Famine in Fangak

“They are only surviving by the grace of God”

David Dettoni is the Executive Vice President of Sudan Relief Fund. He directs Program Development, Field Leadership, and oversees humanitarian efforts on the ground, such as medical support, food distribution, water wells, and other aid or infrastructure projects. David shares this following report of the humanitarian crisis in Fangak after his recent visit to South Sudan.

– Neil Corkery, President

Clinging to Life

When two-year-old Jamila was found, she was clinging to life. Her body was swollen from edema that afflicts babies suffering from acute malnutrition. Her large eyes were nearly swollen shut. She was lethargic and unresponsive. 

Sick and swollen baby Jamila’s recovery after life-saving nutrition.

All over Sudan and South Sudan there are children clinging to life from severe malnourishment. Jamila is one of many. Their distended bellies tell the story of their extended fight against hunger that’s devouring them. It’s heartbreaking to see.

The swollen bellies are a sign of a severe lack of protein. This causes fluid to leak from their blood vessels into surrounding tissue, resulting in the swelling that’s seen in their distended abdomens. You know children shouldn’t look like that, but their images stay with you, haunting your thoughts long after you leave.

Famine in Fangak County of northwest Jonglei State is particularly oppressive. Upwards of 1,000 families fled here to escape violence. Now it’s starvation that threatens them with death instead of warfare. Their homes were bombed and there was no intervention or assistance from their government. International NGOs fled the county because of the insecurity. 

Families in Fangak are trying to survive by searching the swampy land for any signs of fish. But most of what they find is the roots of water lilies that grow below the water’s surface, which has become their primary, in many cases only, food source. The bitter roots lack nutrition but temporarily fill their stomachs. You see women out there every morning slogging through the murky waters, performing the exhausting ritual for hours, despite their frail bodies.

Acute malnutrition destroys the immune system and makes a child vulnerable to all manner of sickness.

Widespread Famine

The World Food Program deputy executive director said following a recent visit to South Sudan, “The scale of suffering here does not make headlines. But millions of mothers, fathers, and children are spending each day fighting hunger to survive.”

In Fangak, the risk of malnutrition is a reality for everyone. Famine is pervasive. No one is immune to it. Trying to survive consumes their lives. Each day is spent in the attempt to find anything to eat that can help them stay alive another day.

Fangak’s remote location means aid has to be delivered by our partner by plane.

Urgent Needs

There are no roads leading into Fangak and you won’t see a car here anywhere. The area can only be reached by boat or plane, its remote location complicating aid efforts. Local Comboni Missionaries reported the people are “only surviving by the grace of God, and they are desperately in need of humanitarian assistance.” That’s why we are working with partners on the ground to ensure 1,000 families in Fangak get the humanitarian assistance they urgently need.

Making a difference. Nutrition treatment will help get her out of the red zone, meaning she is dangerously underweight.

With your help, we will rush 50 tons of emergency food relief to starving families and children like Jamila, caught in this severe crisis. We have partners lined up to deliver these essentials by plane and boat. 

Every one of these families lost their home, most or all of their possessions, and in many cases lost family members. The people are reeling from the trauma of violence and struggling in the aftermath of floods, drought, and warfare that destroyed any chance of harvesting food.

Visiting projects on the ground, I regularly witness the conditions. In Fangak it’s urgent. After the attacks on Fangak and the destruction of food sources, there is massive displacement. With cutbacks from the UN and the international community looking away, the results could be catastrophic for thousands unless help arrives quickly.

That’s why I’m appealing to people like you. Your help is crucial in this crisis, and every gift counts. Here’s what your gift will provide:

Emergency Food Supplement

Rice

Lentils

Oil

Salt

Clinging to life. Thousands of children in Fangak wait for help.

A Little Girl Saved – More Waiting for Help

Jamila was one of the fortunate ones. She was able to receive lifesaving treatment. Just one week later you can see a dramatic difference. Her swelling is gone. Her eyes are bright again. She looks like a normal baby girl. Without intervention she would soon have been another small and vulnerable life claimed by the famine engulfing the region.

Jamila is an example of the lifesaving difference your partnership with Sudan Relief Fund can make. Your support transforms lives. If you think you can’t make a difference, if you feel like the problem is too big, consider two-year-old Jamila and the difference intervention made in her young life.

More children are waiting in for help. In Fangak, families are barely hanging on by ingesting plant roots, a desperate attempt to avoid starvation that won’t last forever. Malnourishment grows more severe each day they wait. 

Please help ship urgently needed food to fight famine in Fangak. The life of another child like Jamila hangs in the balance.

Sincerely,

David Dettoni Executive Vice President