Topic: Crisis Response

Our “office” in Bentiu consists of nothing more than five desks. CARE occupies half a trailer and shares the tiny space with two other organizations, but others “camp”

Simon Chol is a peace-building advisor for CARE South Sudan and former combatant in the fight for independence. Three years after independence for South Sudan, Simon asks what went wrong, and how the same mistakes can be avoided again.

A group of seven major international aid agencies said they face a shortfall of £52 million ($89m) just when the South Sudan humanitarian crisis edges closer to the risk of famine. Speaking out on the 3rd anniversary of the country’s independence they warned their aid efforts to help hundreds of thousands of people caught up in the conflict was under threat due to a lack of funds.

“Sometimes when I give an interview, I have to turn off the part of my brain that analyzes what I’m saying. The implications of what I’m telling are too devastating: 64 reported cases of gender based violence in a protection area just within a week. I’ve experienced different kinds of harassment

The registration of the three millionth Syrian refugee must be a wake-up call for the international community, says the aid organisation CARE International.

CARE International, one of the leading aid agencies in South Sudan, is gravely concerned about the sharp increase of malnutrition, diseases and mortality rates of children affected by conflict. Severe acute malnutrition rates among children under five years has doubled since January 2014.

Despair has taken a whole new meaning in Kette, in the East Region of Cameroon where desolate bushes sprawled with make-shift habitats have now become home to thousands of Central Africans fleeing their country. Most refugee families sleep on bare ground. A few holes have been dug for use as latrines. Food, water, shelter, basic human necessities and rights seem a distant wish for these refugees.

Early on a warm Thursday morning in May, my colleague Rouwaida and I drove from Beirut to CARE’s office in Mount Lebanon. Two months ago, Syrian refugees and CARE staff ran the Dead Sea to Red Sea marathon in Jordan and raised more than 25,000 USD.

A busy street in the city of Mafraq in the North of Jordan. Merchants pull their little wagons and hand barrows across the street. Cars are whirling sand and dust while finding their way through the market stalls.