South Sudan's Humanitarian Crisis

SIM has a longstanding commitment to South Sudan and the East African region. Recent fighting over Christmas 2016 resulted in the need for SIM Doro’s team to evacuate. The team incurred hundreds of dollars of losses in assets when their homes and facilities were looted. A small team has returned to provide practical relief through food, medicine and other essential needs.

Click here to support SIMaid’s South Sudan Relief Contingency (82490) project and help bring relief to South Sudanese facing starvation. Your tax-deductible gift will help provide practical food, medical, farming and other relief to internally displaced people (IDPs) and others impacted by the fighting in South Sudan.
 

South Sudan, the world’s most recently formed state, has been fragile since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. Just two years later, simmering tensions broke out into a bloody civil war. This conflict continues to today with the fighting resulting in extreme food shortages throughout the country. The United Nations (UN) has called the famine in South Sudan and neighbouring countries of Nigeria, Yemen and Somalia “the greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945”. The need is critical with 20 million people at risk of starvation.

SIM, formerly Soudan Interior Mission, is committed to East Africa for the long-haul. We have been working side by side with the local church in the region for over 120 years. Despite South Sudan being a war zone in recent years, we have continued our commitment to serving South Sudanese through projects such as Healthy Communities along the Nile and The Workshed. These projects targeted food insecurity and worked towards sustainable solutions. Thank you for your prayers and support over the years for our work in South Sudan!

Sadly, the fighting in South Sudan reached a climax over Christmas 2016 and SIM’s team in Doro were evacuated. This was devastating for our workers on the field, as their homes and ministries were soon looted after the team’s withdrawal resulting in significant loss of assets. Sadly, the instability in South Sudan also resulted in the closure of several SIM projects. Despite the set-backs and challenges, a small number of SIM workers have recently chosen to return to South Sudan. SIM will continue to address the critical needs of South Sudanese through providing emergency relief.

The South Sudan team reported on 10 April:

"The clinic is up and running and every day more and more patients are visiting for care. The clinic staff are now providing outpatient, maternity, nutrition and leprosy care."

Support relief in South Sudan by giving a tax-deductible gift towards SIMaid’s project South Sudan Relief Contingency (82490)! You can give here. Together, we can express the love of Christ to those vulnerable to starvation in South Sudan.

Would you also join us in praying for these items requested by the field?

•Pray that the Lord will use the clinic staff to bring hope and healing to those who have been traumatised by the Christmas fighting.

•For God to bring peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation in Mabaan County among the host population and refugees.

•For missionaries to acclimatise well to the extremely hot temperatures, and have endurance during the many long days of work and service to the community.

•That God will richly provide all the funds needs to help SIM rebuild and recoup all the losses sustained in the looting that happened after the Christmas fighting.