Stories Archives - Page 11 of 14 - Humanitarian Aid & Relief

Education is vital for South Sudan’s survival

The birthday party is officially over, and now the Republic of South Sudan has a lot of growing up to do. After three days of celebration and festivities, today the people of the new nation have to face the reality of a very difficult uphill climb. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which culminated in secession this weekend, was a six-year “peace” that involved almost daily fighting. This followed a 20-year war with more than 2 million casualties.

An Arabic class of 100. — There are 100 students in this 8th grade Arabic class, held in a tent in South Sudan.

Unfortunately, human lives were not the only casualty of war. Currently, 75% of South Sudanese do not have access to basic healthcare. There are only 20 secondary schools in the entire country of 10 million people. The past few years have seen an influx of more than 2 million refugees from the North, further burdening the underdeveloped system.

Dropout rates in South Sudan are the highest in the world, with less than 25% of children in school. Of the students who do make it school, more than 80% are in temporary shelters, and less than 15% have desks and chairs for the students. Finding a teacher is also difficult, as the adult literacy rate is less than 25%. Girls suffer the most. In 2004, as few as 500 girls finished primary school.

“We need basic education for our children,” said one mother. “The government promises free education, but there are not enough schools. Then we need to provide a uniform and a registration fee [costing about $67]. We don’t have money for schools.”

This awareness is the first step toward change. Adult literacy, especially for women, has shown the value of education, and enrollment is up every year. The government does, however need support. In Kwajok, more than a thousand students still attend class under a tree – and bring their own chair. Teachers have class sizes as high as 100.

Holding class under a tree. — Students often bring their own chair and meet under a tree for class.

World Concern is working with the Ministry of Education in Warrap State to build more classrooms in Kwajok, and together with UNICEF, established a new school.

In addition, we are expanding enrollment in our vocational school, to allow more men and women the opportunity for literacy and job skills. In a rapidly growing economy, demand for skilled trades is high, and these graduates are being employed by the government and NGOs, or starting their own businesses.

The road ahead is long, but for the South Sudanese, it is a worthwhile journey. Education is vital to the survival of a nation. Without it, people will continue to suffer, even with their political independence. World Concern is excited to walk the road of opportunity with the people of the Republic of South Sudan.

Chris Sheach is World Concern’s Deputy Director of Disaster Response.

For more information on our work in South Sudan, visit www.worldconcern.org/feedsudan.

Seventeen and alone in South Sudan

Imagine being just a teenager and having to leave everything you’ve ever known behind. Fleeing violence in your home town, you and your family walk for days to find food, water and a place to stay. Now, imagine doing that with your 4-month-old in your arms.

Arual and her baby. — 17-year-old Arual and her 4-month-old son arrived in South Sudan with nothing but some baby clothes.

Arual told us her story as she arrived in Gogrial, an area of South Sudan where World Concern is distributing emergency rations to refugees and displaced families. It illustrates the extreme challenges faced by those who fled recent violence in Abyei.

I was in Khartoum but joined my mother with my brother and a sister in Abyei last year. My dad died a long time ago, so grew up with my mother who took care of us until she first came to the south leaving me in Khartoum. I was studying and had completed primary grade eight, and thus had to join our family in Abyei. It was there that I got married to an irresponsible man, but had to return home where I gave birth to my son named Chol.

It was May 19 when the incident intensified and thus we had to move out on foot just carrying with me a small bag containing some clothes for my baby boy. In the process, we were separated from our mother and I had to take care of my brother and sister. We moved for four days without food but only water and wild fruits, which made less breast milk for my baby. After four days we found a truck which was coming to Kuajok and we begged the driver who had mercy and gave us a lift to a place allocated for returnees from Khartoum.

We spent four days sharing food with others who had arrived earlier and received food and other items. On the fifth day, a returnee from Khartoum who happened to be our neighbor pitied my situation and my baby and took me and my sister and brother to his home where we are now living.

We have not heard anything about my mother, whether she is still alive or dead. Had it not been for this good person, I would not know how to feed these two children.

While the circumstances of each person’s story differ, they all tell of civilians caught in the crossfire of fighting armies. Panic, fear and loss are common threads throughout their stories.

We’re providing a month’s worth of food for people arriving in the areas where we work, and coordinating with other organizations to distribute cooking supplies, blankets and other necessities. But the strain on host communities is tremendous. They struggle on a good day to survive – they’re just not set up for a massive influx of people who are arriving with nothing.

Sweetening the deal: Cinnamon Roll Fridays help protect children

Fundraising isn’t as hard as it may sound. If you’re passionate about a cause, and have a little bit of creativity, people will get behind you. Here’s what Lorene told us about how she raised more than $700 to help protect children and women from trafficking and abuse.

I first heard about human trafficking several years ago, but took the “put my head in the sand” approach. It was (and is) so horrific to me that this goes on in this day and age.

Lorene on the ferry on her way to the 5k.

Then, last year a friend gave me a novel to read called “Priceless” by Tom Davis. I read it but still felt so helpless. The problem is so very overwhelming, and I wondered what I could do about it. I received the “Free Them” 5k emails last year, but dragged my heels. I have done fundraisers for things like the Breast Cancer 3 Day and the MS Walk, but somehow raising support to stop human trafficking didn’t have a “feel good” element. I’d have to explain what it is, and how could I do that when I’m burying my head in the sand?

When I got the email this year, I decided to take the step of faith. I would do the fundraising, answer any questions people have about it, and get ready to run a 5K (which I’ve never done before).

First I sent out an email to get support. Then I baked cinnamon rolls to take to work. I’ve done this for other fundraisers and called it “Cinnamon Roll Friday.” I have Thursdays off to bake the rolls. One batch makes 15 to 16 large rolls, and I ask for a suggested donation of $3 each. The response from work was overwhelming. Folks were very excited that I was doing a fundraiser for this cause. I held Cinnamon Roll Friday three times and raised almost $400!

Lorene's sweet deal: $3 per cinnamon roll to help stop human trafficking.

I appreciate World Concern’s efforts to stop human trafficking. I signed up to be a part of Women of Purpose, having first heard about this group thru the “Free Them” run.

Anyway, there you have it. You will see me next year!

Lorene

Lorene’s efforts paid off. Not only is she helping protect hundreds of vulnerable children, she won fifth prize in our fundraising competition for the 5k, earning herself a $50 gift card to FIVE Bistro & Restaurant.

What are you passionate about? Feeding the hungry? Providing jobs and income for the poor? Bringing better health to other countries? Get creative and fundraise for your cause!

Saving for the future

Joyce holding her pen. — Joyce has a goal of learning to read and write, inspired by her business success and thanks to a savings group she participates in.

Joyce Awa Mavolo told her story with a pen in her hand, symbolic of her hopes for the future. The 30-year-old mother of six children owns a shop where she sells a variety of goods and handicrafts in Southern Sudan. For many years Joyce struggled to provide for her young family and keep them fed and clothed.

Things started to improve when Joyce joined a World Concern-sponsored women’s savings group. These groups of 15 to 25 women meet weekly, save $1 to $2 each week, then take turns loaning their collective savings out to individual members. This form of finance has virtually no overhead cost, providing a cheap form of credit to its members.

Joyce’s group provides her a safe place to store her money and access to small amounts of cash that she can use to buy items for her business in bulk, reducing her costs. It also saves her from having to make daily trips to suppliers, which for many women could take half the workday.

The opportunity has helped Joyce become more profitable in her business and be able to provide essential resources for her children. She can now make tuition payments for her oldest son who has recently started school.

“I like our group because the women respect each other. We help each other and we share activities and dream together,” said Joyce.

“I am still young, and all my life I had the desire to learn how to read and write. I watched others attend school, but I was not allowed to attend school while growing up because I was the only daughter and my family needed my help at home and in the fields,” recalled Joyce. “When I was alone I would pretend that I could write. I would hold a blade of grass between my fingers, and act as though I was writing with a pen in my hand. Now, I will be the first to enroll for adult literacy classes with World Concern.’’

To learn more about how World Concern helps women in business, please visit www.worldconcern.or/ignite.

Standing together against child trafficking

Su Kim, fundraising winner — Su Kim (left) was the top fundraiser for World Concern's Free Them 5k, held on May 7 in Seattle.

The most exciting part of this past weekend’s long-awaited “Free Them” 5k to stop human trafficking was not the sunshine that peeked through the gray ceiling that has hung over Seattle for six months. It wasn’t even the exhilaration of crossing the finish line after five grueling, hilly kilometers of speed walking.

For me, it was the sense of unity, looking over the crowd and knowing that all 1,200 of us were there for a common purpose: to do something to help right a wrong. In this world of copious evils – many of which are carried out against innocent children – there is hope in the power of unanimity. Corporately, we can do so much more to protect children than any of us can do alone.

I met race participant who said he’d heard a speaker at his church talk about human trafficking. “I’d never thought about modern day slavery. I didn’t know it existed,” he said. “But my heart was touched, and I wanted to do something. I thought if my 12-year-old daughter got mad and ran off, within 48 hours she could be trafficked into prostitution.”

There were so many others will similar stories. Every person there had their own reasons for taking part in the 5k. And together, we made a huge impact – raising awareness about this issue among our friends and in our families, churches and communities – and raising more than $100,000 to help protect children.

To everyone who participated, thanks for making this a huge success!

Read more about how you’re making a difference. You can also text “FREETHEM” to 20222 to donate $10.

Runners waving. — Participants encouraged each other along the Free Them 5k route.

5k family — The Free Them 5k was a fun event for the whole family.

5k finish — Runners line up at the start of the Free Them 5k.

5k runners — More than 1,200 runners took part in the Free Them 5k to stop human trafficking.

Three young friends are now safe from harm

Oury, Navin and Pandey in their school uniforms. — Oury, Navin and Pandey attend school regularly, instead of spending their days at the city dump.

When I opened the email and saw this photo, I could hardly believe my eyes. Were these the same boys that captured our hearts last July? The sight of them in their clean white school uniform shirts brought a lump to my throat.

They’re okay, I thought. No, look at them! They’re better than okay.

We first heard the story of these three inseparable 11-year-old friends last summer. Our child protection team in Asia had identified the boys, Oury, Navin and Pandey, as being at high risk for trafficking.

They spent their days, unsupervised, digging through garbage at the city dump, looking for recyclables to sell. The orange tint to Pandey’s hair – a sign of malnutrition – indicated he wasn’t getting enough to eat. He is the fifth of six children. His father is disabled and drinks every day.

The three boys in the dump. — When we first met these three boys, they were collecting garbage to sell.

Their broken families and hardships brought them together as friends. Their will to survive bonded them. They worked together as partners, they said, because they could collect more trash and finish sooner. They dreamed of using their “profits” to become engineers and building skyscrapers in Cambodia some day.

We worked with them, slowly encouraging them to attend our School on a Mat program, knowing they would resist giving up their income from the dump. At first, they continued to go to the dump in the mornings and attended school in the afternoons. They learned about the dangers of trafficking and how to avoid abuse and exploitation.

Now they’re safe and attending school regularly. And, they’re one step closer to their dream of becoming engineers.

Prevention works. You can get involved in preventing child trafficking by fundraising for the “Free Them” 5k or by supporting World Concern’s child protection programs.

Pandey in school. — Pandey is now attending school regularly.

Pandey at School on a Mat — Pandey, when he first started attending School on a Mat.

From tents to transitional shelters – things are improving in Haiti

From tent to transitional shelter - what a difference!

One of the best parts of my job is the opportunity to return to disaster areas and see change. Yesterday I visited the Nazon neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I’m usually pretty good at recognizing landmarks and navigating in a place I’ve been before, but a lot has changed in the past three months – and that’s good to see. Countless times I stopped suddenly on our walk to exclaim, “This road was impassable before!” or “Where did that house come from?”

It’s interesting how, when you see the change gradually, like my Haitian colleagues, it seems unremarkable. For me, the difference was a pleasant surprise. Sure, you may hear that “little is being done” and “only 15% of the rubble has been removed,” but I can tell you, in the areas where World Concern works, the difference is huge.

Our walk was interrupted several times to stop and greet people. “This is one of our beneficiaries … this is one of our carpenters … this man is on the neighborhood committee.” I jokingly suggested that one of our community liaison officers should just move to Nazon, as she is more a member of this community than her own. Julie seemed to seriously consider the idea for a minute, before laughing and saying, “Only if I get a World Concern shelter to live in!”

Julie’s work, and that of the other liaison officers, is quite obvious. When I visited Nazon in the past, the community was distrustful of my motives. Yesterday, told me how great the work of our staff was, thanked me for our involvement in the community, and asked how World Concern will be involved in the next phase of reconstruction.

Another difference I noticed is the level of energy. Haitians have endured so much since the earthquake, with annual hurricanes, a deadly cholera outbreak, civil unrest and a disputed election process. Even so, streets that were formerly filled with rubble are now lined with merchants plying their trade, and people involved in the reconstruction process.

I met Serge and Sergio, fraternal twin brothers in their mid-20s. These men were eager to have secure housing before the imminent hurricane season, but the narrow alley to their property was inaccessible to World Concern delivery trucks. Rather than waiting for staff to transport all the building materials by hand, Serge and Sergio donned gloves and hard hats and joined the work team, moving truckloads of sand, gravel and rocks by wheelbarrow load themselves.

This kind of enthusiasm is contagious. All over Nazon, you can see posters youth have created encouraging people to take an active role in rebuilding their own community.

Now that’s progress!

For more on World Concern’s work in Haiti, visit www.worldconcern.org/haiti.

Facing the challenge of survival in Somalia

A nomadic family in Somalia. — A nomadic herder and his family move to find water in Somalia.

World Concern’s mission of reaching the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world means we work in some of the most challenging places on earth. A report I just received from our Somalia staff brought this reality to light afresh for me. It summarized the results of a survey of families in two areas where we’ve recently started working in Somaliland (northern Somalia). The figures indicate such dramatic need – it’s hard to fathom what these families face every day just to survive.

Here are a few of the most astonishing ones:

92% of the families do not use latrines
54% of people observed had noticeable eye infections
59.6% have never attended any school
Only 13% have attended secondary school
54.6% travel 1-2 hours a day to reach a water source with the largest percentage going three times a day
83.3% are drinking water that is not safe for human consumption
A main source of income is livestock, yet only 10% of the animals in households are producing milk

It’s impossible to dig wells in some of these areas because the water, even below the surface, is salty. Rainwater and groundwater runoff collected in berkads (underground reservoirs) are the only source of clean water. One of our projects is building more berkads in these areas.

Planting sack gardens in Somalia. — Teaching people to grow vegetables in sack gardens offers hope.

The soil is so dry and lifeless, nothing can grow here. People eat mostly bread, rice they buy from others. Even vegetable gardens wither. We’re teaching people to grow sack gardens, which hold moisture so things can grow.

Droughts are becoming more frequent and herds are shrinking. Their only hope for healthier herds may be to improve the land with rock lines that will direct rainwater into the soil. One goal is to improve livelihoods so families don’t have to be constantly moving in search of water.

In spite of the inhospitable environment, we know there are solutions: Collecting rainwater, growing food in sack gardens, sustaining herds. Even in Somalia, we see hope.

Join us in bringing hope to this dry and weary land.

One mom’s crusade to kill worms

Chelsi and Brookelyn — Chelsi Wylie and her daughter Brookelyn support the 44-Cent Cure after their own experience with intestinal parasites.

Chelsi Wylie is passionate about supporting the 44-Cent Cure. She has seen first-hand the painful effects intestinal parasites can have on a child.

Her daughter Brookelyn developed a scaly spot on her scalp when she was 2 years old. Her pediatrician thought it might be psoriasis or ringworm, but when it spread to the size of a baseball and Brookelyn’s hair started to fall out, Chelsi knew something was wrong.

“She would cry and scream when I brushed her hair. It was so painful,” recalled Chelsi, who took Brookelyn to a dermatologist, but still had no answer. The pain went on for months, until finally Brookelyn was diagnosed with pinworms – a common form of intestinal parasites.

“I didn’t realize you could get worms here,” said Chelsi. “I thought that was a third world problem.”

After receiving treatment, Brookelyn was cured.

Recently, Chelsi heard about the 44-Cent Cure on KLTY 94.9 FM in Dallas and learned how World Concern is helping cure children in poor countries from parasites that deplete their bodies of nutrients and make them too sick and lethargic to attend school. The cure costs just 44 cents.

“I have to get involved in this,” Chelsi told her husband, who agreed. “After all Brookelyn suffered, we don’t want any other children to suffer like this.”

Chelsi asked her friends and family to support the 44-Cent Cure last Christmas and raised $650 – that’s enough to cure more than 1,400 children! Now, she’s planning fundraisers at her church and in her hometown.

Thankfully, Brookelyn is now a healthy 5-year-old. “We’re fortunate to live where we have access to healthcare, clean water, and a place to go to the bathroom,” said Chelsi. “But people are suffering all over the world.”

Join Chelsi in this cause! Every 44 cents you donate cures one child.

Learning to live generously

Chenal Valley youth group. — The Chenal Valley Church youth group gave $4,500 to help poor kids in other countries.

Kids are so amazing. We just received a check for $4,500 from the 30-member youth group at Chenal Valley Church in Little Rock, AR. The letter below tells how and why this donation was sent. But the reasons are deeper than the letter states. Their Facebook page provides some great resources, including these verses about why we give.

Zechariah 7:9-10, James 1:27,

2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 1 Timothy 6:17

I encourage you to look them up, but here are a few from the 2 Corinthians passage:

At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” – 2 Corinthians 8:14-15

Here is the letter from their youth group:

Dear World Concern,

In December, our youth group created and participated in something we called the One Gift Campaign. We challenged kids to help those in need by asking their parents to scratch one gift off their Christmas list and donate that money to the One Gift Campaign instead. We had several donors offer to match their donations, so everything the kids gave was matched at an 8:1 ratio, up to $500. They hit their target goal, so we are happy to be able to send you a check for $4,500. Not bad for a youth group of 30!

One of the cool things about the One Gift Campaign is that after the money was raised, the kids were the ones who got to decide how it would be allocated. I pointed them toward your website, had them research the different ways they could give through World Concern.org, and then let them decide where the money would go.

I send you this check with the request that you follow their divisions as closely as possible. Thanks for all you are doing to meet the enormous needs in our hurting world. They asked that the money be divided in the following way:

$600 latrines

$500 barnyards

$1,000 toward machine dug wells

$795 five health packages

$720 children sent to school

$500 shares of a village school

$300 desks

$85 parasite medication (44-Cent Cure)

In Him,

Aaron Kirkpatrick, Youth and Family Minister