OUR LUTHERAN ACTION IN SOUTH SUDAN IN WAKE OF CONFLICT

Fresh conflict in South Sudan has left hundreds of people dead and thousands displaced. Our Lutheran work is focused in Jongei state, one of the worst-hit areas.

Much of this is happening in Jonglei state, where our Lutheran support from Australia and NZ through ALWS is focused.

The conflict is happening at two main levels:

• between tribes in the south over cattle-rustling and alleged child abduction
• ongoing tension between the Government in the north and the new Government of South Sudan.

The good news is our team in South Sudan is safe, and is taking a lead role in helping victims of the violence, and also in promoting peace initiatives.

Key activities of our Lutheran team include:

• in Likuagole on 31 January, 1500 NFI Kits (Non-Food items – blankets, pots, soap etc) + 700 mosquito nets + 700 plastic sheets (for shelter) were distributed
• 1000 NFI Kits for Bor
• 1000 NFI Kits for Panyagor
• Lutheran team member travelling to Uror to assess needs

Other action:

• On 5 & 6 February, our Emergency Coordinator Michael Mading completed distribution of seeds to 1000 households in Fangak: sorghum, maize, beans and vegetables
• 1000 fishing kits are being readied in Juba for families with access to waterways, so they can fish to feed their families and to sell in markets.
• Small grant will be provided to school in Duk Padiet to replace school materials damaged or destroyed in the recent attack. Same is likely to be done for school in Waat.

Thank you for your support through ALWS to communities at risk in South Sudan.

Donate Now to South Sudan

East African Food Crisis

Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and actalliance partners in the Horn of Africa region see need everywhere – in the Kakuma, Dadaab and Djibouti Refugee Camps and due to the war and fighting in Somalia and Sudan.  However, it is the worst drought in the East Africa for over 60 years that is rapidly worsening an already extremely difficult situation in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. LWF has responded to a huge influx of refugees into Dadaab (Kenya) and Dollo Odo (Ethiopia) from Somalia, as well as local communities in both countries where families are struggling with the failure of crops, loss of livestock and their related livelihoods. Other actalliance members are also responding to the situation in Somalia itself where hundreds of thousands of people are struggling to survive.

The Good News:

• Good rains have come to much of Kenya and some rains to Somalia and Ethiopia, breaking the severe drought.  The areas of Somalia that were in famine have had that status lifted.  A small number of refugees have been able to return to their homeland.
• AusAID has approved the ALWS application to have $810,875 matched through the Australian Government's dollar-for-dollar match for East Africa.  The support through ALWS to help people in East Africa is: $1,811,965 (As well as our Lutheran family, this includes generous gifts from Uniting Church and Churches of Christ through ALWS.)  With the Australian Government match, this means our total aid effort for East Africa is worth more than $2.6 million!  Thank you! 

Challenges In East Africa:

• Crops still need to be planted and will take time to grow.  Hunger is still a real issue for millions of people at this time, particularly in Somalia.
• Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their countries to seek refuge in refugee camps in Kenya and Somalia.  Lutheran World Federation continue the difficult but essential task of managing the camps.  Figures released on the 10th January showed there were 463,000 refugees just in the Dadaab Refugee Camp.
• There have been some real challenges in the camps, with violence and unrest.  Two Somali refugee leaders helping LWF in a voluntary capacity have been killed.  There have also been some attacks on aid workers, and as a result, all visits to Dadaab have been suspended and no expatriate aid workers are able to go there. LWF and other agencies are maintaining as much life-saving work as possible – food, water and limited medical care. Our work in schools, and surveying tent sites, has been reduced for the time being as they are high risk activities. LWF is working with all involved agencies on adapting plans given the insecurity challenge.
• Political instibility (including fighting, unrest and bloodshed) are still part of very difficult challenges for the international community in Somalia.
• In the Kakuma Refugee Camp, LWF have recently seen an increased influx of refugees from South Sudan. On Monday 9th of January LWF received 150 refugees, all of them from South Sudan (on average they have been getting between 70-150 refugees per week).  There is a growing unrest in South Sudan.

Help Now

Call 1300 763 407

Post your cheque to: PO Box 488 Albury NSW 2640

More detail ...

Your lifesaving action through ALWS so far ...

SOMALIA - $150,000

The war against Al shabaab by Kenyan Defence forces continues, aiming to bring security and safety to the general population. The security situation therefore remains highly dangerous. Heavy rains have broken the drought, with good prospects of improved livestock, pasture and crop production and increased water access. Your help is delivered by Norwegian Church Aid through local Somali partners.

 Target districts: Luuq, Dollow and Bulla Hawa in Gedo region

• People have lost everything. They need basics like jerry-cans for water, and even bowls for cooking.
• Emergency food distributions give families a basic survival ration.
• Sanitation is critical to prevent disease and death. Latrines are basic, using a pit system.

ETHIOPIA - $292,500 

Food aid

Targeted to 40,972 people in the Abaya, Chinaksen and Dawe Kachen districts:

Food-For-Work

People work on infrastructure projects and are paid with food for their labour:

• construct roads (connect community, access to markets etc)
• construct and rehabilitate ponds
• tree-planting for reafforestation
• construct stone bunds (to stop erosion)
• hillside terracing
• dams, waterways and drain construction

Food-For-Work projects are an efficient way to get food to hungry people, and have three main benefits beyond providing food:

1. important projects are delivered
2. people maintain dignity because they have earned their food
3. the community feels ownership of projects because they built them 

Dollo Odo Refugee Camps

A wide range of activities including feeding under 5s; provide safe water supply and family latrines; tree-planting and seedling nursery; training in brick-making and tailoring.

DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP - $368,811

Situation remains extreme and challenge with insecurity caused by Al shabaab, including attacks on aid workers. Dadaab remains home to more than 500,000 Somali refugees, and is managed by a Lutheran team. While food, water and sanitation work continues, ALWS has proposed to Australian Government that we use our Lutheran expertise to expand badly-needed education for children. 

Your help continues to support the work of Community Peace and Security Teams. These are refugee volunteers who provide an around-the-clock security presence, sorting out small disputes before they become bigger ones. The aim is to have two CPSTs before block of 100 households, equipped with whistle and torch. 

Help Now

Call 1300 763 407

Post your cheque to: PO Box 488 Albury NSW 2640

Shoats

In the Horn of Africa, families’ livestock are their wealth. When the worst drought in 60 years hit last year, many families lost everything.  In the Horn of Africa there’s a saying that goes something like ‘When the livestock die, you know it won’t be long before people do too.’

That’s why it was an occasion of great celebration when on 16 November our Lutheran (World Federation - LWF) team in Turkana in northern Kenya started providing 10 healthy sheep and goats to each household.

Dr Erenius Nakadio, the LWF Veterinary Officer, explains,

“The animals are inspected to ensure that they are healthy and of the breeding age. Then they are de-wormed, and treated with antibiotics for disease prevention, and finally branded with the LWF logo for purposes of identification and post-distribution monitoring, and to help prevent rustling.”

The Turkana people are pastoralists, and were among the people hurt worst by the devastating drought that hit the Horn of Africa in the second half of 2011. As their cattle, sheep and goats died of thirst and lack of food, the people had to rely on food aid to survive.

One of the first tasks our LWF team had at that time was the heartbreaking one of helping families ‘de-stock’.

Basically, the livestock was in such a fragile state and food supplies so short, they were worthless in the market. Our team paid a decent price for the livestock, so people didn’t lose everything. The livestock were then slaughtered to provide a little meat to the people.

The good news is that in November, the rains began in Kenya, and the drought broke. Pasture is growing, creating the right conditions for the Lutheran team to begin distributing 6,600 sheep and goats to 660 households.

Paulina Nawar Achuka received ten animals for her family:

“When we lost our animals due to drought, we were so desperate with ourselves. But now that LWF has done this, we appreciate and can now start rebuilding our lives again. In Turkana culture, what is happening here today is like a wedding ceremony where each and every family member of the bride gets a share of the bride prize.”

Your donations through ALWS helped provide the sheep and goats that will enable the Turkana people to begin rebuilding their lives. Thank you!

Read more here.

Please pray for: 

• peace in the refugee camps, to South Sudan and to Somalia
• that security can be restored so full life-saving work can resume in all refugee camps
• wisdom for LWF and other agencies responding to the crisis
• safety for our Lutheran teams still working in Dadaab
• the refugee families who have suffered so much

Photo Credit:  Lokiru Matendo

Help Now

Call 1300 763 407

Post your cheque to: PO Box 488 Albury NSW 2640

For older resources on the African Food Crisis, click here.