Friends of Maiwut (FOM) is a UK-registered charity established to help vulnerable communities in Maiwut County, Upper Nile State, South Sudan, and the surrounding border areas through compassionate, practical, and gospel shaped support services.
Friends of Maiwut (FOM) was inspired by a long-standing friendship and gospel partnership between Peter Kunen Gatbel, Bishop of Maiwut, and Timothy Wambunya, Bishop of Wolverhampton, together with Canon Andrew Goodman, Canon Nadeem Azam and Canon David Ridge. The partnership grew through repeated visits to Maiwut and by facilitating Rooted in Jesus discipleship training conferences.
Recognising the depth of need, St Pauls Slough, where Timothy and Nadeem were serving and which had supported their mission trips to Maiwut, felt called to respond not only through discipleship training but also through practical support for peacebuilding, education, food relief, healthcare, shelter, livelihoods, water support, community rebuilding and emergency response. Timothy Wambunya, Nadeem Azam and Umair Asif then agreed to serve as the founding trustees of Friends of Maiwut.
The charity was registered in 2024, providing the partnership with a formal home for receiving gifts, sustaining projects, and maintaining accountability.
Our work in Maiwut is grounded in convictions we return to in every conversation, every project, every decision.
Our work is rooted in Christian faith — we seek to serve with humility, integrity and love, following the example of Jesus Christ.
We do not run projects in Maiwut from far away. Maiwutian leaders set priorities; we serve their vision and their pace.
Real change in fragile contexts takes decades, not weeks. We are here for the long haul.
Every gift is recorded, every project reported, every penny accounted for to the Charity Commission and to our supporters.
Maiwut is rich in courage, faith, and capability. We are partners, not patrons.
Care expressed in words matters — and so do boreholes, school books, and medicines. Both belong in the work we do.
Friends of Maiwut is governed by a UK Board of Trustees, chaired by the Bishop of Wolverhampton. The Board provides strategic oversight, financial accountability, safeguarding, and good governance.
In South Sudan, the work is managed in partnership with trusted church and community leaders and overseen locally by a management board comprising South Sudanese men and women, led by the Bishop of Maiwut.
The mission base in Maiwut is managed by an experienced base manager who also leads the peacebuilding project, supported by several project leaders, as well as administrative and caretaking staff.
