By Bida Elly David & Ijoo Bosco Modi
Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron has earned high praise as a popular destination for peace and tranquility, but its sustainability is a growing concern among its residents.
After the demise of its Founder Emeritus Bishop Paride Taban, residents in Eastern Equatoria State are urging authorities and the church to sustain the Peace Village.
The late Emeritus Bishop Paride founded the Holy Trinity Peace Village, Kuron, situated in Eastern Equatoria, with the aim of reconciling divided communities and helping the destitute.
Grace Ihisa, one of the believers, defined the late Paride as a risk-taker in the middle of divided, warring communities.
“Bishop Paride is a unique character among human beings. Kuron used to be a divided zone among conflicting communities, but the bishop planted love,” she eulogized.
Speaking to the No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, Fr. Arkangelo Lokoro, Rev. Father from Torit Catholic Archdiocese, said the transformation made by Paride is enough to help the generation.
He said there has already been a generation trained by the late bishop Paride to advocate for continuous peace in the village.
“The generation trained by Paride is grown enough and will continue with the unfinished mission of the Bishop,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fr. Gabriel Asida from the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba assured that Kuron, in the absence of the bishop, would never fall down.
“Kuron village will never fall because Paride has laid a very strong foundation for the young ones he brought up,” he said.
Fr. Asida noted that Kuron village bears competent, educated young men and women who can change the shape of the blessed land.
He added that Paride was a man whose funeral would have been organized nationwide by the government.
“We were expecting our government to organize a nationwide ceremony in recognition of Paride, but we don’t really know what happened.
“Bishop being a contributor to the liberation movement, just like other liberators would have been recognized, but we still believe they are working on it,” he added.
Fr. Gabriel said the bishop, through his peace mission in South Sudan with the help of international organizations, will not allow Kuron village to collapse.
“Paride had done great things that other men could not do. He suffered in the name of his people, just as Jesus suffered for the church,” he said.
He underscored that the unity among the communities in Kuron is a clear indicator that the village won’t collapse but rather progress more.
“They are now in unity; they eat together, solve problems together, and work together; the majority are now educated; I have hope that Kuron will be alive,” he said.
However, he echoed that despite the progress and the good start in Kuron, there is still a need for the government to extend its helping hands to do more in the area.
For his part, Eastern Equatoria State governor Lius Lobong Lojore said the government will take charge of Kuron Peace Village in order to foster the dream of the late emeritus Bishop Paride Taban.
Lobong urged the government to build a mechanical and agricultural institute in Kuron to honor the legacy of the late Paride Taban.
He further declared Kuron Peace Village as a Payam and called on the Catholic Church to create a parish in the area to continue preaching the good news to the community.