South Sudan double displacement: first from conflict and now from floods

ACNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/10/11/ACNS5204

First hand information on the emergency in Unity State, South Sudan has come from Bishop Gattek from the Benitu Area Diocese, of the Episcopal Church of Sudan.

Several weeks ago, the Alliance posted an appeal on behalf of Bishop Gattek to help returnees from North Sudan and other nations, internally displaced people and the host community who are still in great needs of humanitarian aid. On top of this already difficult situation the rainy season has affected near 50,000 thousand people who have been forced to flee again. Waterborne diseases and snake bites are an immediate concern for the church, as well as the continuous movement of returnees and refugees from Sudan.

Episcopal Relief and Development has given a generous donation of US15.000 to help communities in Unity State. The Northern American agency has a long-standing partnership with the Sudanese Development and Relief Agency (SUDRA) of the Church of Sudan and is working toward implementing risk reduction activities in different Dioceses.

According to United Nations Organisation for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(Humanitarian bulletin 24 – 30 Sep 2012) the number of people affected in South Sudan by the seasonal flooding between June and September has tripled since last year up from 79.000 in 2011 to 258.000 so far this year.

Eight out of nine counties in Unity State have been flooded according to the UN agency (see map)although it does not give the exact number of the people affected. Bishop Gattek provided the Anglican Alliance with more details regarding the villages affected by county which can be seenhere.

Bishop Gattek asks Anglicans around the Communion for prayers and support for communities that have suffered so much and are trying to find ways forward in the new state of South Sudan.

Returnees in South Sudan in need of our help to restart their lives

Anglican Communion News Service: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2012/10/3/ACNS5197

After decades of conflict and displacement, returnees from Sudan to South Sudan are facing huge difficulties to restart their lives. According to the United Nation Office for the Organisation of Humanitarian Affairs, around 123.000 people have returned this year (Humanitarian Bulletin 3 – 9 September).

Despite the raising of hopes for going back home, the situation for people arriving is very complicated. The relief and development coordinator of the Diocese of Rejaf, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Mr Bullen Pitya, explains how returnees could not bring along their things, as they were flown from Sudan to Juba with minimum personal belongings.

They have been temporarily accommodated in a transit camp at Kabu, at the outskirts of Juba town, in the compound of a Teachers’ Training Institute. The returnees are expected to continue their journey and resettle in their villages, or towns of origin. However, as many of them had lived in Khartoum for a long time, over a period of 21 years of war, they do not seem to know their original villages.

Returnees have been asked to vacate the installation of the training institute within few weeks.  The Central Equatoria State has provided a new land, the Kuda village in the north of Juba town, for their permanent resettlement. The International Organisation for Migration is providing the transport to their new home but they do not have anything to restart their life since they left all behind.

The diocese of Rejaf is asking for support to help South Sudanese returnees who are in urgent need. They are planning to implement the following plan:
Objective of the response: To provide a package of cooking utensils, canvas and hand tools for each of 200 returnee families to enable them resettle in Kuda on their own plots allocated by the government of Central Equatoria State.

Targeted area: Resettlement village at Kuda
Targeted community: Returnees from Khartoum flown to Juba by IOM.
Number of beneficiaries: 200 families.
Time frame: Six months from August 2012 to February 2013.
Who is responsible for implementing the response: Relief Team of Rejaf Diocese comprising of Diocesan Secretary, MU Coordinator and Relief and Development Programme Coordinator.
Proposed budget:

Please set the items/ material/resources in which you are planning to spend the money	Number of items	Cost
Hand tools for menpickaxe, shovel, wheel barrow, hoe and panga per family	200 sets of 6 items	455per setX200=91,000
Cooking Utensils- large aluminum  cooking pot, small aluminum cooking pot, 4 plates, jerrycan, plastic basin, 2 water cups	200sets of 10 items	306 per set x200=61,200
Canvas 6 metres by 5 metres –  2 pieces per Family	400 pieces	400 x75=30,000
Hiring stores	Lum sum	7,000
Local Transport	Lum sum	2,000
Handling of materials	Lum sum	1,000
Sub-total costs for materials		192,200
Project Monitoring and Supervision (PMS) costs	15%	28,830
Overhead costs	5%	9,610
Total Project Costs in South Sudanese Pound		230,640
Total Project Costs in USD ($1=SSP 5)		46,128

The Sudanese Relief and Development Agency SUDRA which is part of the Church in Sudan will receive and manage the donations to this appeal and monitor the movement of resources. If you would like to support this appeal you can donate to:

Beneficiary bank: KCB Bank (Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd.)
Beneficiary Bank branch: Buluk
Beneficiary bank account number: 5500036564
Name on bank account: ECS SUDRA
SWIFT code: KCBLKENX

Bank address: Ministries Road, Buluk, Juba, South Sudan; also Kenya Commercial Bank, Ltd., P.O. Box 48400.0010, Moi Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya

The Diocese of Rejaf will provide updates about the evolution of the situation and how resources have been used to respond to this emergency. The Anglican Alliance will post the report back on this appeal.

Anglicans around the world have been helping communities affected by the civil war in Sudan and South Sudan. The North American Episcopal Relief and Development and the Australian Anglican Board of Mission work in partnership to support the health service provided by the church in Sudan. They also provide emergency relief though SUDRA and have permanent appeals to help the affected communities and build the local capacity of the church.

Fleeing from genocide to South Sudan

Yida Refugee Camp from the air. Photo/Robin Denney

[Episcopal News Service] Yida, the largest refugee camp in South Sudan, stretches for miles. It is home to more than 64,000 of the 206,000 refugees from the Republic of Sudan who have fled the bombing and violent attacks against civilians by the Khartoum government since June 2011.Yida camp itself was bombed Nov. 10, 2011, killing 12 refugees.

Only 20 kilometers from the volatile border between Sudan and South Sudan, Yida camp sees a constant stream of nearly 200 new refugees a day, coming from the Nuba Mountains region (South Kordofan State) in Sudan. Rebel groups in Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile states have united against the Khartoum government’s army, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), whichindiscriminately attacks rebels and civilians in those areas.

“They kill everybody, Christians and Muslims. They burn houses, churches, and schools. They kill people. They drop bombs. Just two days ago soldiers came to my area [in the Nuba Mountains] and killed one person and burned houses,” said the Rev. Ameka Yousif, a pastor who has lived in Yida camp since February. “[In the Nuba Mountains] when people see the planes, they run and hide. Bombing is happening almost every day.”

Read the rest here