Written by Charlie Butts
As conflicts continue, Samaritan’s Purse is rushing to meet the needs in South Sudan.
The South lost about 2 ½ million people during more than two decades of violence from the North. South Sudan successfully seceded in 2011 but violence continues in tribal conflicts.
Citing United Nations reports, Ken Isaacs, vice president of Samaritan’s Purse, says more than 900,000 people have been displaced by fighting that started last December. Approximately 200,000 of those refugees have sought refuge in nearby foreign countries.
About 3 million people, nearly one third of the population in South Sudan, needs emergency assistance but delivery has been difficult because of the violence.
Samaritan’s Purse is providing food and clean water in Uganda and in South Sudan, says Isaacs.
“We’re providing latrines. We’re drilling wells,” he says. “We’re partnering with the World Food Program on feeding programs and nutrition programs for children, and we’re working with pastors in Juba supporting them.”
The pastors being helped are themselves displaced, says Isaacs, but Samaritan’s Purse is “helping them where they are.”
The pastors, meanwhile, are organizing reconciliation efforts among the major tribes.
The situation is volatile and Isaacs is asking for prayer for peace in South Sudan, as well as Samaritan’s Purse workers who are rushing to get aid to victims of the conflict.
For more information and to make a donation, visit the Samaritan’s Purse website.
Samaritan's Purse has been helping the war-ravaged Sudanese and South Sudanese people since 1997, providing food, shelter, clean water, medical care, and other aid in crisis situations. Your gift will help provide desperately-needed relief to those affected by violence and poverty in South Sudan.