An Urgent Need for Food in Juba
The civil war in South Sudan has ravaged the region for years, and unfortunately, the citizens are the ones paying the price. Each day, thousands of people in South Sudan are lacking medical care, food, water, and other necessities. We have worked closely with missionary Brother Bernhard, who has made many personal sacrifices to serve the people. He wanted me to share with you an urgent request, and I hope that you will be able to help us support his request. See his letter below.
Forward by Neil Corkery, President
Despite the fact that the politicians call for peace, we still have many problems we face on a daily basis, especially regarding food. More than 6.3 million citizens in South Sudan are classified as IPC – Phase 3, meaning their households “are marginally able to meet minimum food needs, but only by depleting essential livelihood assets or through crisis-coping strategies.” Out of this number, an estimated 1.82 million people are on the brink of IPC – Phase 4 acute food insecurity, and 21,000 are close to reaching IPC – Phase 5, which is catastrophic levels of famine.
Children rushing to get food from the latest delivery.
Juba, where I live, is the capital and largest city of South Sudan and is in dire need of food. I am currently working with Brother Erich, a fellow missionary, to organize trucks to attempt to regularly deliver food from Uganda to Juba, a distance of more than 500 km. Because of the civil war going on here, food is scarce and farmers have had their crops destroyed in fires, forcing us to seek food from neighboring countries.
Brother Bernhard consoling a starving child in Juba.
Unfortunately, the deliveries can only be made at night to reduce the risk of soldiers hijacking the trucks. Not too long ago, three trucks from the Nimule border (200km from Juba) were ambushed, and several people were killed in the attempt to deliver food to the starving. Violence and robberies are becoming the norm, but despite the dangers, we are still able to find heroic drivers willing to make the trek to help deliver crucial aid.
Each day, more and more people are starving, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for to us purchase and safely transport food to Juba. Our only chance of saving these people is to acquire additional funding for food supplies.
Frequent robberies force drivers to only make deliveries at night, where Brother Bernhard and volunteers work to unload them.
With your donations, we can make a difference. Once we reach our funding goal, we will arrange for two trucks of Emergency-Food-Relief from Uganda, with each truck carrying 30 tons of food, enough to feed numerous suffering citizens in Juba. Monthly donations will also help us ensure that we can get a dependable stream of deliveries in the future to help provide for the community.
Because of previous donations to the us through the Sudan Relief Fund, we were able to provide Brother Erich with a pickup truck, which has allowed us to carry out his responsibilities, including bringing food, medicine, blankets, and tents to villages within rebel-controlled areas. This is a tremendous help, but without your additional support, we will not have enough to purchase enough food aid for all those in need here.
Starving children waiting for food relief in Juba.
Tonight, thousands of children are going to sleep hungry. But you can help change that. Please make a generous donation today.
God Bless,
Br. Bernhard Hengl SRF Partner In Juba, Development Director of the Sudan Catholic Bishops ConferenceP.S. Your generous gift of $25, $50, or even $100 will provide food relief for the starving people in Juba. Thousands of children, families, and refugees won't have to go to sleep hungry with your generous donation today.
