Sudans Appeal reaches its Target

At the start of July, the Bishop of Salisbury launched an Emergency Appeal for the Sudans, saying:

“I hope and pray we will be generous. Whatever you can give will be an encouragement and a source of hope as well as a practical help in the present crisis."

And the response has been amazing. We have not only reached our target of £50,000 - we will exceed it.

Bishop Nicholas said today:

“Thank you to everyone for such a heartening response. It is generous, outward looking and caring. I have spoken to both the Archbishops of Khartoum and Juba in the last week and they are deeply thankful for the support of this appeal.”

While Covid-19 is causing significant problems here in the UK, in Sudan and South Sudan a lethal combination of starvation in the North and a lack of basic sanitation in the South has exacerbated the threat.

“They would rather die of Covid-19 than hunger” was the distressing plea delivered by Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo in Khartoum, a plea which triggered the Appeal.

The funds, which were raised through a combination of a JustGiving site (the latest total can be found here), individual donations and fundraising by parishes, will be divided equally between the Churches in Sudan and South Sudan.

They will be used to provide food for Sudan, where a quarter of the Sudanese population is severely food-insecure. This proportion, the highest ever recorded, is being blamed on the ongoing economic and political crises which have been exacerbated by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

They will also provide life-saving sanitisers and basic hand washing facilities for South Sudan, where poor sanitation in the refugee camps means coronavirus is able to spread freely among a weakened population.

International agencies say that more than 9.6 million people in the Sudans are in need of urgent assistance.

Chair of the Diocese of Salisbury's Sudans Link Committee Canon Ian Woodward said:

“Our 48 year partnership of the Diocese of Salisbury with the Churches in Sudan and South Sudan is at the heart of the life of our Diocese and the generosity of our congregations and supporters will help change peoples’ lives in these very troubling times - thank you.”
The Just Giving site will remain open for donations until 15th August, which is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Cathedral is dedicated to her and in this, its 800th anniversary year, the Feast Day will have special significance.

Watch the Bishop's Appeal video here.