Lundeberg, Tarr, Webb Winger Lundeberg, Tarr, Webb, Winger Holland English 2010 30 March 2014 The Children

of South Sudan The children of South Sudan ha e faced non!sto" ordeals and tribulations e er since the start second ci il #ar$ When it began, the attac%ers of South Sudan began burning illages in South Sudan$ The &oung bo&s, though, frightened, #ere told to run, that their fathers #ould "rotect their fa'ilies$ The bo&s #ould run and see their houses be burned, as #ell as so'e of their fa'ilies$

(rebuildingsouthernsudan$org) *ot %no#ing #hat to do, the& #al%ed, began to loo% for hel"$ The bo&s 'et other fleeing children along the #a&, and for'ed grou"s to hel" ta%e care of each other$ The& struggled #ith star ation, thirst, and #ere attac%ed b& ani'als along the #a&$ The& #al%ed thousands of 'iles$ When the& finall& reached a refugee ca'" in Ethio"ia, se eral had died along the #a& and been buried in the #ilderness$ +t the ca'", the bo&s for'ed 'a%eshift fa'ilies and began to tr& to 'a%e li es for the'sel es, building huts and designating ,obs to "eo"le$ When the& #ere ,ust beginning to learn education and ha e a life again, the Ethio"ian go ern'ent attac%ed and shot at the ca'", and the bo&s fled once again$ (rebuildingsouthernsudan$org) So'e esca"ed, but o er fi e thousand #ere %illed, and e en 'ore died after crossing bac% into South Sudan$ So'e of the sur i ors 'ade it to -en&a, #here there #as another refugee ca'" #aiting for the'$ .ood #as still scarce, and the bo&s #ere star ing$ /t #asn0t until 1111 that the& #ere allo#ed to co'e to the 2$S$ as refugees$ *ot e er&one #as eligible to co'e, though3 onl& three thousand bo&s #ere brought to our countr&$ The& had to #or% to sustain their li es here, and se eral for'ed grou"s to hel" their fa'ilies and friends bac% in Sudan$ (rebuildingsouthernsudan$org) The #ar officiall& ended in 2004, but countless "eo"le, es"eciall& children suffer fro' the effects of the 'onstrosities$ +bout ten "ercent of children in Sudan are or"hans$ (%idsali e$org) So'e are luc%& enough to li e in refugee ca'"s, but the less fortunate are li ing on the streets$ Ca'" or not,

Lundeberg, Tarr, Webb Winger

these %ids all suffer fro' disease, unh&gienic resources, thirst and terrible "o ert&$ The& #or% in unsafe conditions, and 'an& ha e beco'e in ol ed in drugs and other 'isha"s$ (%idsali e$org) The children of Sudan go through e5cruciating 'ental and "h&sicall& da'aging e5"eriences$ The children, #ho are or"haned near the #ar, es"eciall& ha e to e5"erience the i''ense challenges$ There are so'e children #ho are e en forced to be soldiers$ *ot onl& is it e5tre'el& difficult to find clean #ater it is hard to find a decent a'ount of food$ South Sudan has so'e of the lo#est school attendance rates and e en education s&ste's in the #orld$ .e'ales rarel& get the o""ortunit& to go to

school and get an education$ (6Sudan7, sa ethechildren$org) +ccording to 8essica H,arrand, education s"ecialist at *ations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 9rgani:ation, 6South Sudan is %no#n to ha e the #orst literac& rate in the #orld$7 (Sudan, sa ethechildren$org) /t is esti'ated that 1; "ercent of the South Sudan children are #ithout either one or both of their "arents$ (6South Sudan .ighting<7 .o5$co') =ecause of the fighting and #ars going on children often beco'e or"haned or se"arated fro' their "arents #hich leads to star ation or sic%ness$ The& ha e no idea if their "arents are e en ali e and li e 'ost of their li es not e er seeing the' again$ The& tra el 'iles #ithout nurturing or care$ /f &ou #ant to start fro' a child at birth ho#e er, Sudan has the highest infant death rates in the #orld as #ell and one in nine children die before the age of fi e$ (6Sudan7, sa ethechildren$org) +lthough it 'a& see' far!fetched, there is still a future for the ho"eful children of South Sudan$ With organi:ations such as S9S Children>s ?illage, Sa e the Children and World ?ision, the future li es of each indi idual that is li ing in struggle there doesn>t loo% too unreachable$ + difference is being 'ade each da&$ S9S Children>s ?illage recentl& brought 'an& children fro' the cra:ed cit& of Mala%al to the safer cit& of 8uba$ (69ne of the Ha""iest$$$7, soschildrens illages$org$u%) 6Last #ee%, all S9S fa'ilies and staff #ere airlifted fro' 2*M/SS to South Sudan0s ca"ital, 8uba, #here the situation is 'uch cal'er$ The fa'ilies are no# li ing in a secure house in the ca"ital, co'"lete #ith ne# 'attresses,

Lundeberg, Tarr, Webb Winger sheets, blan%ets and to#els so that e er&one can en,o& so'e lu5ur& after #ee%s of hardshi" and

uncertaint&$7 (69ne of the Ha""iest$$$7, soschildrens illages$org$u%) +s &ou can see, the S9S Children>s ?illage is doing their "art b& getting the children to safer conditions$ The& also "la& a "art b& "ro iding long!ter' care for children that can no longer be ta%en care of b& their fa'ilies$ The& do this b& ta%ing the' in and "lacing the' in their s"eciall& "ic%ed children>s illages and assigning a 6'o'7 to #atch o er the' and 'ore children to be their 6siblings7$ 9nce the& are "art of a children>s illage! the& are then gi en @ualit& education and healthcare$ +s &ou can see, the children of South Sudan ha e "eo"le loo%ing out for the' to be sure their future are bright$ S9S Children>s ?illage is not the onl& organi:ation loo%ing out for the' ho#e er$ Sa e the Children is also 'a%ing a 'a,or i'"act on the li es of these children in South Sudan$ The& started u" their organi:ation bac% in 2000, and no# ha e A1 "ri'ar& health care facilities that treated o er 111,000 children, ,ust in 2010$ The& are also hel"ing better their education b& "ro iding trained teachers and tutors$ 6/n 2010, o er 144,000 children #ere "ro ided @ualit& education in schools su""orted b& Sa e the Children, u" BBC fro' 2001$6 (6South Sudan7, sa ethechildren$org) /f their #or% continues, then the future of these children can loo% to#ards e en 'ore education and safet& regarding health chec%!u"s$ There>s also an organi:ation that>s out there, not onl& "ro iding health care, but also finding #a&s to "lant food sources and better the drin%ing #ater$ World ?ision is 6=uilding a better #orld for children7$ (6South Sudan7, #orld ision$org) *ot onl& ha e the& done a lot to hel" the children of South Sudan in the "ast, but the& are also finding 'ore #a&s to build u"on #hat the&> e done to hel" and 'a%e the li es of these children 'ore #orth#hile$ .or e5a'"le, World ?ision is in su""ort of "roducing essential food cro"s so that those #ho return as refugees and also those #ho li e in South Sudan can continue to ha e health& foods to eat$ The& also ha e the o"tion to s"onsor a child so that &ou can "ro ide a donation to ,ust one child! to be sure &ou>re gi ing it all that it can benefit fro'$ World ?ision is also "ro iding su""ort for long!ter' "s&chological and e'otional reco er& for 144,000 "eo"le in South Sudan$ (6South Sudan7, #orld ision$org) +ll of

Lundeberg, Tarr, Webb Winger these things are co'"letel& beneficial to the future in South Sudan! so things see' to be loo%ing u"$ E en though there are 'an& #a&s to hel" the children in South Sudan and 'an& actions are being ta%en to hel" those #ho ha e been struggling for so long$ The& are still lac%ing so 'an& resources and things the& need to sur i e and li e co'fortabl& that the& are as%ing for hel" an&#here

the& can$ .ro' all of the tragedies the& ha e faced o er the &ears the& are lac%ing 'ost things #e often ta%e for granted$ With loss of lo ed ones, so'eti'es no#here to li e, often nothing to eat or drin%, and 'an& diseases and health issues that threaten their li es$ +l'ost 400,000 children ha e been affected b& the 'ost recent iolence in South Sudan$ (6South Sudan7, sa ethechildren$org) The& don>t ha e 'uch food or resources to %ee" the' health& and safe$ +ll these organi:ations deal directl& #ith children and their rights and continue to su""ort children in this &oung and struggling countr& because it is so'ething that South Sudan can>t do for the children on their o#n right no#$ The goal is to bring food, #ater, and health care to the children and their fa'ilies$ The& #ant to hel" find children #ho ha e been se"arated fro' their ho'es and fa'ilies and gi e the' #hate er su""ort the& 'a& need to co"e #ith the "s&chological trau'a the& ha e been facing all these 'an& &ears$ (6South Sudan7, sa ethechildren$org) +ll these organi:ations ha e 'an& "lans and "rogra's of ho# to hel" the children in South Sudan but it is ,ust a 'atter of ha ing the resources and 'one& to 'a%e enough of an i'"act to reall& sa e these children$ Director of E'ergenc& Erogra's for 2*/CE. said this about the actions being ta%en to hel" the children in South Sudan 6Children are al#a&s the 'ost ulnerable grou" in e'ergencies, facing a high ris% of iolence, e5"loitation, disease and neglect, but #e can change the li es of children for the better7$ He goes on to sa& that after recentl& returning fro' a "ro,ect in South Sudan there are about 3$2 'illion "eo"le #ho are in need of hu'anitarian assistance$ (641 Million Children7, 3!A) /t is e5tre'el& i'"ortant and urgent that these children recei e all the hel" the& can get$ There are a large nu'ber of "eo"le, es"eciall& children, #ho are suffering$ /t #ill not ha""en o er night but as 'ore "eo"le beco'e a#are of this ci il #ar in South Sudan 'ore #ill recogni:e their necessar&

Lundeberg, Tarr, Webb Winger "lace in hel"ing and donating to these organi:ations #ho>s sole "ur"ose and 'ission is to "rotect the rights of these children and sa e the' fro' 'ore tragedies$

Wor% Cited

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