South Sudan, the youngest nation of the world, has been tarnished by Civil War that has lasted for more than five decades. There are high levels of hatred among various ethnic groups which promote tribalism and power struggles. According to a report by the United Nations, over the past 6 weeks alone more than 10,000 people have been killed and 820,000 have been displaced. The United Nations believes that there are 7 million South Sudanese threatened by hunger and lack of basic necessities.
On December 15, 2013, another string of violent attacks broke out and spread like wildfire into neighboring cities. Cities like Bentiu, Bor, and Malakal turned into desert cities as people fled or were killed from the onslaught of violence. Millions of people are without a home, without a shelter, and without a sense of security. Many have lost families members, or entire families. A focus of the relief effort through CWR partners in South Sudan is for those most immediate needs of those in refugee camps. Some have decided to venture into neighboring countries like Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia to seek refuge. At the Kuotkeah Camp, CWR partners have identified 305 individuals who are in need immediate relief. These are the sick and disabled, the expectant mothers, orphaned children, and the elderly. Also among this group are 25 unaccompanied minors who fled the violence and do not know where their families are or if they are alive. They need food, water, shelter, and medical attention.
While CWR and the Evangelical Covenant Church of South Sudan, in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) and Christian Temple Relief of South Sudan, are currently responding to this disaster, the violence continues without resolution. We ask for prayers, prayers that are full of hope for an authentic peace to take hold of the country, prayers, in the midst of heartbreak, that imagine a world in which violence has no hold, and prayers for those who has lost their families and their homes, as they grapple with the drastic shift in their future.
