Sudan (MNN)–The Darfur region is suffering from one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Compounding the trouble, the United Nations has suspended aid in the southern sector because of continued fighting.
However, the road closure didn’t stop everyone from helping. Food for the Hungry’s Pete Howard describes their response in the name of Christ. “We have medical teams, in partnership with several other organizations in the Darfur region. These medical teams are training local doctors, local nurses and helping in the clinics. In the Darfur, there are, right now, over two million people displaced, so part of what Food for the Hungry is focusing on is trying to bring a little bit of hope.”
Howard was struck by the lack of hope when he met a refugee named Abdele (abduhlee) who did not smile. He was a refugee who survived a Janjaweed rebel attack on his village.
Sadly, most of what was close to Abdele did not survive the raid. Rebels killed his daughter, and two close relatives. They also took all his livestock and destroyed his house. The trauma was etched in his eyes and traveled to his mouth, which no longer seemed able to bend to lighten his eyes. His face was a mask of abandoned hope.
Abdele’s solemnity was an accurate reflection of life for many in Darfur. Howard says that struck home his mission. “Truly, our message, the message of Christ–the message of ‘Unto us a child is born and He will be called the Prince of Peace’, that is the message that Abdele and the millions of others like him, need to hear.”
Please consider coming alongside Food for the Hungry as teams minister physical and spiritual hope to Abele and his fellow Sudanese through clean water, sanitation, and medical care.
