US Presbyterian Church responds to flood crisis in S. Sudan

November 10, 2019 (WASHINGTON) – The Presbyterian Church in the United States is to provide support to partner organizations working to help thousands of people affected by floods in South Sudan.

The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) is reportedly working with the Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency (PRDA), an arm of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan, to provide food and non-food items as well as assistance with shelter.

“More than 800,000 people that have been affected by the flooding in South Sudan,” said Dayna Oliver, PDA’s associate for international program administration.

The situation has reportedly been particularly worst in Pibor, a region in South Sudan’s Jonglei State, where houses have been destroyed and crops have been washed away in heavy rain since July.

A solidarity grant from PDA, Dayna said, is being sent to help ensure that impacted communities in the Pibor area have access to food, drinking water as well as things such as blankets and mosquito nets.

Psychological and trauma healing sessions are also being organized to help those affected, she stressed.

Last month, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency in the flood-affected areas.

The state of emergency covers 30 counties in Greater Bahr El Ghazal, Upper Nile and Equatoria regions.

Although the order made no mention of what measures would be taken to assist people affected by floods, the presidency urged government and humanitarian organizations to help people in need.

Nearly a million people in South Sudan have been affected by heavy flooding, the United Nations Office for Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said last week.

(ST)