After losing her little brother to the war, she knew she had to flee
From the ruins of a bombed home to a life-threatening hunger crisis, find out how Agnes is finding hope through Tearfund’s emergency food relief.
Desperation pervades the heart of 30-year-old mother, Agnes, as she seeks to find a new place to call home.
Agnes, a Sudanese refugee, was forced to flee her home in Nyala, South Darfur when bombs began to rain on her home. With tears in her eyes, she explains, “the war started and, one of the bombs, the air bombs, just fell in our house and it killed my little brother.” Grieving beyond belief, she knew her family could wait no longer. She sought refuge for her and her 7 children, and Agnes’ family escaped down to Sudan with nothing but themselves. They hoped for a new start, a safe haven, a refuge.
Sudan is facing a violent civil war, causing over 700 000 people to flee south to the only place accessible: the unstable, dry, and perilous South Sudan. Currently confronted with the worst humanitarian crisis in the country’s history, tens of thousands of families escape the northern war only to be presented with the horrid conditions of the new land they now reside. Agnes has nothing to provide for her family, and fleeting hope is all that remains.
She is only able to stay afloat in this crisis through food assistance packages. For refugee families like Agnes’, they can’t begin to establish a home for themselves here because of the severe hunger they face. Agnes mourns the life her children are growing up in: “I am unable to even provide food to my kids. So it is really very hard.” Her family currently receives 5 kilograms of food per month to feed all of them, but she says “that one supply is really very hard to feed all those kids.”
Tearfund works to provide emergency food relief to those struck by the hunger crisis in South Sudan, not only through food assistance but through training farmers in better practices, equipping women to make their own incomes, and working in local churches to establish connections in their communities. However, these long-term, sustainable practices can only be implemented once the most basic needs are met.
The need in South Sudan is dire and families are desperate, but because of your generosity and God’s love, we can help. Please join us in praying for these refugees, and in donating to Tearfund’s mission to bring emergency relief to families like Agnes’.
