In April 2023, conflict broke out in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, between Sudanese forces and Rapid Support Forces. Residents were forced to leave their homes and people who had previously lost everything had to flee again. Millions took refuge in neighbouring Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
South Sudan is one of the largest refugee reception countries in Africa. The country hosts more than a million refugees, including more than 800,000 from neighbouring Sudan.
"Famine is at its highest level in South Sudan. The water is on people's lips. It is a matter of life and death."
- Kees-Jan Hooglander, deputy diaconate, working at ZOA
Food security
Aid workers say food security will continue to worsen in South Sudan. 1.13 million people (59% of the population) are likely to face acute food insecurity or famine.
The main causes of the food shortage are political instability, depleted harvests, higher food prices and the continuing influx of (returning) refugees from Sudan.
The story of Achai Makwat Dong
Achai is 35 years old. She returned to South Sudan in August. She lived in central Sudan. She washed clothes for other families; her husband is a soldier in South Sudan. Of her eight children, one died.
During her flight, she was thrown out of a car at the South Sudan border. She then walked for five days and nights to Aweil. South Sudanese captured her, beat her up, tied her hands behind her back and robbed her. Her seven-year-old son was kidnapped.
Race against the clock
Kees-Jan: "We started providing emergency relief. A race against time because of the rainy season, which started early this year. It is almost an impossible task to select 15,000 most vulnerable people out of the hundreds of thousands of people suffering from terrible hunger. We limit ourselves to a few villages where relatively most people have arrived from Sudan.
Normally, you do see that disposition to help each other, but now, in many places in Aweil, that is not the case. The water is on people's lips. It is a matter of life and death. Refugees from Sudan often end up in terrible conditions. They are excluded and have nothing at all.
Help from diaconate
Diaconate has decided to give emergency aid. We call on churches to take up a collection for South Sudan. Please join us in praying for those affected and relief workers.
Collections and donations can be transferred to IBAN NL52 INGB 0000 5353 00 t.n.v. Landelijk Kerkelijk Bureau o.v.v. noodhulp Soedan. If your church holds an action for this relief project, your contribution can also be transferred to the diaconate of your church.
