Violence in Sudan

Work continues to help thousands of refugees

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As food, water, and healthcare continue to be in short supply for refugees in South Sudan, Samaritan’s Purse remains committed to helping families and individuals with daily basic needs. Forced to flee their homes in the Nuba Mountains and now based just miles from the border with Sudan, the Yida refugee camp and other villages face a constant threat of violence and aggression from Sudan’s army. 

“We're trying to help the refugees, to save their lives," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “The Nuba people are once again facing the horror of brutal persecution. They are in urgent need of our prayers and support, because this is an atrocity.”

Samaritan’s Purse has been drilling wells, helping with feeding and nutrition programs, providing medicine and shelter materials, and meeting other basic needs in the Yida refugee camp.

In addition, we have extended an airstrip in Yida so it can be used by larger airplanes bringing in more supplies.

Partnering with the World Food Program, Samaritan’s Purse continues to airlift food to the Yida camp, providing sustenance to families who fled with only the clothing on their backs. In nearby Panyang, Samaritan’s Purse staff members are spending one day out of every five, transporting a bladder of water from Yida. Latrines are also being constructed in Panyang, to ensure that safe water is accompanied by healthy sanitation practices.

Over 400 moderate acute malnutrition and nearly 160 severe acute malnutrition patients in Yida are currently being served by the Samaritan’s Purse supplemental and therapeutic feeding program at the camp.

Canadian nurse John Troke has been among the Samaritan’s Purse staffers providing medical aid.

“The Yida medical clinic has been overwhelmed, so I helped provide diagnostic care,” he reports. “I saw one patient with cerebral malaria; a lot of patients have malaria, but this boy came in confused, disorientated and stumbling, barely able to walk. So we put him on a quinine (anti-malaria drug) drip, and within four hours he was back to his regular self. He was probably less then 24 hours from dying without treatment.”

Lots of babies in the camp have had their eyes swollen shut with conjunctivitis (pink eye), John notes. “It takes a really good cleaning and then some tetracycline ointment [to clear up the problem]. Stories like this don't always sound exciting in a clinic. But for the kids who come in, basic medical care is really life changing.”

While Samaritan’s Purse has been assisting the displaced persons, they have established community councils in the camp and are doing as much as possible on their own, with Samaritan’s Purse addressing gaps they cannot meet.

For example, they built 20 simple classroom structures, and 60 teachers are instructing students. Samaritan’s Purse facilitated the donation and delivery of “schools in a box,” with teacher kits, blackboards, and recreation kits from UNICEF.

Samaritan’s Purse has also been working to combat malnutrition among children younger than five. We have been providing specially formulated foods to the children and to more than 250 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. In addition, we have been distributing two-week food rations to approximately 300 more people.

In Maban County, another area where thousands of Sudanese refugees are gathering, we are hiring and training staff to distribute food.

Please prayerfully consider how you can help us be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who’ve lost everything to violence. Please continue to pray for peace and reconciliation for Sudan and South Sudan.

Samaritan’s Purse began ministering to the suffering people of Sudan in 1997 – and we have been providing food, shelter, clean water, medical care, and other basic necessities to hundreds of thousands since then. Thanks to our generous donors, our programs have expanded to include agricultural assistance, education, vocational training, water well-drilling, and church reconstruction.  

Ways You Can Help
Pray Please pray for the victims of the conflict and for our teams working to help them. Pray that the Lord will bring peace to this volatile situation.		Give Help provide desperately-needed relief supplies to those displaced by growing violence. Donate Here.