Christian Aid and South Sudan
In South Sudan, extreme weather had caused two harvests to fail this year. Farmers and fisher folk are running out of options. Sally Foster-Fulton, Head of Christian Aid Scotland, said:
“The starkest reminder of the injustice of climate change is South Sudan. Weather systems have changed, are changing, and in South Sudan, 2021 has been a year of unprecedented rains and the worst flooding in six decades. Flooding has also affected the neighbouring countries of Congo and Uganda, causing rivers to burst their banks and inundate vast swathes of land. In the week before COP26 began the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, spelled out clearly how climate change is to blame for the most recent flooding in South Sudan. At least 700,000 have been affected, with rains expected to cause disruption for the remainder of the year. Yet more homes, crops and livestock have been swept away and people have been forced to move to temporary shelters on higher ground. The pattern of the two previous years is being repeated for the third year in a row. In some areas, flood waters from last year still haven’t receded. A UNHCR spokesman used that word “frontline” to emphasise the utter devastation and described the people of South Sudan as the “collateral damage of a battle they did not pick.” What this means is that even more people are being pushed closer to famine. Finding food is a constant challenge. Dirty water, or none at all? A morsel of food each, or a bigger portion for one? School fees, or materials to rebuild the family home?
To donate to this year’s Christmas appeal, which focuses on South Sudan, see the Christian Aid website:
www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/christmas-appeal
Your gifts this Christmas could help build more boreholes, provide seeds and farming tools, and give mums the chance to set up small businesses. With clean water, nutritious food and ways to earn money, mums like Adut won’t have to make impossible choices.
We all do what we can for the children in our lives, especially at Christmas. You can stand with mums this Christmas and help the next generation grow.