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About WauSouth Sudan became independent from Sudan in July 2011 and Wau is the country’s second city. It is about 400 miles from the capital, Juba and is about the same size as Poole, with a population of around 150,000. Wau Diocese is part of the Northern Bahr el-Ghazal internal province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (Anglican) and is in the north-western part of South Sudan.
Archbishop Abraham Yel Nhial was enthroned as Archbishop of Northern Bahr el-Ghazal province in August 2025. His predecessor, Archbishop Moses Deng Bol, was Bishop of Wau from 2010 to 2017, then Archbishop of Northern Bahr el-Ghazal province, from 2017 to 2025, but now works as a Peace Envoy on behalf of the South Sudan Council of Churches. The United Nations Human Development Report 2025 ranks 193 countries in terms of human development, taking into account factors such as life expectancy, years of schooling and per capita income. South Sudan comes 193rd. For comparison, the UK comes 13th. You can access the whole table from: https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf . The table can be downloaded from that page by clicking on 'Table 1: Human Development Index and components' Poole Wau Partnership has supported a number of different projects in Wau and sometimes elsewhere in Northern Bahr El-Ghazal province since our foundation in 2011, some long-term, others to meet pressing emergencies. Scroll down to read details of a few of them. |
St John's College
St John's College Governing Council, December 2025.
There are over 400 clergy in Wau Diocese, but until recently, many of them had not even completed primary school level education. St John’s College was set up by the Diocese to deal with this situation, and from a small start with 3 students in 2012, it now has around 300, studying Business Studies and Education, as well as Theology. Support for St John's College has been our main project for several years, starting in 2015, when we pledged £3,600 per year. We have been helping to pay staff salaries and some other running costs of the college ever since and the amount of our support has now risen to £18,000 per year. St John's College is now a constituent institution of the Ecclesiastical University of South Sudan. A new building with four lecture halls and three offices was completed in February 2025, with a joyful opening ceremony attended by six Trustees and Committee Members from the Poole-Wau Partnership. The new building is named 'The Poole-Wau Partnership Building'. A detailed report by Principal Dr Philip Abiel on the construction and impact of the building on the work of the college may be downloaded by clicking on the link below. 
Women’s ministry
Women's ministry is an important priority for Wau Diocese, and St John’s College does all it can to enable women to train. A major incentive for women to enrol is that all their meals are paid for and PWP has from time to time donated to support the Female Students’ Feeding Fund. During our visit to Wau in February 2025, we led a three-day conference whose topics included women's role in the church. Diocesan Guest House The vision of repairing and converting an old house in a very poor state close to the Cathedral to provide accommodation for the Bishop of Wau and add a new building which would serve as a Guest House was conceived by Bishop Moses in 2012. It would provide guest accommodation for both international and South Sudanese visitors and earn money to support the Diocese, and was our main project from 2012 to 2016. More recently, the guest house has suffered because of a leaking roof and a fire behind the building which damaged the plumbing system. When a group from PWP visited Wau in 2025, it was clear that it is in need of repair and refurbishment. A project to carry out this work has been prepared, but currently awaits funding. ‘Sunday’ Primary School In 2019, PWP launched a special Lent Appeal to help pay for the completion of this primary school in Wau. The building had been started, but money had run out and there were no windows or doors, and the building was in danger of deteriorating. The appeal raised enough to pay for the 8 doors and 24 windows to complete the school. |
Borehole to secure fresh water supply
The most recent major project in which the Poole-Wau Partnership has been involved is the drilling of a borehole to secure a reliable supply of fresh drinking water within the cathedral compound in Wau. The borehole was drilled to a depth of 115 metres and a supply of water was found. It was tested by the government of South Sudan Department of Rural Water.and found to be safe to drink. A steel water tank capable of holding up to 31,000 litres of water was constructed and a solar-powered pump installed, along with a network of pipes to supply 14 water points in different parts of the cathedral compound and St John's College, at a cost of £39,000. This major project, which was completed in early 2026, was made possible by an extraordinarily generous donation by an individual from the congregation of one of the churches in Poole & North Bournemouth Deanery. A detailed report by Principal Dr Philip Abiel on the construction of the borehole and water yard may be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
Emergency Humanitarian Aid
Although providing humanitarian aid is not our primary aim, we have sent emergency help for urgent and unexpected needs on a few occasions. In October 2024, after an urgent appeal to our supporters, we sent $1000 each towards humanitarian relief in two areas within Northern Bahr-El Ghazal Internal Province, Wanyjok and Warrup, which were badly affected by flooding. In January 2022, armed men from across the border in Sudan attacked villages in Wanyjok Diocese. Within 24 hours of an email to our supporters, we were able to send £3000 to Archbishop Moses to buy food and other supplies for him and other church leaders to distribute to those made homeless by the attack, and later a further £1675. When inter-tribal conflict spread to Wau district in 2016, some 5000 internally displaced people from villages in the surrounding area took refuge in the Wau Cathedral compound. PWP donated £3000 for emergency food aid. “The way it happened was a small miracle that looked like Poole Deanery was used by the Holy Spirit,” said Archbishop Moses at the time, as the aid had been sent unasked. “The Church alone was able to feed them - no other source of money was available.” | ||||
