Bringing Hope to Flood Victims in South Sudan

Dear friend,

You are probably aware of the Sudan crisis and fighting that has caused thousands of people to flee that country and come to South Sudan. It is hard to imagine how one country can deal with so many challenges. We have sent our staff and some funds to help with this humanitarian crisis. 

Our work in the Mangalla Displacement Camp continues because of the support from friends like you. From January-July our midwife and her aids safely delivered 226 babies. Our staff vaccinated 3,615 children. We are the only organization providing this critical service. South Sudan is facing its worse famine and having many malnorished mothers and children needing our services. Two weeks in July our staff provided over 15,500 nutrition supplements to mothers and children. We are grateful to GlobalGiving's $10,000 grant in December that helped with this need. However, the malnutition issue continues to increase.

Malaria continues to be our biggest challenge. Over a hundred or more patients come to our clinic each week for medicine. This lifesaving drug is always running out and drains our funds quickly. 

Amid all these challenges, our staff continues to work long hours and care for the needs of this community of 40,000. With all the other humanitarian groups gone, our staff must manage alone. This is why we appreciate your support. Thank you!

With a grateful heart,

Jacob

Dear friends,    

South Sudan faces many challenges. Outbreaks of measles, cholera, polio and malaria puts a strain on the heathcare providers. Now the Sudan crisis adds to the number of refugees flooding into our country. With your continued support, we are improving the sevices to the 40,000 people in our displacement camp. This year we have built a permanent materity ward. Our staff have been working out of tents. These tents have been blown over in the strong winds and heavy rains. Now we have moved to our new facility and are able to provide better quality care. 

In March, we had a four day training program for our ten traditional birth attendants. These are women who volunteer to help mothers deliver their babies safely. They helped our midwife deliver 288 babies last year. 

We want you to know how much we appreciate your support. So many are unaware of the tremendous challenges South Sudan faces. Your support helps us know that we haven't been forgotten.

Kind regards,

Dr. Jacob Atem

Dear friend,

It has been over two years since our families were forced to flee their homes in Maar, South Sudan. They had to relocate to the Mangalla displacement camp over 130 miles away. The situation all over South Sudan is dire. Many organizations like the World Food Program have left the camp because of lack of funding. The famine is the worst the country has experienced since becoming a country. Our staff is seeing increases in malnourished children. 

At the end of December GlobalGiving contacted us that it was giving us a $10,000 grant to help assist with the challenge. This was such a blessing and will help our staff provide the need nutritional support that our mothers and children need. When children are malnourished, diseases are more likely to cause deaths. We are gratedul to GlobalGiving and our donors for helping us save many lives.

With this new year, our staff is working hard to provide hope to our families who have had to deal with so many challenges. They are grateful for the many that support their efforts. It is such an enouragement to them to know that others wish to support their work.

Kind regards,

Jacob

Dear friends,

These are challenging times all across the world. So many families are being displaced because of violence, droughts, floods, and other emergencies. International organizations are struggling to meet these demands. In June the World Food Program suspended food assistance to 1.7 million people in South Sudan. This will mean an increase of malnourished children in our displacement camp. CARE International left the camp in August adding to the number of people our clinic must now provide medical help for.

In the midst of all of this, we are grateful for those who continue to stand with us in helping the families in the Mangalla displacement camp who struggle with so many challenges. There has been an outbreak of measles and malaria. Our clinic sees about two hundred patients a week. Our small staff is doing its best to meet the needs of the families.

We are thankful for all the new babies being born and a mid-wife and team of mothers that are able to provide the needed assistance to the mothers and newborns. Recently many mothers came to the clinic with their babies to receive vaccinations. These vaccinations will ensure that their babies will have a healthy start on life.

All this is possible because of our friends who continue to support our work in South Sudan. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our families.

With gratitude,

Dr. Jacob Atem

We are grateful for the opportunity to write to you to share progress we are making in the displacement camp where 98,000 have come to escape the massive flooding in South Sudan. We have a mobile tent set up. A storm came through a week ago and destoryed the tent. We are now tryting to build a permanent building.

A few months ago our midwife trained ten other mothers in the camp to be traditional birth attendants. These mothers don't get paid. They want to help all the young mothers who live in the camp. Because there are just two mobile clinics in the camp, it is too far for some mothers to come to our clinic when it is time to give birth. A traditional birth attendant can help these mothers. With your donation we were able to purchase 'Mama Kits' that have simple items these birth attendants can use to deliver a baby in a sanitary environment. One item is a clean blanket for the newborn. Many times new mothers do not have a clean blanket for the newborn baby and the baby can get an infection.

So we are grateful for your partnership in helping us bring HOPE to the flood victims in the camp. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Jacob Atem