lifeless overgrown compound littered with broken metal stands, cut from the chain link fence, sign posts, metallic electric stands, torn papers, broken glasses and broken wood is what welcomes one upon entering the Comboni mission compound in Kajo Keji. If someone relates how two years ago this place was so bubbly and full of life, they wouldn’t be telling lies. Today, all that welcomes one is the sound of birds and insects in different corners of the compound that have taken over as residents of the mission.
The ripe fruits in the compound could be the only reason the birds, bats, insects and other animals are sighted in the compound. “We have lost so many things, rebuilding this place to its former self will take the missionaries over 10 years,” said Bro Fafa Ayih during his visit to the mission. Brother Fafa said he does regular visits to make sure that encroachers don’t claim the property. He added that Comboni missionaries in Lomin lost property worth millions of dollars in the war.
The sight of the ruins at the mission will bring tears to one’s eyes. The mission has been beneficial to so many people of Kajo Keji where many got employment, students went to school, the community got medical treatment and where the small town of Kajo Keji was supplied with electricity from the multipurpose generator. According to Brother Fafa, the mission was serving 32 out-stations with schools that were being maintained by the Comboni Missionaries of Lomin.
The Mission has also been paying the teachers at the schools. Wars are usually deadly situations which rob people of lives, peace, loved ones and property. Many people are forced to flee their homes in search of more peaceful and safe places to live in. Comboni Missionaries of Lomin in Kajo Keji can attest to this brutal arm of the insurgency in South Sudan and they, like the rest of the people had to look for safety and also follow the people they serve to the refugee camp.
While they were looking for safety, they managed to save some machinery and other movable property and carried it to Moyo their new home. Two years ago, the community was forced to relocate from Kajo Keji to Moyo in search for peace and safety of their life and some property. They cannot point fingers at anyone for the loss, but they have decided to pick up their broken pieces and start all over again. The once beautiful compound has been reduced to ruins. The ruins at the mission begin right from the school that was run by the Comboni missionaries, Sisters Convent, the health center to the Comboni missionary, Priests and brothers house. The church at Kajo Keji also did not survive the wrath of the war either. Bro Fafa said St Daniel Comboni Comprehensive College in Lomin was home for 1000 students from senior one to senior four. This mixed boarding school was hope for a bright future to he students before war forced them out.
The school property was all stolen by unknown people, the chain link fences, the school main gate and all metallic chairs and tables in both classrooms and offices did not survive, the students’ beds in the dormitories were also taken. The school also lost all kitchen utensils. All that remains of the school is the frame of the buildings standing up in a bushy compound. Brother Fafa said at the moment, it is hard to establish how much damage was caused at the school and the mission because they have lost so many valuable things.
The vandalism went on to the dispensary which was providing the community with health care. South Sudan government health workers had taken over the looted items and vandalized the dispensary by the time we visited.
A Clinical Officer said the Commissioner of Lomin had allowed them to use the property to provide services to the people who stayed back home. He added that the facility had served 241 patients in March. Though he said their main case at the time was malaria, skin diseases and bacterial infections were also common. From a distance, Sacred Heart Church at Lomin Parish looks intact and in good condition, but the interior portrays something else.
The tabernacle was forced opened and the hosts were all scattered on the floor of the church. Anything that looked like a drawer in the church was forced open or broken and destroyed probably in search for money. The only thing that survived at the mission was a wooden structure as all the metal structures were vandalized and stolen. “The metallic water tanks, pipes and other metalalic equipment like beds, chairs, window seals were all destroyed and sold to scrap dealers in Uganda” said Bro Fafa. The church interior was drilled and all the solar connections stolen.
The priests’ community house was another place that did not survive the vandalism.
Anything that looked like a drawer in the church was forced open or broken and destroyed probably in search for money.
At the entrance of the dining room, everything is scattered and littered on the floor, the looters carried everything they could carry and destroyed what they could not carry. The bedrooms that belonged to the priests and brothers were all broken into and all you find are scattered, torn books with a few un-torn books and papers that were littered on the floor. All the beds and mattresses were stolen by the vandalisers.
In the community chapel, crucifixes were broken, the altar destroyed and the hosts were all scattered on the floor, all the chalices were stolen. The laundry room did not survive this vandalism either. The vandalisers failed to take the washing machine, but they decided to destroy it. The water supply has been an essential item in Lomin as a community. Bro Fafa said the mission was supplying the Kajo Keji community with water. The water pump was stolen and all the metallic water tanks on the compound were destroyed.
Following the heavy vandalism, fire gutted the welding department and burnt down the remaining machines which had not been moved. The only thing that remains in this department is a dilapidated wall part which has collapsed.
The carpentry department almost survived vandalism because Bro Fafa and the community members decided to move the machineries before the war got out of hand. All you see in the carpentry show room are broken pieces of wood, vandalized walls and damaged pipes that was vandalized and left behind.
Another department that suffered a lot of blow was the textile and fabrics department: all the sewing machines in this department were stolen with just the weaving machines intact. Weaving threads are littered on the floor and some thrown through the broken windows, while some threads were tied on the weaving machines as a sign that work was taking place here when all this happened. At the entrance of the guest house, one is welcomed by broken glasses from the window louvers scattered on the compound. As one proceeds to the broken door, one is met by a clattered room littered with broken glasses and plates scattered everywhere, broken doors and broken cabins: all taps were broken and the house only has toilet seats and sinks.
Bro Fafa however said despite the destruction, they have not lost hope of serving the people and they hope to return to Kajo Keji as soon as peace returns. He also noted that the major reason for them moving out of the mission was because many of the people they were serving had moved to camps in Uganda with the big number living in Palorinya settlement and refugee camps. He added that they decided to build the mission house in Palorinya to be close to them and continue serving them.
