South Sudan

The Background

This program came out of a three-year long-distance relationship with Reverend Garang Chan who serves in Northern Bhar el Ghazal State in South Sudan. The program involves school feeding operations in two villages namely Adoor Village (Aweil East) and Beliek Village (Aweil South), giving access to education and improved nutrition for 300 orphaned children. Primary education enrollment rate in this part of South Sudan is very low and the number of children completing primary education is low because of high dropout rates and progression rates. Malnutrition is common among children and low school attendance is predominantly attributed to sickness or hunger. Our program meets the development needs of these two villages in Aweil by contributing to the goal of universal primary education targeting children living in areas of poverty and food insecurity by removing barriers to education such as hunger.

Our partner in South Sudan is Christ Mission to the World. Together we are providing food as part of a strategy to keep children in school as well as to get children who have dropped-out, to come back. Of greatest concern, however, is the fact that orphaned girls, some as young as 11 years old are forced by circumstances to drop out of school and marry older men enabling them to support their younger siblings. These girls often times turn to their former teachers for emotional support, openly admitting that early marriage is not the best option for their circumstances and that they would rather go back to school, where they can receive a second chance. The money you donate to South Sudan helps these girls to stay in school by providing for both them and their siblings.

The Vision

We see real opportunity for orphaned children to stay with extended family and also have the availability to attend school that provides the nutrition that they need. There are so many benefits to the child to be with extended family and not be relocated to an orphanage simply because the extended family has limited resources. In addition, there are real possibilities for breaking the cycle of poverty given that these children will receive an education that is available and taken advantage of when food is an added benefit.

We hope that this is just the start with our partners Christ Mission to the World to provide food, schooling and biblical instruction to the orphans of South Sudan.

South Sudan is the newest county and one of the most impoverished in the world and is home to 12 million people with a growing orphan population.

the Need

South Sudan is the newest county in the world and is home to 12 million people with an orphan population that is growing. Children here are born into a very unstable society; they face many risks, to include armed conflict and hunger, and are in need of special care and protection. There are so many of these children that have lost 1 or both of their parents and many more live in abject poverty. With armed conflict and disease, to include HIV/AIDS, many continue to lose parents leaving no one to care for them. In addition, South Sudan has one of the world’s highest child mortality rates: 160 out of every 1,000 children die before reaching the age of five, and 1/3 children under five are stunted and are more than 25% underweight.

There are over one million children in South Sudan that do not go to primary school. Many are forced to work in order to have something to eat. Children also work in exploitative conditions, and those without protection—the orphans—are at risk of violence, abduction or recruitment into armed groups.

The Facts

Aweil Community Orphan Feeding Programme (ACOFP), South Sudan in partnership with Christ Mission to the World launched this program in February 2016 with no outside commitments for funding. Global Orphan Relief has stepped in to advocate for these hungry children based on faith alone. In addition to daily feedings (now 5-days per week) bible clubs and school lessons are provided to the children.

Your Response

Please take some time to pray specifically about what God would have you to do in response to the tremendous need in South Sudan.