BACKGROUND:

During a referendum in January 2011, the people of southern Sudan voted to secede from northern Sudan, a move which culminated in the South Sudan’s declaration of independence on July 9, 2011. The vote and subsequent secession of South Sudan was a result of a peace agreement signed in 2005 aimed at ending two decades of civil war.

The referendum and split of Sudan has caused millions to migrate from the north into South Sudan, creating a strain on South Sudan’s resources and development. LWR and partners are working in South Sudan to provide life-saving support to people in the region, including migrants from the north.

Meanwhile, people in the Darfur region of Western Sudan remain in dire need support. Following a conflict that began in 2003 between government and rebel forces, more than two million people have been forced from their homes. Armed groups have killed more than 200,000 people and there are reports of the rape and torture of women and children.

The people of Sudan, particularly those in the Darfur region, remain in urgent need of food, access to water, health programs and other humanitarian assistance.

LWR AND PARTNERS RESPOND:

Lutheran World Relief and partners in the ACT Alliance have long experience working in Sudan and continue to assist people in both Darfur and south Sudan by:

• Providing access to water points and latrines; training communities to manage the infrastructure on their own.
• Operating health clinics and supplemental nutrition programs with a focus on preventative healthcare.
• Increasing the number of pregnant women with access to pre- and post-natal care services.
• Training community organizations and leaders in peace-building and conflict resolution.
• Constructing or rehabilitating schools, providing school supplies and training for administrators and parent-teacher associations.

LWR needs your help to continue its outreach to the people of Darfur. You can help by giving a gift to LWR’s Darfur fund. You may give online at lwr.org/donate, by phone at 800.597.5972 or by mailing a check or money order to:

Lutheran World Relief – Darfur
P.O. Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21297-1061
USA

Your gift will be used for the Darfur/Sudan crisis until needs there are met. After that, further gifts will be used to help LWR respond where the need is greatest.

INTERNATIONAL DISASTERS:

Editors:  When listing organizations receiving donations for aid to survivors of major disasters outside the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, please include:

Lutheran World Relief, www.lwr.org, 800.597.5972

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emily Sollie, 410.230.2802 (office), 443.220.3269 (cell), esollie@lwr.org