IDPs from Fashoda County who settled in Melut County of Upper Nile State - COURTESY

The General Secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches says more than 200 IDPs from Malakal, Bentiu and Wau will be transported to Juba to meet with Pope Francis next week.

“Since the Pope due to medical advice from his doctors saying he should not go on a lot of bumpy roads, then we opted to get the IDPs from behind Jebel there to come to the freedom hall”, Clergy James Oyet said.

“After some connections and consolation with our partners from United Nations Mission in South Sudan. They have accepted to bring for us 50 IDPs from Malakal, and  56 IDPs from Benti,” he said.

Their travel by road and air to Juba will be facilitated by the church and the UN mission in the country.

He also said some IDPs from Bor will be transported to Juba by bus.

“For IDPs in Bor, we have to arrange the transport for them because from Juba to Bor the road is all tarmacked.”

According to Oyet, the displaced persons will join 1,200 others from the IDPs camp in Juba.

He told Eye Radio that the pontiff will also listen to the testimonies of three children from Malakal, Bentiu, and Juba camps.

Pope Francis and other faith leaders will arrive in Juba on February 3^rd to fulfill his postponed Apostolic Journey to the country.

He will be accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

According to his previous schedule, the Pope was supposed to visit the displacement camp in Juba, commonly known as PoC3.

It was announced in May 2022, that the Pope would drive to the Internally Displaced Persons of Juba on the second day of his visit, before holding a Prayer at the John Garang Mausoleum.

However, there was a change of plan in the second schedule of his South Sudan trip.

According to Fr. James Oyet, Pope will not be able to visit the internally displaced person’s camp due to his health condition.