IT is already the world’s largest refugee camp and around 400 daily arrivals are now housed in neighbouring settlements.
It is a huge task for aid agencies like Mercy Corps to help those most in need, but the organisation which has its European base in Scotland, is helping families through the crisis.
About 287,400 South Sudanese refugees are living in the Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in Uganda after fleeing civil war.
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As the conflict has spread, and following an escalation in fighting in 2016, more than 2.2 million people have been forced to flee South Sudan and take refuge in neighbouring countries including Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda.
Many have moved to remote Bidi Bidi, a dusty area with limited shade or coverage where temperatures regularly reach around 45 degrees Celsius.
As the conflict in South Sudan shows no sign of slowing down, Mercy Corps said people are slowly transitioning from temporary shelters to semi-permanent housing, that is from makeshift shelters of tarpaulins and sticks to mud huts.
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As part of its response Mercy Corps has been working in Uganda since 2006 specialising in economic and market development, financial inclusion, maternal child health and nutrition, resilience, and peacebuilding and conflict management.
In January 2017, Mercy Corps launched its emergency response to meet the urgent needs of vulnerable South Sudanese refugees while supporting the economy and livelihoods of both South Sudanese and Ugandans.
It is providing grants to the most vulnerable groups including the elderly, foster families, and people with disabilities.
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Mercy Corps, which is The Herald’s Christmas Charity, is also supporting farmers’ groups by providing access to seeds and tools, as well as market links and support to sell their produce once they have harvested, and using its long-term development expertise in Uganda to link cash relief to sustainable programmes that offer livelihoods and economic support to some of the most vulnerable South Sudanese and Ugandan people.
One of those who received a first Mercy Corps emergency cash payment was Tabu Night.
Tabu, 60, and her family have been living in Bidi Bidi refugee settlement for a year. They fled from their village in Central Equatoria region when the conflict spread there last year.
She started a business with the 38,000 Ugandan shillings (£8) she received from Mercy Corps each month for six months. She now earns on average 20,000 Ugandan shillings from her stall each week.
She said: “I also used the money to buy the silver fish and the onion [to sell in the stall].
“So when I came here it was this organisation [Mercy Corps] that helped us to survive and if it’s not because of this organisation by this time we would have died.
“If I wasn’t able to start the business, I don’t know what would have happened [to us].”
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Paul Lodinya, 82, and his wife Suzanne Akujo, 60, fled their home in Morobo County, South Sudan and have also benefited from Mercy Corps emergency cash support, also receiving six months of payments so that they could supplement their food and start their own stall.
Mr Lodinya, who is education secretary of the Refugee Community Council, said: “We want to expand our businesses, and then mostly we need education.
“We have come here, we want to teach the children, the future generation to be educated, to lead their people, to be the leader of all peoples."
You can ensure such work continues. Please consider donating to the Herald’s Christmas Charity Appeal on behalf of the work of Mercy Corps in Syria, Jordan and many other crisis hit areas of the world. See below for details of how to get involved.
You can join in supporting Mercy Corps Europe through this year's Herald Christmas Appeal, online, by text or by sending a cheque.
How to donate:
ONLINE: www.mercycorps.org.uk/herald
PHONE: 08000 413 060 (24hours) or 0131 662 5161 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
TEXT: To give £10 text DONATE HERALD to 70755
Texts will be charged at the standard network rate plus the £10 donation. By texting you will receive a call back about our work and what you can do to help. Text DONATE HERALD NO to donate £10 and opt out of calls and texts.
BY POST: Please fill in this form Herald Seasonal Appeal Form.pdf and post to: FREEPOST RSAE-ZBYA-LRZH, Mercy Corps, 40 Sciennes, Edinburgh, EH9 1NJ
You can also follow and support Mercy Corps Europe on social media.
Twitter: @mercycorps_uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mercycorpsuk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mercycorps_europe/
Visit www.mercycorps.org.uk/u/text-giving to read full Terms & Conditions.
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