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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