THE SHADING TREE (TIM ATIEP)

(SCOTTISH CHARITY No: SC 030509)

SUPPORTING COMMUNITY PROJECTS IN NORTHERN BAHR EL-GHAZAL

For some pictures click on the links below The name of the Association, The Shading Tree or Tim Atiep comes from two sources. Sudan is a hot country and much business and local affairs are conducted in the shade of a large spreading fig or mango tree. These trees are often the focal point of a village or community and one will always find something going on there. The local court may be in session discussing the case of a stolen cow, or a woman may be sitting there with her pot of milk or honey beer for sale by the gourdful. There may be a group of children being given lessons and using the dusty ground as a copybook. Or someone may be stretched out having a snooze after a long walk from the next village. These trees, therefore, are an important part of the community's life, providing cool shade and a place where the people, men, women and children can gather and discuss matters of importance. The name, The Shading Tree, is also a literal translation of the Dinka name, Tim Atiep, given to the last British District Commissioner in the area in whose memory the Association is established. He spent much of the last 46 years of his life campaigning for a peaceful resolution to the problems which have beset Sudan since independence.
A Fishing Festival Northern Bahr el-Ghazal is a remote corner of a remote region. A civil war has been in progress for most of the 40 odd years since independence - a civil war which is not simply a struggle between Muslim and non-Muslim, or Arab and African as it has always been portrayed, but is as much a struggle between a neglected and underdeveloped region with much in the way of natural resources and a powerful and well-developed region with little or no resources of any kind. It is as much a struggle for control of the waters of the Nile and the rich pastures that are fed by these waters as anything that religion, race or ethnic origin has to offer. And, as always, it is the children and the women, on both sides, who suffer most. Instability robs them of markets and trade so that ordinary everyday items are scarce, it robs them of the security to grow their crops and expect to glean a harvest from them; it robs them of their menfolk who are taken away to fight and quite often do not return and it robs them of the opportunity for an education. (Since 1983, when the present stage of civil war began, very few children have had the chance to learn to read and write - now a whole generation has lost one of the most important of human rights). Most tragic of all it often robs them of life itself. Between 1½ and 2 million men, women and children have died from starvation, war and disease since 1983, and there are currently about 4½ million refugees and displaced people who have not been able to return to their homes.
At the water pump However, the people are not helpless victims. It is always reassuring to see how resilient and determined people are, even in the face of whatever natural and man-made disasters are flung at them. But sometimes the knowledge that there are other folk who can offer them support which will fortify or reinforce their own coping mechanisms, gives them an extra boost of confidence. People know that they cannot rely upon short term relief and given the opportunity to solve their own local problems or to implement locally initiated projects, communities and community groups become stronger and more able to maintain the traditional methods of social welfare within their communities.
Mud brick making The Shading Tree will be a charitable unincorporated association set up specifically to give support to the rural communities of Northern Bahr el-Ghazal in Southern Sudan. The Association will raise funds and awareness of the situation in Southern Sudan and communities or community groups will be able to apply to the Association for small grants in order to support or finance local initiatives which will benefit the community as a whole. Support for individuals or individual families may be considered through application by the community or community groups to the Association. The Association will also act as a link between communities and other sources of funding or support. An element of advocacy will also be included in the aims and objectives of the Association in order to raise awareness in the international community for the situation in Southern Sudan. All community projects will be considered, but those which focus particularly on education and children will be given priority consideration, always taking into account the priorities of the communities themselves. The emphasis will be on what communities can do for themselves with the minimum of input from outside in terms of goods, materials or personnel and with the maximum benefit to the community.
School The Association was constituted on 17th September 2000 and recognition as a Scottish charity has been granted. Anyone interested in knowing more about The Shading Tree (Tim Atiep) or who wishes to send a donation can write to: The Shading Tree, Downcraig Ferry, Isle of Cumbrae. KA28 0HQ. A separate website has been set up here.