Salfa Yousif

Boy Saved at Mother of Mercy from Gunshot Wound

Boys like fifteen-year-old Salfa are used to growing up with guns and rifles around the home. It’s common for families and civilians to keep them on hand for self-protection, living in an environment where violent conflict can erupt without warning, and in the absence of a government that provides security for its citizens.

Salfa worked for his uncle, helping to tend the cows around his village – an important job, since cattle are highly prized and valuable commodities here. Cows mean the absence of hunger. They are so essential that “cattle wars” – where renegades suddenly swoop in and raid another’s livestock – are a real and common threat. Cattle are sometimes used for currency and exchanged for brides as dowries in arranged marriages. 

This particular morning, one of the cows in the herd was ready to give birth. She had wandered off into the fields to find a place to deliver her calf. Salfa’s uncle went out in search of the cow, while Salfa entered the cowshed to take his shift covering the cattle.

It was January. Nights in the mountains of Sudan this time of year can drop into the 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or even the 40’s. It was still chilly this morning, and Salfa was feeling the cold. He wanted to warm himself by the fire his uncle had made.

He saw the cot covered in blankets where his uncle had been resting previously, and it looked inviting. Salfa decided to drag the cot and blankets nearer to the fire, to warm up for a few minutes before starting his chores.

He had no idea his uncle had been resting with a rifle beside him – a firearm that was left behind when he went to search for the cow. When Salfa reached for the blankets and the bed frame, he was shocked when gunfire suddenly rang out. It was a moment before he could process what had just happened.

The cocked rifle inadvertently went off beneath the blankets when Salfa reached for them. To Salfa’s horror, he saw the blood and felt the searing pain as he realized he’d been shot in the leg. Hearing the gunshot so close by, his family ran to the cowshed to see what had happened.

They rushed Salfa to the nearest clinic, where the staff administered basic first aid to control Salfa’s bleeding. Then he was sent to the closest hospital. Enduring the pain of transportation was excruciating.

At the hospital he received an IV with fluids and pain meds. But the hospital informed Salfa’s family it was not equipped to perform the operation on his leg. They urged him to go to Mother of Mercy Hospital, where they knew he would find the care he needed among Dr. Tom Catena and his personally trained team.

Dr. Tom serves as the hospital director at Mother of Mercy, the only referral hospital in the Nuba Mountains for hundreds of miles – a facility he helped found 17 years ago. For most of that time, Dr. Tom also worked as the only residing surgeon. In recent years, he’s been training young medical professionals and started a school onsite to train more doctors in an area that desperately needs them. He has also raised up satellite clinics across the region to bring basic medical care closer to people without.

When Salfa arrived at Mother of Mercy, he was immediately admitted to the emergency department. Salfa had suffered blood loss and felt weak from the pain and trauma. But his leg required immediate surgery and the bullet needed to be removed. If the wound had not been treated quickly, he risked losing his leg to permanent damage or, even worse, developing a life-threatening infection. He was ushered to the operating room.

Salfa’s surgery on his leg was successful. It took a full month of remaining at the hospital and learning to walk on his leg again for Salfa to reach a complete recovery. But now he can walk well on his own. He knows how lucky he was to receive the care he needed at Mother of Mercy Hospital to save his leg and his life.

Last year, Mother of Mercy Hospital performed over 2,600 surgeries for men, women, and children in need of critical care – treatment they wouldn’t have had without this remote mountain hospital standing as a last beacon of hope. Survivors like 15-year-old Salfa thank you for making that possible.

Mother of Mercy operates entirely on donations and support from compassionate partners. Thank you for saving lives like young Salfa’s, and many others whose lives depend on the care they receive at this hospital.

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Saving the Lives of Orphans

Donors Provide New Life for Children at St. Bakhita Orphanage

The story of Sister Bianca Bii and St. Bakhita Orphanage is one of courage, commitment, and unselfish love. But most of all, it is an incredible success story. And it’s because of you, our donors, that it can be told today.

Through thick and thin, violence and peace, sufficiency and famine, Sudan Relief Fund’s faithful partners like you have stood with this orphanage, the place 250 children call home. The place that’s been Sister Bianca’s life calling. We’re pleased to share with you how far this project has come, from its humble beginnings to where they are today, thanks to your support.

The face of courage and love. Sister Bianca Bii has spent her life giving orphaned children a new future.

Early Beginnings

Like many amazing stories, it began with next to nothing. Just a woman with a heart for children in need, and her strong will to help them.

When the smoke cleared after South Sudan’s war for independence, the devastation and toll it took on children slowly became apparent. Across a war-torn countryside marred with burnt villages and pillaged huts, Sister Bianca knew there would be children who were survivors out there. Children who lost parents. Children who could be sick or injured. If nothing else, children who were alone and terrified. They wouldn’t survive on their own.

Sister Bianca took it upon herself to find them. She began going hut to hut, village to village, seeking out children who had no one. She found plenty of them. Traumatized, hungry, sick. She made rounds daily and weekly to check on them. She brought food, first aid, and the comforting message that someone cared.

Eventually Sister Bianca began caring for so many that she asked her local bishop for permission to take care of all the children in one place. By now it was clear no one else would be coming back for them.

And so Sister Bianca’s calling of caring for orphans began what would be a lifelong labor of love lasting well into her eighties.

In 2015, Sudan Relief Fund learned about Sister Bianca and her growing contingent of orphans. Their numbers increased as parents died by violence, sickness, or in childbirth. Some children were abandoned. Sister Bianca never turned anyone away, not even children with special needs that no one else would take. Despite their growing numbers, she continually trusted in God to provide for them.

“When you did it for the least of these, you did it for me”

Some children, like young Moses, arrived after being separated from parents in the chaos of fleeing violence. Most never found their parents again. One baby boy was brought to St. Bakhita by his desperate father. He had been separated from his wife as war erupted between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Years later he came back for his son, Obbo, who was now twelve. He found his son still safe and well in Sister Bianca’s care. Now reunited, Obbo left with his father to go meet the family members he’d never known.

Early beginnings. Thanks to our donors, construction on a larger, safer home for the children is nearly complete.

In Good Hands

With the faithful partnership of our donors, Sudan Relief Fund was able to sponsor the orphanage Sister Bianca had named after the nation’s patron saint. With regular financial assistance from sponsors, the children could count on a steady supply of food, clean water, shelter, clothing, medicine, health care, and the chance to attend school.

In some cases, Sister Bianca was the only parent the children ever remembered, raising them for their entire childhoods. Some of her children would go on to higher education. One girl named Grace remembers Sister Bianca protecting them from rebel soldiers who stormed through their area without warning. Sister Bianca hid all the children in the thick brush of the jungle. Grace could hear the footsteps of militia as they passed near the children’s hiding place. But the soldiers moved on, and all the children were safe.

Facing New Threats

For years Saint Bakhita Orphanage operated peaceably in Tombura. Support from our donors took care of them, and Sister Bianca even had a few adult helpers. But violence threatened again when a rival militia faction suddenly swept in, occupying the area. 

The children were at risk each time they stepped outside the walls surrounding the orphanage to walk to school. At one point, fighting came so close they could hear gunfire and shouting. Sister Bianca never wavered in her faith. She said, “I put up a cross and no militia ever came through our gate.”

All of her staff fled. The now elderly Sister was the sole adult left with 70 children in her care. Despite the nearby fighting and threat to her safety, she steadfastly stood by them. She reached out to Sudan Relief Fund for help. An evacuation was swiftly arranged with our partners on the ground. Sister Bianca and every child were safely relocated to another part of the country.

David Dettoni and Fred Otieno of SRF deliver supplies you funded to sustain the children during a severe food shortage.

Your Helping Hand in Time of Famine

While they were staying in temporary dwellings, a severe food shortage struck the nation. During that time, our generous donors came through with extra food shipments, and our partners on the ground delivered the supplies to Sister Bianca and the children. Your help sustained them throughout the hunger crisis. “Without it,” Sister Bianca says, “we would not have survived.”

A Place to Call Home

Without complaining, Sister Bianca and the children got by living in tents while they waited for a new home. Once again, our donor sponsors stepped in to provide their needs.  With your support, a beautiful new home has been built to house the group that’s now grown to 250 children.

Their new home has a separate boys’ dormitory and girls’ dormitory. There are bunk beds and mattresses for each child, and new bathrooms. The orphanage has a kitchen attached to a spacious gathering area that can be used for worship services, social activities, and maybe in the future, an onsite school for the children.

There are rooms for staff, as Sister Bianca now has help from the Blue Sisters. These nuns assist with the consuming work of caring for 250 children, from infants to teenagers. Sister Bianca even has a room of her own, something she hasn’t had since that choice she made decades ago to take in orphans of war.

The new St. Bakhita Orphanage is located in the town of Nzara. It is strategically situated near a school and St. Theresa Hospital, a Sudan Relief Fund sponsored medical facility. This gives the orphans access to both education and excellent health care. A blessing was pronounced over the grounds and buildings, in a special ceremony to celebrate their new home and thank God for all that had been provided.

The St. Bakhita family has grown to 250 children. No child in need is ever turned away.

Heroes and Legacy

Recently we requested prayers for Sister Bianca when she was transported to Nairobi for some specialized medical treatment. We’re pleased to share she is now improved and back to work at St. Bakhita Orphanage where she loves to be the most – the place that is her legacy and life’s work. But it is also the legacy of every sponsor and supporter of this children’s home.

Sister Bianca is a hero to many children and to those who’ve worked with her. Even in her advanced years, she risked her life in a daring rescue to save a kidnapped boy. Entering enemy territory, she bravely disguised him through checkpoints and brought him many miles back to safety. 

It wasn’t the first time she saved the boy’s life. Sister Bianca rescued him as a toddler when he was so sick the doctors said he wouldn’t live. She took him in and nursed him back to wellness.

Her legacy can also be seen in success stories like the little girl named Grace mentioned earlier. Grace is now a young adult, who attended college in New York with plans to return to South Sudan. Grace intends to dedicate her skills to helping other orphans, to inspire them by example that they can have a successful future. She is able to do this because of the life she was given at St. Bakhita Orphanage.

There are other heroes in these children’s lives besides the intrepid Sister Bianca – you. Each one of St. Bakhita’s sponsors, whose support takes care of the orphans. You whose commitment carried Sister Bianca through every shipment of food and medicine. And you whose partnership is now manifested in a beautiful new home for 250 children who wouldn’t have one without you.

These stories of lives saved are possible because of people like you, our donors, who support orphans in children’s homes across South Sudan. Thank you for giving orphaned children an entire new chance for life.

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