUVILLE WINTER BREAK WORKING ON KOIYOM MEDICAL CLINIC

By Fr. Ron Sajdak

As soon as the last exam was complete, former “Lost

Boy” Fidele Diing Dhan departed Buffalo headed to Kampala

Uganda first to spend time with his immediate family. He had

relocated them there so that his younger siblings could attend

school. After a brief week to recover from the jet lag, just be-

fore Christmas, he made his way into Sudan and the Village of

Koiyom. Because of

the upcoming Referen-

dum Vote that was to take place January 9th,

buying supplies was

more difficult than

usual. While there he

was able to supervise

the completion of the

roof project for the

clinic, finishing with

cement both the interior and exterior walls, as well as making

provisions for the laying the

foundation for the veranda porch. Unlike in this country

where we hire a developer

who hires the subcontractors

who purchase all the supplies

needed to complete the job, all

the business in the Sudan tends

to be al-a-cart. Going into the

town of Aweil, Fidele needed

to purchase additional cement

and additional sand. Having

purchased the products

needed the next step was securing a means to transport

the goods back to the village

and of course each and every

step requires good negotia-

tion skills in order to be cost effective. The final purchases in-

cluded timbers and supplies that

would be used to dig, line, and

finish the septic tank system as

well as the six pit

toilets and six

shower stalls that will be for both

the staff and the

patients of the clinic. It is our hope that we

will be able to finance another well and above

ground water tank that will enable the toilets, septic system and

showers to work. Many thanks to Fidele who in two weeks

accomplished much more than our village team seems to do in

many months. Many thanks to St. Jude/Sardinia Confirmation

Class, St. Benedict Parish Community, and many of you our

new benefactors who continue to make these miracles possible.

PLATINUM, GOLDEN, & BRONZE SHOVEL ROTA AWARDS DINNER

We are most grateful for all the support shown the ministries of

ROTA: Reaching Out 2 Africa. In September 2010 we had the

opportunity to recognize and thank all you our supporters.

PLATINUM SHOVEL AWARDS - $5,000+ Donors

ANONYMOUS – Florida Donor

Queen of Heaven Parish Community

St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral

D‟Youville College

Saints Peter & Paul/Hamburg Immaculate Conception/East Aurora

GOLDEN SHOVEL AWARDS - $1,000+

Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rotary Club

Queen of Heaven School

R&P Oak Hill Development LLC

Susan Santandreu

Dr. Joseph & Annalise Biondolillo

Good Shepherd Parish

St. Benedict School Class of 2010

BRONZE SHOVEL AWARDS - $500+

In Memory of Fr. Gary Bagley

Mary Ellen Glass

Msgr. Leo Hammerl

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph

Sonia L. Walker

St. Mary‟s Elementary School

Daniel & Joanne Zwolinski

A CHRISTMAS PARTY FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN

By Joan Ersing

This Christmas the Williamsville and

Clarence ROTARY Clubs hosted a

Christmas Party for our children of our

Sudanese Families. Assumption Parish on

the Westside of Buffalo donated the use

of their cafeteria in the

“Our Lady of Black

Rock School” build-

ing. Fifty of the children that ROTA has

worked with gathered for a Sunday after-

noon filled with Christmas crafts, pizza, live Christmas music and of course, a visit from

Santa himself! Dominic and Diane Cortese

were the driving force behind this project. They organized the

volunteers from their ROTARY clubs, gathered gifts from do-

nations at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Harris

Hill, donated the food and provided a wonderful time of fel-

lowship and fun for all. ROTA is extremely grateful for the

overwhelming endeavor undertaken by our new friends!

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE

www.reachingout2africa.com

Many thanks to Norman

Miller, one of our young men

in the East Side Buffalo Com-

munity who continues to

assist us with our website……………… Check us out!!!!!!!!!!

JOYFUL NEWS SHARED AT THE SECOND “GOLDEN SHOVEL AWARDS” BANQUET

By Fr. Ron Sajdak

In addition to a beautiful evening with friends and

supporters last September, Fidele Diing Dhan surprised those

gathered by carefully sharing some very good news. He spoke

of how ever since he made himself known again to his family

back in 2006, that for family security reasons as well as tribal

tradition, his mom and family were impressing upon him the

need for him to marry. After successfully skirting the issue he

returned back to Buffalo and then began the clinic project.

When he returned back to the Sudan in late 2007, he found that his family had selected a wife for him. As the

eldest in his family, Fidele is responsible for his

mom and younger siblings. None of his

younger brothers would be allowed to marry

until he was wed. In late 2007 Fidele agreed

and married a beautiful young woman named

Abang whom his family had chosen for him. It

was after the traditional tribal wedding that he

relocated his mom, new wife, as well as

younger siblings to Southern Uganda for safety

reasons and opportunities for education. When Fidele and I had traveled into Sudan for the

ground breaking celebration back in 2009, af-

terward he was on his way back to Uganda. It

was also at this time that he revealed the good news to me that

he was, for the first time, going to meet his four month old son,

Diing Diing. At this writing little Diing Diing

is over two years old. Fidele often says that he

enjoys school and all the opportunities he has

had and still has as an American citizen. How-

ever now when he goes back to Africa to his

family‟s temporary home in Uganda, his fam-

ily includes his own wife and child. On March 29th

Abang called her husband

Fidele and shared some

good news. She gave birth to Fidele‟s sec-

ond child; a baby girl that they named

Abuk Diing Dhan. “Abuk” is the name

“Eve” in the Dinka language. Coming back

to America each time is much more diffi-

cult for Fidele as he leaves his wife and

children behind for now. Fidele continues

to study finishing his first year of a nursing program at D‟Youville College. His future objectives include:

continue school for a few years finishing with a degree as a

nurse practitioner, building a more stable house for his mother

back in the village of Koiyom, work here and pay off some of

his debts, establish himself here in America to the point that he

can move his family here to USA. We pray for Fidele, Abang,

Diing Diing, and Abuk. Many thanks to the St. Vincent de Paul

Parish Hope Fund and many others who have contributed to

help support Fidele‟s extended family while he works on his

degree in nursing at D‟Youville College.

CONGRATULATIONS FIDELE DIING DHAN his wife ABANG

DIING DIING DHAN & ABUK DIING DHAN

MONTH OF JUNE MISSIONARY APPEALS By Fr. Ron Sajdak

June is the month of welcome for missionaries from

around the whole world into the Diocese of Buffalo. ROTA

was pleased to provide the transportation, room and board for one of our African friends, Fr. Emmanuel Katabaazi of the

Diocese of Masaka, Uganda. Fr. Emmanuel

was best friends with Fr. Evarist Lubega

who assisted ROTA in expanding out reach

onto the African continent itself. I met Fr.

Emmanuel when Richard Ersing and I made

our first journey to the Diocese of Masaka

Uganda to visit our good friend Fr. Evarist

Lubega. Fr. Emmanuel was the local parish

pastor. I was surprised that he was able to

open a medical clinic within his parish to

help provide needed medical care for his parishioners. Fr. Emmanuel‟s bishop no-

ticed his love for medical assistance of peo-

ple and currently he is the coordinator of the Catholic Health

Care System for his Diocese. He oversees twenty-nine clinics

and two hospitals. After consultation with ROTA it was deter-

mined that we would support his efforts to construct a medicine

depot which would purchase medicines in bulk and distribute

them to the twenty-nine clinics and two hospitals within the

Church‟s health care system in Masaka. The Propagation of the

Faith Office in Buffalo accepted ROTA‟s 2010 request to have

Fr. Emmanuel come to Buffalo a second time and he was as-signed various parishes last

June. He had preached in Im-

maculate Conception Parish in

East Aurora, Good Shepherd &

St. Augustine worship site, and

Saints Peter & Paul in Ham-

burg. Many thanks to each pas-

tor and the generosity of the

people. The funds wired to Fr.

Emmanuel enabled

him to begin the

medical depot pro-ject. Land was se-

cured and measured

off. The foundations

were laid and the

building has begun

to take shape. Fr.

Emmanuel has been

in communication

with ROTA and

hopes that the $15,000 USD necessary to complete the project

may be raised. ROTA has been accepted again for the 2011 Mission Cooperative in the Diocese of Buffalo. We hope that

we will be able to raise the much needed funds to complete this

project. Unlike our building project in Sudan, Masaka Uganda

has building materials, a skilled work-

force, and an economy that allows

one American dollar to be massively

productive. We pray for the success

of our appeal and for the completion

of this much needed project for our

sisters and brothers in Uganda.

FAITH JOURNEY By Joan Ersing

Aman Alou, from Southern

Sudan, on the right, wife of

Akol Madut, and mother of eight children, has been on a

journey of faith with Marthe

Ngwashi and Brenda Smith at

St. Martin de Porres Church.

Every week they meet to

share faith and support one

another on their journey to

full membership in the Catholic Church. Aman never had the

opportunity to be baptized while living in Sudan. She has wit-

nessed her husband‟s baptism, had her children baptized and

now she has prepared for baptism this Easter at St. Martin de

Porres, her Church home! We pray for Aman and her two fel-low companions. God bless them and St. Martin de Porres.

DAY TO DAY NEEDS By Joan Ersing

ROTA has always been known as a „support‟ organization for

the Sudanese community here in Buffalo. Some times the need

is for diapers for their children,

food for the family until their

benefits arrive, bus tokens or

gas to get to and from work and

school. Whatever the need, ROTA tries to help. That help is

provided by the generosity of

our many supporters: Parishion-

ers of St. Martin de Porres, St. Bernadette Parish Neighbors,

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Harris Hill, St.

Jude in Sardinia, Buffalo for Africa and over 500 individual

supporters. It takes many hands to help those in need. We are

for ever grateful to all who recognize the charitable work of

Reaching Out 2 Africa. God Bless You!

IT TAKES A VILLAGE By Joan Ersing

American parents often assume that they are the only ones that

influence their children‟s growth and development. The Afri-

can saying that it takes a Village to raise a child, is extremely

apparent in ROTA‟s work with African families here in Buf-

falo. We have witnessed a birth, we have helped them to bury

their 16 year old son and we have visited them in prison. Rais-

ing children in our modern world is difficult for Americans

born and raised here, the task is sometimes impossible for refu-

gees from other lands. ROTA‟s Youth Work program has as-

sisted many young men in learning skills, developing work

ethics and encouraged them on their journey to lifelong suc-cess. ROTA funds their employment and training through do-

nations from our supporters. The difference we can make as a

VILLAGE is amazing! Help encourage our African youth to

work, learn and become productive members of our City!

YOUR PRAYERS &

DONATIONS HELP

US TO CONTINUE

THIS MINISTRY

MAPER DUT „FUTBOL‟ TEAM SPONSORED BY

R&P OAK HILL DEVELOPMENT / BUFFALO By Fr. Ron Sajdak

Many thanks to Gary Bichler and R&P Oak Hill Develop-

ment, for their generous contribution that allowed former “Lost

Boy” Fidele Dhan to answer a request by many youth of his hometown of Koiyom, Southern Sudan.

While traveling back home for a ground

breaking ceremony for the new medical

clinic in April of

2009, a group of

youth approach he

and Fr. Ron with a

hand written request

for their soccer team.

Though we could not

fulfill all of what they wanted, our

friends at R&P Oak Hill responded with a

show of support and enabled

Fidele to have soccer uniforms

made here in Buffalo. He car-

ried them with him to Sudan

when he returned home last

summer and they were pre-

sented to the team through a

public gathering with the

Southern Sudan Minister of

Sport. While back in the vil-

lage this past December and

January, Fidele caught up with

the team who posed for photos

with their new uniforms. Fi-

dele commented that “though

they have had the uniforms and have used them for a few

months they still look as good

as new.” Many thanks to Gary

Bichler and our friends at R&P

Oak Hill for their support of

youth half way around the world. They and we will never for-

get your generosity.

ROTA BOARD GETS WORD OUT By Fr. Ron Sajdak

Young Board member, Jenaro Aken,

shares information about Reaching

Out 2 Africa at the 2011 Catholic

Men‟s Conference. In the past few

months we‟ve had the pleasure of

sharing the miracles and aspirations of our ministry in a variety of venues:

Buffalo for Africa Women‟s Confer-

ence, West Seneca Elementary School

book club, Akron Rotary Club, St. John the Baptist Outreach

Ministry, St. Vincent de Paul Parish and St.

Benedict Catholic Community. Thank you to

all for your most kind invitations.