By Brad Phillips
On a recent visit to the Nuba mountains of Sudan, I traveled to Gigaiba Referral Hospital and several other sites where PPF has ongoing projects.
What I found was both encouraging and also alarming.
I was encouraged because I saw the progress of construction at the hospital, including a visiting staff ward and WASH treatment center. I also saw more than 700 acres under cultivation thanks to the new tractor your generosity delivered to the Nuba this year.
But what alarmed me were two things specifically.
First, the population of the Nuba continues to grow. The rebranded but unchanged Islamist regime in Khartoum continues its crackdown of all dissent. This persecution has led hundreds of thousands of Nuba to flee other parts of Sudan and return to the relative safety of their mountain homeland.
In the last 10 years alone, the Nuba population has swelled to more than 2.7 million souls (from approximately one million in 2011). A government-imposed humanitarian blockade continues to limit the resources of the territory, already stretched thin by the influx of new families.
Secondly, added to the population increase is unprecedented flooding this year during the annual rainy season. Most people think places like the Nuba mountains are a desert. Well, that’s true for half the year. For the other half, it’s green and lush due to heavy rains. But the problem this year is that the rains have not stopped.
Like many mountain areas around the world, this means flooding. LOTS of flooding. Roads are turned into mush. Homes are washed away. Crops are destroyed. Disease spreads.
To give you an idea of the challenge, visit PPFTransport.com to see footage of our Mercedes Unimog in action. It’s amazing this vehicle can nearly submerge and still deliver your active compassion!
In response to this crisis, we have launched an Emergency Christmas Airlift to assist 2,000 additional families with Emergency food, shelter, and supplies. We’re flying in heavy-duty shelter tarps, emergency compact food, and refugee kits with important items like blankets, mosquito netting, cooking pots, soap, etc.
You can visit ChristmasAirlift.com to find out more about this important campaign. Working together, we can quickly achieve our goal… but more importantly, deliver the help our brothers and sisters need.
