The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in partnership with the South Sudan Red Cross Society (SSRC), has distributed food and non-food items to more than 7,200 returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Mayen-Gumel area of Kuajok, Warrap State.
The distribution, which began Monday at the Mayen-Guman IDP camp, provided essential relief to people displaced by conflict in Sudan and internal violence in South Sudan.
According to aid officials, each family received 60 kilograms of sorghum (two bags), 25 kilograms of beans, 10 liters of cooking oil, 22 kilograms of sugar, one packet of salt, and 12 packets of BP-5 high-energy biscuits. Non-food items included a plastic sheet, three blankets, four mosquito nets, two water buckets, cooking utensils, three bars of soap, sleeping mats, and dignity kits for women and girls.
“This aid is meant to support vulnerable people who fled war in Sudan, along with others affected by internal conflicts,” said Mustafa Abulhimal, ICRC’s head of office in Wau, who oversees operations in Warrap, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and Western Bahr el Ghazal states.
“Today in Kuajok, we are providing food and essential items to 7,200 beneficiaries. We’re distributing kitchen sets, blankets, and hygiene products for young women,” he said.
Abulhimal added that similar distributions were recently conducted in Gokmachar, Aweil North County (Northern Bahr el Ghazal), and Bagari (Western Bahr el Ghazal). He said beneficiaries were identified following assessments and interactions with returnees and IDPs in the camp.
“This is not the end of the project,” Abulhimal said. “In two weeks, we plan to return to Mayen-Gumel to construct a primary health care center and install boreholes to provide clean drinking water.”
James Ajiek, chairperson of the Warrap State Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), confirmed that many returnees came from Sudan last year. He noted that the state has not been able to allocate land for farming, worsening their situation.
He also linked the rising food insecurity in the state to ongoing violence.
“This year’s deadly incidents in Gogrial East County in Warrap and Biemnom County in the Ruweng Administrative Area have worsened the food crisis,” Ajiek said.
He estimated that more than 7,000 people benefited from the recent aid distribution.
“On the first day, 1,200 received food; the second day, 1,640 IDPs from Gogrial East and Biemnom got theirs; and on the last day, 3,403 people received assistance,” Ajiek said. “This is according to partial information I have, as I was with the governor during the distribution.”
Several beneficiaries expressed gratitude for the aid, saying it brought relief after months of hardship.
Hekima Ahmed, a returnee from Sudan, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the assistance helped her provide for her children.
“We came from Sudan with nothing,” Ahmed said. “Thanks to the Red Cross, we received plastic sheets, blankets, and food. When I get home, my children — who sometimes go without eating — will have food. I thank God and the Red Cross.”
Another recipient, Athok Monydeng, said her family now has what they need.
“We received many things like beans, flour, soap, mosquito nets,” she said. “I’m grateful to the ICRC. This food and these items will sustain my family.”
Nyanut Derbek also voiced appreciation.
“We had nothing at home,” she said. “Now we have soap, sugar, salt, beans, and sorghum. This support is a blessing.”