St. Bakhita Gives Orphans a Home and a Future
“They Will Always Remember”
“It’s so important…for someone like me who has no family”
Moses came to St. Bakhita Orphanage in Western Equatoria, South Sudan, after his parents were shot and killed in a violent attack on their village. He and his brothers ran to escape. When they dared to return, they discovered the devastating outcome – his parents were gone. Their home was burned down. All of a sudden Moses’ life was changed forever.
Sister Bianca Bii turns no one away at St. Bakhita Orphanage. Someone brought Moses to St. Bakhita. At the orphanage he has shelter, food, clean water, medical care, and the chance to go to school. Across Sudan and South Sudan there are astonishing numbers of orphans who were not fortunate enough to find refuge – weary children drifting aimlessly about. They roam in search of food, their tiny outstretched hands silently asking strangers for a scrap of bread. But they are largely ignored. At night they look for sheltered places to curl up, where they hope they’ll stay safe from wild predators that prowl after dark. Abandoned children are a common sight here, blending into the background of the landscape and largely forgotten.
There’s a tragic number of orphans in Sudan and South Sudan. Years of war, extreme poverty, and prevalent disease rob many children of their parents. Sometimes families become separated in chaos when sudden attacks force them to run for their lives. Some families are never reunited.
The current orphan crisis in Sudan and South Sudan is reaching staggering numbers. Sudan’s brutal civil war – with the displaced now reaching 11 million people – is creating more orphans and abandoned children. Half the displaced population are women, and a quarter of this immense figure is believed to be children – putting the number of children in crisis in the millions.
Some of these displaced children languish in Sudanese refugee camps. Some flee across the border into South Sudan. But famine is prevalent in both countries, and without help these children have little chance of surviving, despite how they try. There are no social programs to help them, no government mandates to protect them. Left on their own they will die from starvation, sickness, or gruesome attacks by wild animals. They’re at risk of kidnapping into trafficking, slavery, or forced conscription by violent militias.
Sudan Relief Fund doesn’t believe it’s tolerable for any child to be abandoned or left alone to die. Together with our donor community, we’re striving to give orphaned children a new life and hope for their future.
Sister Bianca Bii is one of the warriors in this fight. Decades ago, she began going house to house to check on children who lost parents in warfare. She brought them food and treated their wounds or sicknesses. Eventually there were so many children that she sought help to start a home. She named the home after the patron saint of South Sudan – Saint Bakhita, a woman who overcame incredible hardship with courage and fought hostility with goodness. Sudan Relief Fund has supported the lifesaving work of St. Bakhita Orphanage for many years.
Since then, St. Bakhita Orphanage has raised many children to adulthood. The home provides shelter, food, clean water, clothing, medicine, the chance to go to school, and the reminder that each of them are loved and valued children of God.
Some of Sister Bianca’s children have gone on to higher education, returning to offer encouragement to the younger ones. Through it all, Sister Bianca has remained a faithful guardian and committed caregiver – at times the only caregiver for many children. Your partnership has made this possible.
More than once over the years, the threat of violence encroached on the orphanage. Sister Bianca has been known to hide the children and remain by their side despite great risk to herself, to keep them safe. Her stalwart faith has always been her greatest weapon. Recently, instability in Tombura – where Saint Bakhita Orphanage was situated for years – made it necessary to relocate the children. They were evacuated safely to Nzara, where with the help of donors our team quickly sprang into action to build them a safe new home. Construction is complete on much of the campus that is the new home for Sister Bianca and her children.
Their new facility is complete with girls’ and boys’ dormitories allowing for up to 200 children in each, a kitchen, gathering area, solar powered water well, and even a room for Sister Bianca and her small staff – something she’s never had. Now in her eighties, Sister Bianca enjoys the assistance of the Blue Sisters – a group of nuns who help with the consuming work of caring for hundreds of children, from infants to teenagers.
The dormitories contain double decker beds with mattresses. Each child has bedding, a mosquito net, clothing, school uniforms, and eating utensils. A fence was built all around the orphanage for security. This has all been made possible because of your partnership.
Earlier this year we requested prayers for Sister Bianca who was hospitalized for some medical issues. We are happy to share that she is fully recuperated and back at the orphanage where she loves to be the most – the place that is her life’s work and legacy.
Recently, St. Bakhita received an influx of children, including twin babies, whose mother tragically died in childbirth. This puts the population of children you help care for at 250 – the most the orphanage has ever seen. Sister Bianca started a training program this year for the teens to learn skills in tailoring, so these youth will be equipped with a trade in addition to their schooling, giving them more opportunities for a successful future.
St. Bakhita Orphanage is there to rescue children who have lost everything. And it is only possible because of our faithful sponsors. Grace Umerani knows this well. She grew up at St. Bakhita Orphanage and became one of the top academic students in her country. Grace earned a scholarship to attend college in New York state. She studies health and human services, and plans to return to share her skills in her home area. She hopes to inspire other orphans that they can grow up to have successful futures.
But a story like hers would never have happened without St. Bakhita Orphanage and your support. Grace says, “Without the orphanage, I could not be where I am today. It’s so important, especially for someone like me who has no family. The donations made will impact those kids for the rest of their lives, and they will always remember.”
Would you like to become a sponsor for Saint Bakhita Orphanage? Learn more here.