Program Spotlights

The Sudan Relief Fund is active in the lives of thousands of people in South Sudan through various initiatives. These spotlights on refugee aid, healthcare, and education showcase just a few of the highlights from 2017.

Refugee Aid

In 2017, Sudan Relief Fund sent $1.1 million in emergency humanitarian funding to the region thanks to partners like you. In fact, our aid was needed more in 2017 than ever before, as the United Nations declared a famine in the country, estimating that more than 100,000 people were starving and five million more were on the brink of starvation. In response, SRF ramped up our aid efforts and worked through local partners to deliver food, water, and supplies to families in South Sudan. The famine has officially ended, but millions continue to suffer from extreme hunger and malnourishment. For just a $1 a week, we can provide a week’s worth of food to an individual in need.

As we move into 2018, extreme instability and violence in the region threaten over a million people. We have dedicated over $1 million in grants to emergency food and humanitarian assistance. By working with our partners on the ground, particularly the various Dioceses, Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and Catholic Medical Mission Board, we are sending life-saving supplies and food to the most remote parts of the country. One such example is the relief we’ve provided to the town of Riimenze, where over 7,000 refugees now seek refuge on the grounds of the church. To meet these desperate humanitarian needs, Sudan Relief Fund sent emergency food aid to the area through the Catholic diocese.

But the refugee crisis remains dire, and over two million South Sudanese people have fled to Uganda among other places, seeking a better and safer place to make their lives. In fact, we are working closely with one such refugee camp in Bidi Bidi, Uganda—home to over 276,000 refugees—to drill boreholes, build latrines, and provide training on sanitation and hygiene. We have also provided the farming supplies necessary to help refugees become self-reliant on land given by the Ugandan people. These efforts have provided hope in a desperate situation—thanks to your generous support.

Health and Medicine

In 2017, SRF continued to meet urgent medical needs in South Sudan and the surrounding regions. At the Nzara Hospital in the Tombura-Yambio Diocese, for example, SRF delivered over $200,000 in aid to develop infrastructure including solar power generation, an onsite pharmacy, and additional nursing staff. These investments paved the way for additional projects such as a new surgical amphitheater, which began construction in early 2018. Your support is instrumental in every part of Nzara Hospital, and helps fund active maternity and children’s wards, and units that treat tuberculosis, HIV, and leprosy.

Additionally, SRF continued to support Dr. Tom Catena in the Nuba Mountain region, home to nearly 750,000 people spread across an area the size of Scotland. Remarkably, Dr. Tom has been the only trained surgeon in the area for over a decade. SRF funds go to support his work—specifically the medicines, salaries for the Mother of Mercy Hospital staff, and medical equipment including a new X-ray machine. As a result, Dr. Tom and his hospital treat as many as 400 patients each day and Dr. Tom often works 20-hour days to offer patients the care they desperately need.

It is hard to underestimate the medical needs in South Sudan and the surrounding region, but that’s what makes SRF’s commitment so important. Beside our direct support for medical facilities such as Nzara Hospital and Dr. Tom’s hospital, SRF has been instrumental in delivering over 50 tons of medicine and equipment in 2017.

Education

Perhaps the most hopeful vision for South Sudan can be seen on the faces of students at the schools that we support. For instance, with your help we funded major expansion and built four new classrooms St. Mary’s Primary School in the Tombura- Yambio Catholic Diocese, a school where more than 900 students were enrolled by the end of 2017. As enrollment continues to increase, we have already pledged to build two more classrooms in 2018.

Additionally, SRF continued funding the Bishop Abangite College of Science and Technology High School, which remains the only Catholic secondary school in Yambio and provides an education to over 1,000 students. At this school, SRF recently helped complete the construction of two new classrooms and provided critical funding already in 2018 to provide desks and other supplies for the new addition.

SRF continues to support Loreta Girls Primary and Secondary schools, which just celebrated their tenth year. This school, which your support has made possible, provides a safe haven for girls so they can receive an education. Likewise, our support for orphanages and schools across the region help all children in need to receive not just an education, but shelter, and other basic necessities, which often includes food programs so children can remain in school.

Finally, your investment extends beyond primary and secondary levels. In fact, SRF’s aid has been instrumental in sustaining the Catholic University of South Sudan—the one university operating in the country. Just this last year, the University held its fifth graduation ceremony in Juba. A total of 253 students graduated with degrees in Economics and Business Administration, Education and Agriculture.