Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary

25 Years of Bringing Hope and Healing to South Sudan

How We Began

In 1998, the brutal regime of Omar al-Bashir waged a horrific war of terror against Christians and non-Muslim peoples of Sudan. This genocidal persecution took the lives of 2.2 million innocent people.

As the assault raged for years, the regime bombed churches, schools, and hospitals. They forced regions of the country into starvation, killed and tortured priests and teachers, and encouraged selling Christians and non-Muslims into slavery.

Amid this backdrop, Sudan Relief Fund was founded in 1998, with the mission to bring immediate lifesaving help to these struggling people.

Civil War and Refugee Camps

Sudan Relief Fund was there when South Sudan gained its hard-fought independence from al-Bashir in 2011, and we were there when civil war broke out in 2013 between rival government factions. As a result of the internal violence, over 2 million South Sudanese were forced to flee to refugee camps.

Sudan Relief Fund worked in the Bidi Bidi refugee camp – the largest in the world at the time – providing emergency help to thousands. In 2020, when the camps began to force refugees back to South Sudan – many having nothing to return to – Sudan Relief Fund provided refugee kits for survivors and programs for traumatized people to rebuild their lives.

A Fragile Peace

Today as a tenuous peace agreement hangs in the balance, Sudan Relief Fund continues to build the foundation for a more stable future in this region. We continue our mission to provide hope and healing – not only by meeting physical needs, but also sharing the eternal hope that transcends all earthly struggles through Jesus Christ.

Our Mission

Since 1998, our mission has been to bring food, clean water, clothing, shelter, medical attention, and hope to the people of South Sudan, even in some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable. Over the last 25 years, many aid organizations have left during trying times, but Sudan Relief Fund has stayed, and we continue to provide lifesaving assistance despite perilous conditions.

Making Change Happen

With your partnership for the past two and a half decades, we’ve made incredible progress. Together we’ve built or funded hospitals, orphanages, churches, schools, and clean water projects.

We’ve supported food shipments, flood relief, agricultural programs, and malaria prevention. We funded health clinics, eye clinics, medicine shipments, trauma and rehabilitation centers, tuition and education assistance, maternity services, programs that empower women and girls, and so much more.

Medical Treatment and Healthcare

One of the most immediate needs for people in distress is medicine and medical treatment. In a place with limited or no available healthcare, the smallest injury or minor illness can escalate, and many die needlessly from treatable incidents. Some of our medical projects include our work at Mother of Mercy Hospital, St. Theresa’s Hospital, Blue Sister Women’s Center, Malo Leper Colony Health Clinic, and the Catholic Health Training Institute.

Food and Clean Water

Your partnership has saved many lives from waterborne illness and food insecurity. War and local conflicts, floods, drought, COVID-19, and world events have all contributed to food scarcity in South Sudan. With your help we continue to provide emergency food shipments to refugee camps, displaced families, school children, and thousands on the brink of starvation.

Standing or filthy water causes a variety of diseases, such as typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A. It is also a breeding ground for mosquitos, who in turn spread a variety of other diseases like malaria. Your partnership helps drill clean water wells that drastically improve the welfare of entire communities.

Taking Care of Orphans

Years of conflict, disease, poverty and famine have left untold thousands of children without parents. Sometimes children are separated from parents in the chaos of violent attacks. Many are never reunited. Alone they can’t survive the perils of the countryside or the city streets. Your support gives orphaned or abandoned children a home and a future, especially at places like Saint Bakhita’s Orphanage in Tombura Yambio, the Sisters of Charity Orphanage in Rumbek, and a children’s home in Juba.

Aiding Refugees

From the beginning we’ve brought refugee kits and lifesaving emergency aid to thousands of refugees and displaced families, including Ave Maria Parish and the Wau Refugee Camps  – offering food, clean water, shelter, medical assistance, schooling, and vocational assistance to help families who fled violent conflicts and disasters. We continue to work with partner organizations such as the Comboni Missionaries to aid South Sudanese refugees who’ve fled across the border into Uganda.

Education for a Stronger Future

Education stops the cycle of poverty and lays the foundation for a sustainable future for generations. We’re also fighting to stem the tide of childhood marriage and provide young girls the opportunity to go to school.

In a country with some of the lowest literacy and school attendance rates in the world, you help us support educational facilities like Loreto Schools and Loreto School for Girls, the Christian Brothers of Instruction, St. Paul Seminary, Catholic University of South Sudan, and the Solidarity Teachers Training College.

Triumphs and Challenges

While the history of the South Sudanese people has been tragic and full of struggle, there is light and hope. In the midst of tragedy, the beauty of compassion has been shining for 25 years through programs that save lives and deliver hope.

With the faithful commitment of our supporters and partners on the ground, the progress achieved and the number of people served is immense – despite incredible obstacles.

This is Your Work

From the beginning we’ve brought refugee kits and lifesaving emergency aid to thousands of refugees and displaced families, including Ave Maria Parish and the Wau Refugee Camps  – offering food, clean water, shelter, medical assistance, schooling, and vocational assistance to help families who fled violent conflicts and disasters. We continue to work with partner organizations such as the Comboni Missionaries to aid South Sudanese refugees who’ve fled across the border into Uganda.

The Next 25 Years

We wish these successes were the end of the story. But realistically, many, many people in South Sudan still wait for help to come. We must build on the success of what’s been done and continue to reach others who need a helping hand.

What’s been accomplished proves progress in South Sudan can be achieved. The fruits of this labor flourish in faces all across the country. May that reality motivate us to keep moving forward, stay the course, and keep the faith.

Sincerely,

Neil A. Corkery President