Emergency Appeal raises 50% more than asked for

Bishop Nicholas, who launched the Appeal at the start of July said:

“Thanks be to God for the generosity of many donors who supported this emergency appeal for our partners in the Sudan and South Sudan. I know it will mean a lot to our partners and friends.

“This support is more than money. It is a gift of hope. It is also good for us to lift our sights and care for our neighbour at what is also a difficult time here. I thank those who gave from the bottom of my heart. It was an amazing achievement to raise this in a month.”

The Appeal was launched to raise 50,000 for soap and hygiene products for South Sudan and Food for the neighbouring Sudan. Both are pressing needs for the populations of both countries.

Originally the plan was to run the Appeal for one month, but the generosity of the giving which came through a JustGiving page and individual and parish donations saw it extended to mid-August.

Canon Ian Woodward, Chair of the Salisbury Sudans Committee said:

“We have been hugely blessed with the wonderful response to our appeal for the support of our Sudanese and South Sudanese brothers and sisters in the Covid-19 crisis.

“We set a target of £50,000 but have exceeded that by more than 50% to £78,600 and as many Sudanese folks think more in terms of $US that’s over $US 100,000 – a magnificent achievement and says a great deal about how much we in the Diocese of Salisbury love and value our fellow Sudanese and South Sudanese friends.”

The funds will be divided equally between the 2 provinces of Sudan and South Sudan.

Canon Ian explained:

“In Sudan, Archbishop Ezekiel’s priorities are for food for his people where because of the collapse of the economy there, the threat of famine is an everyday reality for so many people. As the Archbishop has so tellingly said ‘people would rather die of Covid than hunger’.

"Archbishop Justin Badi the primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan has established a Covid-19 task force. It will be using the Salisbury donations to distribute water and hygiene materials to the dioceses to resist infection in those areas most in need, which we hope will include South Sudanese refugees across the border in Uganda once mutual lockdown restrictions are lifted.

“We will be receiving regular reports on how the Salisbury funds are being used in this emergency and we will publish them in Grapevine.

“In the meantime, my thanks again for your wonderful generosity.”

The Diocese of Salisbury has had a partnership with the Episcopal Church in what is now Sudan and South Sudan for 47 years.

There have been conflicts within both countries for most of the lives of even the oldest people.

The Diocese stood with the Sudanese through some very difficult times the genocide of Darfur, the terrible violence that led to the separation of South Sudan as a predominantly Christian state, the violence of recent years within that young nation of 11 million with 4.3 million displaced of whom 1.6 million live in neighbouring countries. 63% of South Sudan’s refugees are children.