A mother holding on
Zainab, 32, fled her home after violence erupted in her state and her husband was killed. She and her five children walked for two months before reaching safety in a camp for displaced people. They left everything behind.
‘We have been here for six months with no shelter, no beds, no latrines, no adequate water supply. Our main challenge is food for the kids,’ she says. ‘My children are traumatised. They miss their father.’
Before the conflict, Zainab’s family had lived a relatively comfortable life. Her husband was a pharmacist, the children were in school, and they could access essentials such as healthcare. Now, they have nothing. They depend on the kindness of others and the little they can find each day.
A crisis deepening by the day
The crisis in Sudan is a humanitarian catastrophe, with more 24 million people facing severe food shortages and the constant threat of violence. So, the support from the Scottish Government’s Humanitarian Emergency Fund comes at a critical moment. It will enable our local partner in East Darfur, Alsawaid Alkhadara Organisation (AAO), to deliver life-saving help to those who need it most.
The funding will help families like Zainab’s to access food and other essential supplies, as well as vital psychosocial support to help them begin to heal.
It will also allow AAO to provide cash assistance to families, including Dialnor’s. He will be able to buy basic supplies to meet the family’s immediate needs – food, medicine and shelter – and to make choices for them with dignity and hope.
Erickson Bisetsa, Tearfund’s Country Director for South Sudan, explains: ‘Through our partnership with AAO, this funding will make a profound difference, providing urgent cash for food and other essential household needs for 750 families, while also providing protection and support services for vulnerable women and girls which would otherwise be unavailable.’
Supporting families to survive and rebuild
Through this funding, Tearfund and AAO will be reaching those most at risk, including households headed by women or the elderly, and those with members living with disabilities or chronic illness. Support will extend to both displaced families who have been forced to flee their homes and people already living in the host communities. When food, water and basic services are already scarce, this approach helps ease tensions, strengthen community ties, and ensure those most affected by the crisis can access essential support. Crucially, it gives people hope in the toughest of circumstances.
About 4,500 people will benefit from cash assistance, while about 10,000 people will receive support to help them understand and address gender-based violence, and access services to protect them and help them overcome their trauma.
Bee Roy, Head of Tearfund in Scotland, says: ‘We are incredibly grateful to the Scottish Government for their timely and generous support through the Humanitarian Emergency Fund. This funding allows Tearfund to stand alongside families in East Darfur who have lost everything.
‘It is a powerful reminder that when governments and people work together, we can bring hope and dignity to communities facing unimaginable hardship.’
For Zainab, for Dialnor, and for thousands more across East Darfur, this support sends a message that they are not forgotten.
Your continued prayers and support make this vital work possible – not just in Sudan, but in many of the world’s most fragile places. Together, we can bring hope to those facing crisis and stand with families as they rebuild.
