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.

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.

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.”

SRF 2021 1ST Quarter Newsletter

February 1, 2021

SRF 2021 1ST Newsletter

Download SRF 2021 1st Quarter Newsletter Here

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.

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

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

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:

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

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Eman Gabriel

November 10, 2020

Eman Gabriel Kuku is a 2-year-old whose family is from Dabakaya, Sudan. Her father explained that one morning, Eman woke up and was unable to get out of her bed. She couldn’t walk or move at all – she was essentially paralyzed. She was taken to the village pharmacy dispensary and then a clinic a few hours away where she was given antimalarial drugs. These drugs did little to help with her paralysis. Eman and her family were then finally referred to the Mother of Mercy Hospital.

Eman Gabriel and Her Mother

Eman was admitted and immediately put on a series of lifesaving drugs. Less than five days after she was admitted, she was able to move her hands again, and within a month, she could move her chest, hands, and torso. Throughout her recovery, her older sister was by her side, providing her with a sense of comfort and safety,

Eman’s father is eternally grateful to Dr. Tom Catena’s team and Sudan Relief Fund for supplying Mother of Mercy Hospital with the lifesaving diagnosis and medicine that cured her.

South Sudan and Uganda Militaries Clash at Border

November 4, 2020

Recent reports indicate that there was a clash between South Sudan’s military and Uganda’s army at the two nations’ borders this past week.

According to the statement from South Sudan, Ugandan soldiers and artillery ventured into the country and forced South Sudanese soldiers to retreat. A small battle followed in which a South Sudanese soldier was captured.

However, Uganda’s military spokeswoman, Brig. Flavia Byekwaso, claims that it was South Sudanese soldiers who went into Uganda to harass local people, which triggered a counter-attack by the natives.

The two nations have long had a “cordial” relationship in the past, with Uganda supporting South Sudan’s government throughout its civil war and assisting with the brokering of a makeshift peace deal between them and the rebels. Many of South Sudan’s food and medicinal aide also comes from Uganda.

Despite this support, there’s concern that this recent incident may cause a rift in their relations, which could lead to even more difficulties for the South Sudanese people in the months ahead.

Read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/militaries-of-south-sudan-uganda-confirm-clash-near-border/2020/10/29/c5c3c6fc-1a01-11eb-8bda-814ca56e138b_story.html

Naira Amin

October 29, 2020

Naira Amin is a young toddler who would have lost the ability to walk last year, had it not been for the help of Dr. Tom Catena and the staff of Mother of Mercy Hospital.

Her mother, Lubna, tells us about how, in December 2019, Naira began to experience abdominal pain along with paralysis below her waist. She first went to a pharmacy dispensary to get medicine, but that didn’t help. Then Lubna took her to a hospital in Luwere, where no one could diagnose her illness either. Poor Naira Amin was getting worse with each passing day, and she thought should would never walk again.

Naira Amin Recovering

After a few days at Luwere hospital, she started to develop bed sores, and it was decided she should be taken to Mother of Mercy hospital. After several laboratory tests, it was decided that Naira should be put on a tuberculous trial medication. We’re happy to reveal that she’s seen massive improvements. Thanks to the help of Dr. Tom’s team and Sudan Relief Fund’s generous donors, Naira is now able to start moving the lower part of her body and also crawl. Her mother expects to see her fully recover and walk again very soon.

Winnie

October 28, 2020

Meet Winnie, a 15-year-old girl living in the Bidi Bidi Refugee Camp, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, which is located in Uganda, just across the border of South Sudan. Last year, Winnie discovered an enormous, painful tumor growing on the side of her face. She sought medical help from our partner Nurse Noeleen, who believed that it could be malignant. Noeleen took quick action and wrote to Sudan Relief Fund for help, and we arranged for Winnie to be sent to a hospital in Kampala, Uganda, for treatment.

The doctors managed to remove the tumor through a potentially life-threatening surgery. However, the tumor started to grow back at an alarming rate and was found to be cancerous. Winnie had to undergo three more surgeries along with radiation and chemotherapy treatment to finally remove the cancer for good.

Today, more than one year later, Winnie is completely cancer-free and living a much healthier life, all thanks to Sudan Relief Fund and our donors. She is extremely grateful for the assistance she received, and she is thankful for the kindness in people’s hearts, which saved her from a terrifying and painful ordeal.

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