The relief agency of the Knights of Malta is stepping up its assistance to the people of South Sudan, where millions risk starvation.

The president of Malteser International Europe, Douglas Saurma-Jeltsch, has just returned from a fact-finding mission to the region, where he found that five million people are in need of humanitarian assistance - half the population of South Sudan. 100,000 are facing famine due to civil conflict and a collapsing economy.

Malteser International, the Order of Malta’s worldwide relief agency, has been working in the region for 20 years.  

Tens of thousands of people in the region of Wau, northwest of the capital, Juba have sought safety in camps and settlements, leaving behind all their belongings as well as the harvest of the past year. They also missed the planting season for 2017, which leads to severe food insecurity in the region.

Malteser International is providing free meals to around 3,000 schoolchildren in one of the camps, with a further 2,000 receiving meals at a Malteser International project in Juba. The

The agency is setting up pumps to supply drinkable water and distributing soap to 18.000 people.

“There is profound misery in Wau. The situation is even worse than in Juba.  It would be easy to allow yourself to become discouraged. But there are people we can reach and help, and we are doing our best for them in every way we can,”  von Saurma-Jeltsch said in a post issued by the Order.
 
“The food we distribute consists of rice and beans,” he continued. “I tried it yesterday – it tastes very good. National Malteser International staff cooks it, fresh every day, in the local school kitchen. The children line up in long rows. First they have to wash their hands. Hygiene before eating is a very important health issue, especially in South Sudan. That is why we are investing not only in the food, but also in hygienic measures to prevent further outbreaks of cholera and other diseases. Hand washing and eating always go very close together.”
 
“What it is clear – not just to me – is that peace must prevail in this country. The civil war must cease, because it is only on the basis of peace that something new can arise. Whatever action is taken here, as long as there is no peace, everything else is very temporary. To this extent, it is the desire and hope of the people in South Sudan that a solution can also be found through the international community.”
 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.