Anglican Aid South Sudan Emergency Appeal

Posted on January 10, 2014 
Filed under Sydney Diocese

anglican-aidThe Archbishop of Sydney’s Anglican Aid has launched an emergency appeal for South Sudan.

Donations can be made online at this link.

Here’s the text of a letter released by Anglican Aid and sent to all Sydney parishes – 

Anglican Aid Supporting South Sudan

Anglican Aid has launched an emergency appeal for the victims of the violence that has caused so much death and suffering in South Sudan in the last two months.

Media reports have put the death toll from the violence at 1,000. The Archbishop of The Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS), Daniel Deng, estimates the number dead to be many more than that. 

Anglican Aid CEO, Rev David Mansfield, has been in touch with its partners in South Sudan and Ethiopia to ascertain just how aid can be best applied to the most critical needs. Anglican Aid has a micro-finance project with the indigenous agency ACROSS helping families and communities throughout the greater Yei region. “It was thought from media reports that Yei had been largely unaffected by the fighting. However information from Yei via Facebook suggests to us that people have fled the town for areas of relative safety and the residential areas are all but deserted”, said Mr Mansfield.

In the south west of Ethiopia, Anglican Aid is partnering with the Anglican Church in Gambella in a water sanitation project. “This is essentially a child survival project in communities made up largely of Sudanese Diaspora who have fled across the border to escape the civil wars that have raged in Sudan over the last 30 years. They are now seeking to contend with a new wave of refugees displaced by the current fighting and are struggling with all the tensions associated with tribal conflict and acute shortages of food and clean water,” Mr Mansfield added.

Bishop Grant LeMarquand has advised Anglican Aid of the situation in Gambella. “We have had to house a few refugees on our compound as they are transitioning to new places.”

“Some of the towns where we have churches near the border have been overrun with large numbers of people fleeing the fighting in South Sudan. For example, in xxxx (Deleted by Anglican Aid for security) where I am going this coming Saturday, there are about 1,000 people living without shelter and with almost no food on the Anglican church compound. The same is true of most of the churches in the town (the clergy have organized the people into groups).

There is apparently some food in the town, but little money to buy and the prices are high. I’m going to bring a load of maize with me on Saturday, as well as tarps to use for shelter from the sun – it’s the beginning of dry season – no rain, but intense sun.”

“We have a woman who helps clean the compound here in Gambella. Two days ago we heard that her son had been killed in Juba (he had been staying at the UN compound, but decided to go home to get a change of clothes and was killed on the street.) Stories come to us daily of family members caught in the cross fire. Several members of the staff and clergy have family in UN compounds in Bor and Juba – but no compound is truly safe.”

Anglican Aid’s first priority been to send $5,000 to Gambella towards purchasing maize and tarps for 1,000 refugees at the distant Anglican Centre near the border (photo supplied). The Anglican church is the only agency able to distribute aid in Gambella at present. As we continue to communicate with Archbishop Deng and ACROSS in South Sudan on their security and the best way of getting emergency aid to where it is needed most under their oversight funds will be disbursed through those agencies.

Donations to the South Sudan Emergency Appeal can be made online at

https://www.thankq.net.au/donate/V247/Donate1.aspx?ref=5856389756&pid=12

by direct debit to Anglican Aid’s bank account BSB 032078 Account 253522 or by phoning 1800 653 903