SOUTH SUDAN BEGINS TO RECEIVE COVID VACCINE SHIPMENTS FROM INDIA

March 31, 2021

In a welcome bit of good news for Africa’s youngest country, South Sudan has begun to receive COVID-19 vaccine relief, as they brace to deal with a second wave of the coronavirus that has infiltrated their borders.

On Thursday, March 25, South Sudan started receiving shipments of the COVID vaccine from India, a country which has jumped to the forefront in production of the vaccine and has already become a key supplier to 70 countries around the world.

India has a history of peaceful relations with South Sudan, and was the first Asian country to establish a consulate in Juba, South Sudan’s capital city, following the peace agreement in 2007. India has pledged to continue its ongoing support of agricultural and health initiatives in South Sudan, according to the Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of India’s Mission to the UN, Nagaraj Naidu.

In a recent United Nations Security Council meeting, the ambassador reiterated India’s commitment to stand in solidarity with South Sudan toward efforts to achieve peace, progress and prosperity in the region.

Rashida Ibrahim

March 29, 2021

Rashida Ibrahim says that without the help she received at Mother of Mercy Hospital, she wouldn’t be alive today to share her story.

Mother of Mercy Hospital is a referral hospital in the Nuba Mountains of South Sudan, the only trauma center in a 300-mile radius serving over 250,000 Sudanese. Missionary Dr. Tom Catena and his staff work around the clock to help patients who couldn’t be helped elsewhere.

Rashida is a mother of 4 children living in Rabak, though she is originally from Gharbia in the western Nuba Mountains. When giving birth to her fourth child, she struggled through a difficult delivery. Four months postpartum she began to experience heart palpitations and trouble breathing. She was taken by ambulance to the city of Khartoum and admitted to a hospital, but was later told she would have to come back in a month to obtain an appointment to see a doctor.

When she returned a month later there was no doctor available to see her. Because of difficulties developing from COVID-19 and the rainy season, numerous private healthcare facilities had shut down completely.

Rashida stayed at home until she could no longer endure the struggle to breathe. This time she went to Mother of Mercy hospital in her childhood region of the Nuba Mountains for help. After reviewing her case, Dr. Tom told Rashida her heart was weakened and she was suffering from ascites (excess abdominal fluid) from a swollen liver. She was immediately admitted to the hospital to receive treatment.

Fortunately, Rashida has seen great improvement. It is no longer a huge struggle for her to breathe. Her liver has improved and the swelling from fluid in her abdomen has gone down. Rashida says without the hospital, she wouldn’t have lived. She is thankful to the nurses, doctors, and supportive donors who made this possible for her. “I wish them a long life that they may continue to help many more poor people. God bless.”

Rashida Ibrahim

March 29, 2021

Rashida Ibrahim says that without the help she received at Mother of Mercy Hospital, she wouldn’t be alive today to share her story.

Mother of Mercy Hospital is a referral hospital in the Nuba Mountains of South Sudan, the only trauma center in a 300-mile radius serving over 250,000 Sudanese. Missionary Dr. Tom Catena and his staff work around the clock to help patients who couldn’t be helped elsewhere.

Rashida is a mother of 4 children living in Rabak, though she is originally from Gharbia in the western Nuba Mountains. When giving birth to her fourth child, she struggled through a difficult delivery. Four months postpartum she began to experience heart palpitations and trouble breathing. She was taken by ambulance to the city of Khartoum and admitted to a hospital, but was later told she would have to come back in a month to obtain an appointment to see a doctor.

When she returned a month later there was no doctor available to see her. Because of difficulties developing from COVID-19 and the rainy season, numerous private healthcare facilities had shut down completely.

Rashida stayed at home until she could no longer endure the struggle to breathe. This time she went to Mother of Mercy hospital in her childhood region of the Nuba Mountains for help. After reviewing her case, Dr. Tom told Rashida her heart was weakened and she was suffering from ascites (excess abdominal fluid) from a swollen liver. She was immediately admitted to the hospital to receive treatment.

Fortunately, Rashida has seen great improvement. It is no longer a huge struggle for her to breathe. Her liver has improved and the swelling from fluid in her abdomen has gone down. Rashida says without the hospital, she wouldn’t have lived. She is thankful to the nurses, doctors, and supportive donors who made this possible for her. “I wish them a long life that they may continue to help many more poor people. God bless.”

Sister Orla Treacy of Loreto Rumbek Recognized by Ireland’s Ambassador to the Holy See

March 19, 2021

Ireland’s Ambassador to the Holy See paid tribute this past St. Patrick’s Day to the legacy of Irish missionaries who have historically served around the world and continue to do so today, highlighting among them the work of Sister Orla Treacy and her service to the children and community members of Loreto Rumbek, South Sudan.

Sister Orla Treacy is the principal of the Loreto Rumbek schools, which include a coed primary school and a secondary school for girls, as well as a clinic that provides a variety of vital health services to the students and community. Her work in the past 15 years has saved untold malnourished children, brought education to thousands of South Sudanese youth, and made significant strides in rescuing young girls from the perils of forced child marriage, allowing girls age 12 and older to complete their education and gain opportune life skills.

Sister Orla says she sees her role as one striving to “empower the people of South Sudan so they can be the leaders of their own destiny and their own country.” Sudan Relief Fund partners with Sister Orla and supports all of these programs which are made possible by the compassionate gifts of donors.

Fragile Stability Sparks Slow Return of Refugees to South Sudan even as Need for Aid Increases Amid Rising Food and Health Crises

March 9, 2021

Some 350,000 South Sudanese refugees have begun to return home from countries of asylum after fleeing years of violence in the nation’s war for independence and subsequent civil war. Following its independence in 2011, violent internal conflict erupted in 2013, forcing more than four million South Sudanese to flee across the region in one of Africa’s largest displacement crises.

After a renewed agreement signed by warring parties in September 2018, cautiously reviving hopes for longer-term stability in South Sudan, caravans of hopeful refugees — primarily women and children — have returned to the region, anxious to rebuild their lives but face mounting humanitarian challenges.

Years of conflict have severely damaged basic infrastructures and stretched humanitarian aid. The country of 11 million has been devastated by severe flooding and extreme climate conditions, as well as the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.

More than 7.2 million South Sudanese are projected to be severely food insecure in 2021, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Some communities face “catastrophic levels of food insecurity” the OCHA warned.

The South Sudanese also remain at high risk of epidemic disease due to low immunization coverage, almost nonexistent healthcare, and poor sanitation.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on a recent visit to the country that women and children will need more reassurance about issues of security, education of the children, healthcare, and how to rebuild their livelihoods, as more South Sudanese return to their homeland.

Read more here:

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/8.3-Million-South-Sudanese-in-Need-of-Humanitarian-Aid-20210127-0003.html

https://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2021/1/6013d8b74/fragile-peace-takes-hold-south-sudanese-displaced-head-home.html

© UNICEF/UNI375881/Ryeng

COVID Fallout Reaches South Sudan

February 22, 2021

The global pandemic has found its way into South Sudan, but its greatest fallout so far hasn’t been from illness as much as from economic impact.

Doors that are locked in churches, sanctuaries, and shrines across the world are also locked in South Sudan. Millions of Christians and other religious people are unable to gather because of the necessary but disruptive measures put in place with regard to social distancing and the lockdown.

These measures have forced people to stay at home, with all churches having to temporarily suspend their activities and find new ways of reaching out to congregations and the most vulnerable.

 

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According to Bishop Eduardo Hiboro Kussala of the Tombura-Yambio Diocese, “The economic impact in all 32 parishes of our diocese is already changing the face of the church and the congregations, affecting heavily in the loss of livelihood and financial stability. Moreover, the clergy found it challenging to remain in contact with the people living in remote and rural areas of our diocese due to lack of (resources).”

The diocese is currently operating with no electricity since its source is from a generator that runs on fuel — a resource they cannot currently afford. Vehicles normally used to reach out to members of the congregation remained parked due to similar constraints, bringing visits and transportation to a halt.

Bishop Kussala is encouraging members to reach out to help strengthen one another and to follow the principles of the Good Samaritan during this unusual time.

Radina Abdulgasim and Baby Maaz

February 11, 2021

Radina Abdulgasim was only 27 years old and busy being a mother to two children when she started to notice strange swellings on the right side of her neck. At that time she was in the city of Khartoum in central Sudan. Before she knew it she would undergo four different surgeries to remove the swellings. Radina came through the surgeries and thought the ordeal was behind her. Unfortunately a few months later the swelling reappeared. This time she was given medications that seemed to alleviate the problem. 

A few more months passed by and Radina became pregnant, but she also became very ill. She was experiencing so much pain in her legs that she couldn’t walk and soon was completely bedridden. She was carried to the hospital only to be told she was suffering from arthritis, but couldn’t be treated because the drugs could not be taken during pregnancy. She was sent home in the same condition.

When she was seven months’ pregnant, Radina’s father sent for her to come stay in his home in the western Nuba mountains, where she remained for six weeks. She was taken to a nearby clinic but the nurses at that facility were unable to help her. Fortunately she was then taken to Mother of Mercy Hospital, a 400-bed referral hospital in the Nuba mountains supported for many years by the Sudan Relief Fund. She was examined by Missionary Doctor Tom Catena, who oversees the facility and serves as the sole physician and surgeon on staff. Radina was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She immediately began receiving treatment for the TB and was put on a nutrition regimen.

Recently Radina gave birth to her third child, a healthy baby boy named Maaz. Here she is pictured with him at two days old. She said if the hospital had not been there she certainly would have died of tuberculosis, and her baby along with her. Only now she’s smiling when she talks about it. She gratefully thanks Dr. Tom and the staff of Mother of Mercy Hospital for their intervention. “I came here when I was very sick and weak. But now I am well and so is my baby. God bless you abundantly!”

To the compassionate donors who faithfully support Dr. Catena and his team’s work at Mother of Mercy Hospital, Radina adds this message to you: “I cannot believe I’m alive now and still better, and able to hold my dear baby’s hand. And I can walk! Thank you for your help that keeps this hospital going. I can’t thank you enough — I only pray that God may bless and reward you abundantly.”

Thank You from Our Partners in South Sudan

January 21, 2021

It’s all because of you.

We can’t thank you enough. You truly are heroes and angels to the people we serve. You made our ongoing lifesaving work possible through 2020, a challenging year for everyone. We served in hospitals, orphanages, refugee camps, and a host of critical locations where literally, lives depend on it.

It’s because of you that progress is made every year in spite of the overwhelming challenges the people of this region face.

To show our appreciation, we asked many of our partners on the ground to share with you their gratitude in this video.

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Our 2020 annual report will be released a little later this year, but in the meantime, we wanted to highlight some of the programs you helped to support this past year.

Nurse Noeleen Loughran
Bidi Bidi Refugee Camp

You provided food, medication, and healthcare supplies to continue treating the medical needs of refugees and orphans at one of the most populated and sprawling refugee camps in the world. In one zone of the camp, 62 children live in a makeshift orphanage, where missionary nurse Noeleen watches over them. In addition to those duties, she administers medicine to the sick in the refugee camps, sometimes up to 400 people in one day. The majority of the refugees arrive ill and in pain, having no means to purchase medicine or treatment. Without the medical aid provided by you, Noeleen says that literally thousands of these people would die each year.

Learn more about how your gifts are transforming lives in Bidi Bidi.

Father Federico
St. Clare’s Home for Children

St. Clare’s provides food, shelter, trauma support and medicine to orphans, most of whose parents died in the conflict during the civil war. In a challenging part of the world where intense heat, war, poverty, and hunger take a mental and emotional toll on aid workers, Franciscan Father Federico remains committed to serving God and saving the lives of these children. The home currently cares for the needs of 50 children, and the number is growing. Your gift of support has sustained these young lives with the most basic and needed necessities of food, clothing, and medical care.

Learn more about how your support helps Father Federico and St. Clare’s Home for Children.

Sister Bianca Bii
St. Bakhita Orphanage

These children are displaced, homeless, orphaned, and would have nowhere to go but the streets if it weren’t for the crucial place of refuge of St. Bakhita Orphanage. The children often arrive traumatized from witnessing the deaths of their parents and family members, and are in need of emotional treatment as well as physical help. At age 73, Sister Bianca Bii currently oversees the care of over 60 children. She expects more desperate children to continue arriving, as word has spread that there’s a safe haven there for children. Your gifts this year have made possible the provision of food, clothing, clean water, shelter, medicine for the ones who are sick, bedding with mosquito nets for protection from malaria, and protective fencing around the home. Sister Bianca thanks you for your generous and lifesaving relief given to the children of St. Bakhita in 2020. As you may know, the home relies solely upon these donated funds for their operation.

Learn how you are helping Sister Bianca Bii and saving the lives of children at St. Bakhita’s Orphanage.

Sister Orla Treacy, Principal
Loreto School for Girls

Sister of Loreto Orla Treacy from Ireland is the principal of the Loreto School for Girls. In South Sudan, girls face extreme adversity in pursuit of education, and Loreto provides them with a safe place and an encouraging environment for them to learn. Surrounded by a region typically characterized by conflict and chaos, Loreto School for Girls provides hope and ongoing support in both primary and secondary school levels. The school is making strides in helping to combat one of the biggest barriers to education for teenage girls, that of forced early marriage. In South Sudan a 15 year-old girl is seven times more likely to die in childbirth than to finish secondary school. Loreto is taking steps to change that. Your donations are also the sole funding for the school food program, which provides students with daily meals so they can receive proper nutrition. Your gifts also enable the school to provide protection, clothing, healthcare, and social and spiritual formation for these young girls.

Learn more about the work your donations are making possible at Loreto School for Girls.

Coffee Plantation in Yambio

coffee plantation yambino eduardo

You provided all the supplies to help start a coffee plantation run by the Tombura/Yambio diocese, which is being used as a way to produce income to sustain the relief efforts of the diocese throughout the region. Coffee is the world’s most traded tropical agricultural commodity and this initiative aims to provide work and support for struggling farmers, in addition to making the diocese less reliant on outside donations. Since coffee plants take three to four years to mature, the operation should be fully operational by 2023.

Learn how you are helping fight poverty by establishing these coffee plantations.

Father William Deng
Bishop Abangite School of Science and Technology

Father William

You ensured renovations were completed to construct an entire new classroom block to the School of Science and Technology, which will create space for four additional classes to expand the current curriculum. Over a thousand students attend this diocesan school and the renovation will have a huge impact on the overall education of students in Yambio. In spite of a challenging year with the COVID pandemic, the malaria season, and the unstable political environment of the region, the school construction projects are moving forward successfully to continue improving the quality of education for these students both in 2020 and in the years ahead.

Learn more about the educational projects your gifts are making possible.

Blue Sisters Women’s Center

Your gifts to the Blue Sisters Women’s Center provide assistance to women, including young girls and teenagers, who have been raped, abused or abandoned amid the violent conflicts that have plagued the region for years. Known as the Blue Sisters for their bright-colored habits, these sisters serve those women who were victims of violent civil war. Thanks to our donors, the Blue Sisters Women’s Center is close to completing the construction of a facility that will house, rehabilitate, and integrate these women back into society with a renewed sense of stability and hope.

Learn more about the Blue Sisters’ work that your gifts are supporting.

Sister Laura Gemignani
St. Theresa’s Hospital in Nzara

Your heartfelt donations provided new equipment and physical onsite improvements to this vital hospital. St. Theresa’s Hospital holds 158 beds and serves the 250,000 citizens of Nzara. While the small staff is skilled and dedicated, they often struggle to meet demands. Your donations this year made it possible to construct several new additions to the facility, including a maternity ward, operating theater, and blood bank. These additions alone have helped reduce infant mortality and increased the quality of medical care for patients.

Learn more about the work you make possible at St. Theresa’s Hospital.

Dr. Tom Catena
Mother of Mercy Hospital

At this remote 400-bed hospital in the Nuba Mountains, you provided vital drugs, lab equipment, an X-ray machine, and funding for staff members to meet ever burgeoning demands on the facility. As the only trauma center in a 300-mile radius, patients sometimes walk for days to reach the hospital. Missionary doctor Tom Catena performs over 1,000 operations in a year and is on call 24/7 to help with emergencies. The Nuba region is one of the few areas that has fortunately remained unaffected so far from the onset of COVID, but thanks to you the hospital has prepared an isolation unit and expects a shipment of PPE in order to be ready. Relying on the sustaining donations from supporters like you, Dr. Tom thanks you for saving the lives of people in Nuba in 2020.

Learn more about Dr. Tom and his work at Mother of Mercy Hospital.

Bishop Eduardo Kussala
Diocese of Tombura in Yambio

Your support has enabled thousands of children to go to school, provided clean drinking water, assisted women to be able to take care of their children, and launched training and leadership programs for young men and women to serve in future religious capacities. The local government provides no support for social programs or aid relief. This heavy burden falls solely upon churches and humanitarian organizations to fill the expansive gap.

Learn more about Bishop Kussala and the work in his diocese.

 

You made all these programs, and more, possible in 2020. We appreciate that Bishop Kussala calls our donors angels because of the many lives they help save in his country. We are most grateful to you all.

Sincerely,


Neil A. Corkery
President

Special Message from Our Partners in South Sudan

January 11, 2021

Over the past year, your generous donations have allowed us to help countless people in war-torn South Sudan. Some of the goals you’ve helped us achieve include the following:

  1. We’ve supplied Nurse Noleen Loughran with medicine and health supplies so that she can continue treating refugees and orphans at Bidi Bidi, one of the largest refugee camps in the world
  2. We’ve assisted Dr. Tom Catena and Mother of Mercy Hospital with medical supplies to continue helping the sick living in the remote Nuba Mountains
  3. We’ve supported Father Avelino with rebuilding schools to help promote education and self-sustainability in villages
  4. We’ve provided food, clothes, and clean water to orphanages throughout the country such as Saint Clare’s Home for Children and the Saint Bakhita Orphanage

… and much more. All this is only possible because of generous supporters like you.

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