Comboni’s Dream – The Educational Mission of the Comboni Missionaries in Sudan

Comboni Schools in Sudan were established alongside the introduction of modern education in the country. Therefore, their development is part of the educational history of Sudan. One of these schools, Comboni College, is an educational institution with unique characteristics in the history of the Comboni Missionaries and Sudan.

The narration follows the development of this laboratory of inter-religious coexistence, evangelization, and engine of sustainable development, shifting from the third person to the first person starting in Chapter 5, when the author, Fr. Jorge Carlos Naranjo Alcaide, becomes a personal witness and participant in the events.

The educator will find elements for reflection on the impact that the context can have on the educational practice and the understanding of the very concept of education, framed within a dialectical tension between the values of an Islamizing-Arabizing model and those based on the Christian tradition. This tension raises the question: What should be the objective of the educational practice of a Catholic school?

The special education student will find a concrete educational experience of the integration of cultural, social, and ethnic diversities.

The historian will find a testimony of events that have significantly influenced the history of Sudan. Through education, the missiologist will find a concrete experience of Gospel proclamation within a predominantly Islamic context.

The believer will find a testimony to the dedication and love of numerous missionaries and individuals who have devoted their lives to educating generations of young people over nearly a century, amid ongoing instability and great political pressures including the ongoing war.