The influx of refugees and returnees escaping the conflict in Sudan, has brought additional stress on local communities already living with limited resources. However, despite their own dire circumstances, the locals have unconditionally welcomed the refugees seeking safety.
Safa, a 31-year-old mother of four and another South Sudanese returnee who was forced to leave Sudan due to the conflict, said, “The people here have been nice to me. They have not only provided me with a place to stay but also ensured I had food to eat.”
For Safa, and several others like her, help from ICRC came at the right time. “I was eating so little food that my baby never got enough breast milk. With the arrival of this food, I will eat better and there will be more milk for the baby,” she said.
We have also helped improve access to clean water for thousands of refugees, returnees, and local residents by repairing water facilities, such as handpumps. “People here were living in a very difficult situation. They used to get their water directly from the river,” explained Lokiden David Mogga, ICRC economic security field officer in Malakal, Upper Nile state.
So far in 2024, along with the repairs of handpumps that benefited about 33,000 people, we have distributed water purification equipment, cloth-filters, buckets and purification agent to over 6,900 households of South Sudanese returnees in the Jonglei, Upper Nile and Western Bahr el Ghazal states. “This year, we have helped 40,566 people in Boro Medina, Gok Machar, Kaka and Kuajok,” said Alexandre Farine, ICRC water and habitat coordinator.