Displaced women and children suffer increased abuse and exploitation during war and conflict – and our co-workers, friends and the general population in South Sudan are in grave danger.
This week, more fighting has broken out in Juba, the nation’s capital. The conflict has left over 300 dead and resulted in a humanitarian crisis that is “dire and deteriorating… with hospitals shelled, food supplies running low, tens of thousands of people taking refuge in churches and many more displaced as fighting between government and opposition forces rages,” according to this recent article by The Guardian.
Since 2013, the instability and violence between competing factions within the South Sudanese government has brought fear and privation to those living in the world’s youngest nation. The economy has been drastically disrupted with food and gas prices soaring and millions of citizens affected by violence.
The clashes between the South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, and Vice-President, Riek Machar, are a result of a two-year long conflict ending in June with an uneasy truce that reinstated Machar as Vice President. The returned fighting has heightened fears that the country will plunge into a civil war, and the African Union has approved peacekeeping forces as a means to restore stability. The South Sudanese people, despite the years of conflict, persevere in the hope that one day peace will be restored.
In the face of these challenges, She Is Safe continues to work in South Sudan, sponsoring learning and lending groups where women gain literacy and start businesses to help them become self-sustaining. These women are courageous examples of hope in their villages as they generate income and feed orphans in their communities.
Currently, the situation is dire, and we await word from our co-workers on the ground who are in hiding or may have fled the violence.
Please join us in urgently praying for:
- A lasting truce between government forces
- Safety for our co-workers, the women and children we serve
- The world’s youngest country to become a place where people can be safe to live in freedom, working together towards a strong future.
Your gift will provide emergency supplies (clean water, food and non-food items), care for the women in SIS transformation groups and biblical counseling to traumatized individuals and families. Please consider giving a gift to the Emergency Response Fund today through our secure donation form or by calling us toll free at 1-877-552-1402.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33