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.jpg "Two million people have been displaced by the ongoing conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. This photo of Otash camp, near the town of Nyala, South Darfur, was taken in 2004.")
Two million people have been displaced by the ongoing conflict in Sudan's Darfur region. This photo of Otash camp, near the town of Nyala, South Darfur, was taken in 2004. MCC ships food to Darfur and supports trauma healing as crisis continues
Tim Shenk MCC is shipping 4,000 metric tons of wheat to Sudan as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises continues in the country's Darfur region. Fighting continues in Darfur, where a civil war erupted three years ago, despite a peace agreement between the government and one rebel faction in May. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the conflict and about 2 million have been displaced into camps. William Reimer, MCC's director for food, disaster and material resources, visited Darfur in July and says that the region's civilians are in greater danger than ever. A 7,000-member African Mission peacekeeping force is scheduled to leave the country at the end of September. The government of Sudan is strenuously resisting calls for a U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur, Reimer says. In partnership with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, MCC is providing the wheat to the United Nations World Food Program for distribution in Sudan, with about 70 percent going to Darfur. "The U.N. is out of food as of December, so this shipment is timely," Reimer says. MCC is sponsoring trauma healing work in displacement camps in Darfur and is preparing to support conflict mediation work between community leaders. Reimer met a Sudanese trauma counselor, Elizabeth Cornelia, who described her work with displaced people. "She talked about the terrible trauma that so many people in Darfur still experience," Reimer reported. "The rape and killings continue." Cornelia provides camp residents with materials to make mats and beds to employ themselves productively. Few formal employment opportunities are available to camp residents. Reimer notes that Sept. 17 has been declared "Darfur Sunday" by many churches around the world. He says that it is especially important to remember and pray for people who are working for peace in Darfur during a very uncertain time. "Pray that the peace agreement may become more of a reality," Reimer says.
Tim Shenk is a writer for MCC communications. |
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