Ave Maria Seeks Emergency Aid as Refugees Overflow Parish

“There was so much carnage and suffering, but after coming here we were consoled.”

Miyok is a young boy living as a refugee in South Sudan, tragically orphaned like many others by the brutal violence raining down on this region.

He and his aunt survived the devastation. Now the two family members are part of the hundreds of thousands who make up the growing refugee population in South Sudan.

With a resilience that’s hard to fathom, Miyok clings to his dream to go to school again and one day become a doctor.

Miyok’s spirit reflects the hope of so many displaced South Sudanese, holding onto the belief that if they can survive this hardship, there will be better days ahead.

Thousands escaped to Ave Maria parish when their homes were attacked. They traveled days on foot. Most left everything behind.

A Place of Refuge

Near the far western border of South Sudan, in the secluded jungles that spill over into the Central African Republic, lies Ave Maria parish.

It’s a place where second chances can happen – for people just like Miyok and his aunt, and the many displaced families Father Avelino serves in this remote enclave.
 

For years, Ave Maria parish has represented an outpost of hope where families who’ve lost everything find the crucial help they need to start over. This help is possible because our supporters have been there to send aid when it’s urgently needed. Father Avelino is asking for that help at a crucial moment now.

Father Avelino’s work here is literally lifesaving. Traumatized, weary refugees – mostly women and children like Miyok and his aunt – arrive with nothing more than a tiny blanket wrapped around the few belongings they still own. Others have only the clothes they wore when they fled.

“I have just delivered and there are no clothes or blankets to cover the baby”

Monica was pregnant when her entire community fled to Ave Maria parish. They were forced to leave suddenly. There was no time to gather anything. Since arriving, she gave birth to her baby. 

Monica wraps her newborn in a borrowed scarf. Since they fled suddenly, she has no blankets or clothes for her new baby that was born in the camp.

Monica is thankful to be at the parish, but laments having nothing to take care of her infant. “Thank you so very much for the gift (of food and shelter) that you brought to us,” she said. She added, “I have just delivered and have no clothes or blankets to cover the baby.”

Imagine for a moment giving birth to a baby in a refugee tent, with no belongings to feed, clothe, or diaper a newborn.

“We had to help them immediately”

Father Avelino described how hundreds of families from the north walked for three days through the jungle to reach Ave Maria. “They arrived exhausted and tired… They came here because within the [parish] they feel safe, they feel secure, and they feel welcomed.”

Here they find clean water from borehole wells dug by the generosity of our supporters. Food distribution that saves them from starvation. A small health clinic on site that provides medical treatment. It’s a vital intervention, since the clinic is the only healthcare facility inside a nine hour drive to Nzara Hospital – if the roads are open.

As the wave of refugees descended on Ave Maria, the parish rushed to assist and organize the mass number of victims. Father Avelino sent an immediate request to us for emergency supplies, knowing the parish’s own resources weren’t enough.

“We had to help them immediately,” he said. “At first we had a very little bit of food from our kindergarten we could distribute to them.” But as more victims arrived, that food supply ran out. Father Avelino reached out to communicate the urgent need for food to save the latest victims.

“We would not have been able to do anything to survive”

Rita shared her gratitude for the assistance which saved her family that includes children and elder adults. “We were forced to come here as IDPs (internally displaced people). I have no husband but so many that rely on me. We are grateful to Father Avelino for supporting us or we would not have been able to do anything to survive.”

“They need to forget all they experienced and saw”

Trauma is the silent injury victims carry inside. As Father Avelino asked incoming families what they needed, one community leader replied, “They are traumatized. One of their great needs is trauma healing so they can forget what happened to them and all that they experienced and saw.”

Father Avelino described how Ave Maria parish is more than just a refugee camp. Each family is directed to a small area of their own where they can erect a shelter, plant simple food items like maize and ground nuts, and come into the church for solace. There is a small schooling environment where the many stranded children can still receive instruction. “They have a life that is somehow dignified,” he said.

He shared the parish’s need for seeds and tools, so devastated families can begin to plant immediately, “since they won’t be leaving any time soon.” He explained it’s too dangerous for them to return home. And in this way, “when the harvest time comes, they will have food.”

Starting over. Families set up shelters at Ave Maria. “They won’t be leaving soon,” Fr. Avelino says. It’s too dangerous to go back.

“We walked and walked and the children were so tired”

One father told how the many small children in their community who fled the violence were struggling on the journey. By day three, the littlest ones couldn’t keep going.  

“We walked and walked and the children were so tired,” he said. “So we asked for help from Father Avelino for the children. And he sent support to bring the children here.”

Despite his heroic efforts to help everyone in need, Father Avelino’s resources are drained. Families are sharing cooking pots, taking turns using them from one tent to another. The parish needs food for displaced families to survive, and medicine for the depleted health clinic, which is treating malaria, typhoid, and other common sicknesses that hit the refugees.

“They arrived exhausted and tired,” said Father Avelino. The emotional scars of trauma and despair are even more devastating.

Ave Maria is a place of hope. But the enclave is not immune to the tumult that’s shaken South Sudan. Even now we’re rushing resources to Ave Maria to help vulnerable families. We’re asking you to please partner with us to help meet the enormous need.

Your gift will send emergency food to keep families alive during a time when the entire region is threatened by severe food insecurity.

Father Avelino needs resources now to help survivors. Like Miyok and his aunt, they’re desperate for the elusive chance to start their devastated lives over. Please give them hope that it can happen.

Sincerely,

Neil A. Corkery President