Refugee Kits for those Starving in the Sudan

Three years of civil war have brought the nation of South Sudan and its people to their knees. An estimated 50,000 people have been killed in the five years since the new nation of South Sudan was born. Countless numbers have been displaced. And more than 3 million are starving.

Soldiers have recently raided houses throughout the country in places like Wau and taken seeds away from people on the verge of starvation. It is a very tense situation. Because of security concerns, hardly anyone can cultivate. Brother Bernhard Hengl, of the Combine Missionaries, claims “A terrible famine will happen this year!”

Many people have lost everything. Villages and crops have been burned, and countless people have been forced to flee and hide in the bush. Here, they survive on twigs, leaves and water lilies. This, in spite of the fact that South Sudan should be a very fertile country. The Nile runs through South Sudan, and provides plenty of opportunity for cultivation. “South Sudan should be a country full of hope four years after gaining independence. Instead, it’s now in the grip of a massive, man-made humanitarian crisis.”

Thanks to the support of our generous donors we are one of the few organizations that have remained in South Sudan. 1 of every 5 people in South Sudan have been displaced. A major initiative of ours has been delivering refugee kits to the people on the ground. Each kit contains a cooking pot, four plates, four mugs, four spoons, one cooking spoon, two sauce pans, one knife and a carton to pack it all in. Along with the refugee kits, we have also continued delivering sorghum and other food staples to the displaced.

The Sudan Relief Fund has served the people of the Sudan for 17 years. We’ve been bringing water, food, shelter, and the message of Christ’s love to the people of South Sudan. We’ve drilled bore wells, provided medical supplies, built schools, and trained teachers and catechists. And have provided what shelter we could for a generation of South Sudanese displaced by war.

But, because of the crisis happening right now, we’ve concentrated our efforts on delivering food and refugee kits. These kits have proven essential for so many displaced people. Without it, many would not be able to survive. This is a catastrophic crisis unlike any seen since North Sudan’s genocide against the people in neighboring Darfur.

Click here for a video of Dr. Tom explaining the importance of these refugee kits. Dr. Tom Catena, as many of you know, has been serving the people of the Sudan in the Nuba Mountains for almost ten years. He is the lone doctor at the Mother of Mercy Hospital that serves people throughout the region.

If you would like to help us deliver refugee kits, please click here.

Report on Orphans of South Sudan Project

The number of orphans in South Sudan has risen dramatically over the last several years. In response to this, and thanks to our generous donors, The Sudan Relief Fund has been supporting The Welfare Support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project. The project was designed to address the daily and important needs of the 56 children staying at the Orphanage in Tombura. It was begun in August 2014 and has changed the lives of the orphans forever.

Due to instability in South Sudan food, security and medical costs have been skyrocketing at the orphanage. We have helped secure part of the orphanage with chain link fence to provide the children security. We provide funding for food and medicines so that the children are assured of daily meals.

There are five categories of aid that the orphans need and that we are able to provide thanks to our donors:

1. Monthly Feeding Costs

We have sent money to feed the orphans. The children used to eat once or twice a day, but now through the SRF support they are having three meals a day. The children were also forced to cook for themselves, both before and after school, but now a cook has been hired with a little incentive paid to her from the monthly feeding budget. This has saved the children the burden of coming back from school late in the evenings and having to start cooking.

2. School Fees

The fees for school were also quite prohibitive for the orphans. We at the Sudan Relief Fund realize the next generation of South Sudan must have an education to help their country. Therefore we are paying the school fees for the children at the orphanage . Uniforms were bought and other school materials like books, pens, papers, etc were also provided for all the children attending school.

3. Medical Costs

All outstanding medical bills for the Orphanage in Tombura were paid by September 2014. Thanks to Sudan Relief Fund’s generous donors we have been able to pay for any ongoing medical cost for the children or staff at the Orphanage.

4. Solar and battery power Installation

Two batteries, an inverter, and a controller have been installed to provide light to the main building at the orphanage. Two solar panels were connected to charge the batteries and provide light to the children. This will both improve their performance in school and provide better security.

5. Other basic necessities for the Orphans

The Orphanage had been missing many household items before this project. Since its inception, the SRF funded project has enabled the orphanage to purchase many important house items like Chairs, Benches, Iron boxes, bags, shoes, clothing and many other staples.

Conflict forcing many innocent people to flee

Despite attempts at peace, the situation in South Sudan is still tense, and people fear a famine. Brother Bernhard Hengl, of the Combine Missionaries, claims “A terrible famine will happen this year!”. Br. Bernard has been on ground zero in the Sudan for several years, and has witnessed, first hand, the terrible violence throughout the country.

Places like Wau are very, very tense, he says. In February, soldiers were shooting and looting, even conducting house to house raids. Soldiers went so far as to take seeds from the people, thereby making cultivation nearly impossible, and a man-made famine very possible. He knows other threats continue, and does what he can to get supplies and services to the people while he still can. “We were trying to assist with some food during the last months. We need to get means to assist further, as people are dying in great numbers of hunger and sicknesses.”

The warring parties were government sponsored soldiers and opposition forces. The conflict between the two happened despite the recent cease fire.

Many innocent people, perhaps over 90,000 from Wau alone, have been forced to flee, and hide in the bush, and in mosquito-infested swamps. There they are forced in sleep in open fields and under trees. Recently, the Sudan Relief Fund was able to send some much needed blankets to the people, but more needs to be done.

Many of the people who have fled are young children, who are now without parents.

More violence seems likely in the coming months, and as mentioned above, a possible famine is is looming.

All is not lost though, parties are working towards peace, and many organizations are doing what they can to help the people. Prayers are, of course, desperately needed.