Frontline Reports
Stories from the Border: Josue
Over the last few weeks the news has been filled with stories of whatâs happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these realities are not new to our U.S. offices, who regularly work with immigrants and asylum seekers. Our offices provide legal services and vital programming to hundreds holding onto hope for a better future. In this series, Stories from the Border, weâll be highlighting a few of these brave men and women, and their journey with World Relief.
Life in Central Americaâs northern triangle is riddled with violence as a result of economic collapse and political instability. Josueâs father had been living and working in the U.S. as a migrant worker in order to provide for his family back home. While his father was away, Josue was looked after by his grandmother. But when her health failed, Josue had no one else to protect and care for him. And so, he fled toward the U.S.
Josue traveled north toward the border to try and find his father. After surviving the dangerous journey, he reached the border and began to wait in the asylum queue being monitored by local authorities. Eventually, he made his way to the U.S.
Thatâs when World Relief first learned of Josue, through one of the teachers at the high school he was attending. Josue had been working two full time jobs to support himself while attending school. Wrapping up his second job at 3:00am, Josue would sleep for only a few hours before going to school. With no real support system, Josue was discouraged and felt hopeless.
Because of Josueâs situation, his familyâs inability to care for him and the violence in his home country, World Relief helped Josue apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile status. His case is currently being reviewed in immigration court.
Today, Josue has a renewed sense of hope and believes his future can be good. His goal is to finish high school and then college, in order to pursue a law degree at UCLA. His dream is to help others in his situationâfollowing in the footsteps of his self-proclaimed ârole model,â a staff member at World Relief Southern California.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
Stories from the Border: Amos
Over the last few weeks the news has been filled with stories of whatâs happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these realities are not new to our U.S. offices, who regularly work with immigrants and asylum seekers. Our offices provide legal services and vital programming to hundreds holding onto hope for a better future. In this series, Stories from the Border, weâll be highlighting a few of these brave men and women, and their journey with World Relief.
As a member of an ethnic English-speaking minority in Cameroon, Amos was a teacher who once attended a meeting advocating for his peopleâs right to vote and better government representation. At the meetingâs conclusion, the people who attended were marked by a gang and began receiving death threats. Rather than go home that night, Amos fled to a relativeâs home in another part of town.
Sadly, the threats only followed him and became more severe. Finally, when Amos heard that there was an assassination ordered, he fled to Nigeria, crossing a dangerous river overnight. From there Amos made his way to Europe, then South America and finally north across the land to the U.S.-Mexico border.
By law, Amos was allowed to present his case to an asylum officer. After the interview assessing credible fear, the officer released him into the U.S. where he was dropped off at the San Diego bus station. âI didnât know where I was,â he said. ââSan Diegoâ is Spanish, so I wondered, âAm I in the U.S. or still in Mexico?ââ
Thankfully, an outreach worker in the area found Amos and explained where he was, helped him find housing and connected him with the legal services necessary to understand the asylum process and prepare his case.
Finally, Amos was given the opportunity to present his case for asylum. The conditions of his home country were deemed unsafe and the legal definition of persecution applied to him. His asylum was granted, and with the help of World Relief, he received legal help to apply for a green card. Today, Amos works for Amazon in Southern California. He is looking forward to marriage, a family and a future.
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
Stories from the Border: Naomi
Over the last few weeks the news has been filled with stories of whatâs happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Many of these realities are not new to our U.S. offices, who regularly work with immigrants and asylum seekers. Our offices provide legal services and vital programming to hundreds holding onto hope for a better future. In this series, Stories from the Border, weâll be highlighting a few of these brave men and women, and their journey with World Relief.
At 9 years old, Naomiâs life in Central America was far from the stable, safe and secure childhood we all hope for. Her mother had left home to try and find work. Naomiâs father had been murdered â a victim of the violence and political instability in their country â and her grandmother was unable to care for her. Naomi turned to her neighbors and sought refuge in their home, but she was quickly surrounded by violence and corruption, and feared for her life. With nowhere left to turn, she made her way to the U.S. border alone â as a child â facing hardship and abuse along the way.
As an asylum seeker, Naomi was scared she would be forced to return and felt hopeless about her future. Until she met a World Relief staff member. After learning about Naomi and hearing her story, World Relief was able to take on her legal case and help her apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile status.
Today, Naomi is not in a detention center. Instead, she is enrolled in high school and continuing her education. She recently became part of a youth soccer program supported by local churches where she is meeting new friends. As Naomi looks toward her future, she says, âI really have a hope that I havenât experienced before.â
Dana North serves as the Marketing Manager at World Relief. With a background in graphic design and advertising and experiences in community development and transformation, Dana seeks to use the power of words and action to help create a better world. Dana is especially passionate about seeking justice for women and girls around the world.
World Relief Responds to Cyclone Idai
Photo Credit: FH
Nearly a week has passed since Cyclone Idai devastated three of the most vulnerable countries in Southern Africa, Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and the full extent of the disaster and the needs are still growing. In Malawi alone, nearly one million people have been impacted by the flooding caused by Cyclone Idai.
The situation in Malawi is extremely challenging. A huge number of houses have collapsed, fields flooded, entire bridges washed away and roads made completely impassable, making access a challenge. There has also been significant destruction of crops and animals, which is likely to have a long-term impact on food availability in the affected areas.
Reflecting on the disaster, World Reliefâs Country Director for Malawi, Gibson Nkanaunena, wrote:
âI am deeply touched and shocked by the devastation. The situation is extremely challenging, and people need our support. Thereâs been loss of lives, injuries, homes, food, household items, crops and livestock. Many have loved ones still missing. The trauma is great. The humanitarian need is great. People are in extreme need.
But I have also seen genuine compassion from neighbours, churches, government agencies, NGOs, companies, politicians and others. It seems most people want to offer help. And it has been encouraging to see the response of the local church to the needs of those in the affected regions.
Our local churches in Malawi are responding to serve the needs of the most vulnerable in the regions impacted by the floods and rain…â
Right now, World Relief Malawi is mobilizing to support communities affected by the severe flooding in two districts in the southern region of Malawi. In Machinga district, we are providing emergency assistance in the form of food support, bed-nets, blankets, water, sanitation and temporary shelter. And in Chikwawa district, one of the worst affected areas, we are working alongside local partner Evangelical Association of Malawi to address both immediate lifesaving needs, and reducing negative long-term impacts through enhancing livelihoods and building risk reduction capabilities to ensure resilience in the face of future disasters.
World Relief has had an operational presence in Malawi since 1989, with current programs spanning 10 districts in the central and northern regions of the country. World Reliefâs core programs are focused on empowering local churches, maternal and child health, child and youth development, agriculture and livelihoods and disaster response. Our work has helped over 4 million people in the last 3 years.
Frontline Report: The Border
Lea este artĂculo en Español, AquĂ.
Ted Oswald, World Relief Sacramento’s Immigration Legal Services staff attorney, and Kevin Woehr, DOJ Accredited Representative with World Relief DuPage/Aurora, recently returned from Tijuana, Mexico as part of a team comprised of World Relief staff from across the U.S. advising asylum seekers at the border. The following offers a brief but powerful glimpse into their time on the border.
A Venezuelan family of six huddled together as they told us their story. They were fleeing political persecution from their government for not supporting the ruling party. After their 18-year old pregnant daughter was arrested under false charges and brutally beaten, the family fled the country. At the border, they tried to plead for asylum, but were turned away. And so they tried again. This time they were heard â but told they could only take their two youngest children. Two must stay behind. Knowing they could not and would not be separated, they refused. Now they wait, together. They are number 601 in line.
Seeking Refuge
Each day, hundreds of people come to the Tijuana border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico, fleeing all manner of violence and poverty. These are the families hoping to apply for asylum in the U.S. Praying for a new beginning. And for safety.
At the border, their names are added to a list. A record of all those applying for asylum â and one that can grow to over 1,000 entries long. Each day, a new batch of numbers are called and these asylum seekers are interviewed. There, the U.S. must assess whether asylum seekers have a credible fear of persecution on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. The validity of these fears are determined during this interview. Not many can meet the specific requirements, and asylum seekers often face prolonged detention while their full asylum claim is judged. If denied, they are deported back to their home country. If approved, however, they are granted new life in the U.S.
Stories of the Line
This week, as we listened to the recounting of past trauma and held up these very human stories of loss, fear, pain and hope against the strict standards of asylum law, we prayed fervently for Godâs justice and mercy for these suffering and vulnerable people.
In the asylum line, children napped on the floor and parents sat by the fence waiting for the custodian of the list with the hope that maybe, just maybe, some of them would add their names. We estimated that over 1,000 peopleâs names were on the waitlist, and that it would take 4-7 weeks from when they signed up to the moment of their interview.
Alongside that line, we met men, women and children who told us their stories:
A young woman from Mexico told us of the fateful night she was riding home from work in a local taxi. A gang pulled in front of the car, got out and killed the driver, then threatened her and her colleague. They promised that if she ever talked to the police she would be killed. In such a small town, the woman knew that though she did not know them â they knew her, and likely her family too. A few months later, her brother and uncle were killed. And so she fled.
An 18-year old Honduran boy told us of his escape from the Mara 18, an infamous and violent gang who had tried to recruit him. They threatened him frequently, trying to force him to work for them by extorting local families. When he refused, he was kidnapped and locked in a house, where one evening he was able to escape. He cried as he told us he was never able to say goodbye to his family.
A young couple from Honduras told us of their escape from gang violence and harassment. The wife has been raped, and though she contacted the police, nothing was done. Now, several months pregnant, she and her husband are seeking asylum in the hopes of beginning a new life.
Eye of the Storm
At the end of the days we began to process the stories we had heard. Stories of lives already ravaged by persecution on so many different levels (physical, emotional, sexual and mental), lives disrupted and broken, yet still somehow still intact, now standing at the border. Here these lives waited, preparing to plead their case for asylum.
As we advised individuals and families on the likely realities of applying for asylum in the U.S, we simply wished we could give them good news; news that the pain and fear was over and that they could begin to heal and restore. And yet our words were simply more words of preparation for the hardships that were still to come: detention, interviews, family separation, possible deportation, attorney fees and more. The storm was not over. It would continue on.
There were days when this knowledge was crippling. When hope evaded us. And yet, we held on to the hope that our counsel and encouragement would provide these vulnerable individuals and families with the support they needed to journey through the next phase of the storm.
Our time on the border was a clear reminder that this work is powerful, humbling and, sometimes, even holy. As our team returns to the U.S., we will continue to bear witness to what weâve encountered at the border. We ask that you would join us in continued prayer for this important work and for peace for the hundreds of families seeking refuge at our border.
Ted Oswald has served with World Relief since 2017 as the Immigrant Legal Services (ILS) program director and attorney where he provides immigration legal services, mobilizes volunteers, and offers community legal education seminars. A licensed attorney, Ted has a Juris Doctor from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University, a Graduate Diploma in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies from the American University in Cairo, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from UC Davis. He is the author of three novels, Because We Are: A Novel of Haiti, There is a Land, and Little Flower.
Kevin Woehr Kevin Woehr is a partially DOJ Accredited Representative with World Relief DuPage/Aurora and has been a member of the legal team since August of 2012. As a Senior Immigration Specialist, Kevin represents clients before the Department of Homeland Security, providing legal counsel on a wide range of administrative processes. Additionally, Kevin oversees the application process of hundreds of eligible young adults each year in the capacity of DACA program coordinator. He is trilingual in English, French, and Spanish and was born and raised in Chile.
Reporte de Primera LĂnea: Reflexiones desde la Frontera
Read this article in English, here.
Ted Oswald, un abogado de la oficina de Servicios Legales de Immigracion en World Relief Sacramento, recientemente regreso de Tijuana, Mexico como parte de un equipo compuesto de personal de World Relief de todos los EE.UU. asesorando a los solicitantes de asilo en la frontera. A continuaciĂłn, se ofrece una breve pero poderosa visiĂłn de su tiempo en la frontera.
Una familia de seis venezolanos se acurrucaron juntos mientras nos contaban su historia. HuĂan de la persecuciĂłn polĂtica de su gobierno por no apoyar al partido gobernante. DespuĂ©s de que su hija embarazada de 18 años fue arrestada bajo cargos falsos y brutalmente golpeada, la familia huyĂł del paĂs. En la frontera, intentaron pedir asilo, pero fueron rechazados. Y entonces lo intentaron de nuevo. Esta vez fueron escuchados, pero dijeron que solo podĂan llevar a sus dos hijos mĂĄs pequeños. Dos deben quedarse atrĂĄs. Sabiendo que no podĂan y no estarĂan separados, se negaron. Ahora esperan, juntos. Ellos son el nĂșmero 601 en lĂnea.
Buscando Refugio
Cada dĂa, cientos de personas llegan al cruce fronterizo de Tijuana entre los EE.UU. y MĂ©xico, huyendo de toda clase de violencia y pobreza. Estas son las familias que esperan solicitar asilo en los Estados Unidos. Orando por un nuevo comienzo. Y por seguridad.
En la frontera, sus nombres son agregados a una lista. Un registro de todos los que solicitan asilo – y una que puede crecer a mĂĄs de 1,000 entradas de largo. Cada dĂa, se llama un nuevo lote de nĂșmeros y estos solicitantes de asilo son entrevistados. AllĂ, los EE.UU. deben evaluar si los solicitantes de asilo tienen un temor creĂble de persecuciĂłn en basado en su raza, religiĂłn, nacionalidad, opiniĂłn polĂtica o pertenencia a un determinado grupo social. La validez de estos temores se evalĂșa durante esta entrevista. No muchos pueden cumplir con los requisitos especĂficos, y los solicitantes de asilo a menudo se enfrentan una detenciĂłn prolongada mientras su solicitud de asilo es juzgada completamente. Si se les niega, son deportados a su paĂs de origen. Si se les aprueba, no obstante, se les otorga una nueva vida en los EE.UU.
Historias en la Linea
Esta semana, mientras escuchamos el recuento de los traumas pasados y resaltamos estas historias muy humanas de pérdida, miedo, dolor y esperanza en contra de los estrictos eståndares de la ley de asilo, oramos fervientemente por la justicia y misericordia de Dios para esta gente sufrientes y vulnerables.
En la lĂnea de asilo, los niños dormĂan la siesta en el suelo y los padres se sentaban junto a la cerca esperando a el guardian de la lista con la esperanza de que tal vez, solo tal vez, algunos de ellos agregaran sus nombres. Estimamos que mĂĄs de 1,000 nombres de personas estaban en la lista de espera, y que tomarĂa de 4 a 7 semanas desde que se inscribieron hasta el momento de su entrevista.
Al costado de esa lĂnea, nos encontramos con hombres, mujeres y niños que nos contaron sus historias:
Una joven de MĂ©xico nos contĂł la fatĂdica noche en que viajaba a su casa del trabajo en un taxi local. Una pandilla se detuvo frente al automĂłvil, saliĂł y matĂł al conductor, luego la amenazĂł a ella y a su colega. Le prometieron que si alguna vez hablaba con la policĂa, la matarĂa. En una ciudad tan pequeña, la mujer sabĂa que, aunque ella no los conocĂa â ellos si la conocĂan a ella y probablemente a su familia tambiĂ©n. Unos meses mĂĄs tarde, su hermano y su tĂo fueron asesinados. Y entonces ella huyĂł.
Un niño hondureño de 18 años nos contĂł sobre su escape de la Mara 18, una pandilla abominable y violenta que habĂa tratado de reclutarlo. Lo amenazaron con frecuencia, tratando de obligarlo a trabajar para ellos extorsionando a las familias locales. Cuando se negĂł, fue secuestrado y encerrado en una casa, donde en una noche pudo escapar. LlorĂł cuando nos dijo que nunca pudo despedirse de su familia.
Una joven pareja de Honduras nos hablĂł de su escape de la violencia y el acoso de pandillas. La esposa ha sido violada, y aunque contactĂł a la policĂa, no se hizo nada. Ahora, con varios meses de embarazo, ella y su esposo buscan asilo con la esperanza de comenzar una nueva vida.
El Ojo de la Tormenta
Al final de los dĂas comenzamos a procesar las historias que habĂamos escuchado. Historias de vidas ya devastadas por la persecuciĂłn en tantos niveles diferentes (fĂsico, emocional, sexual y mental), vidas interrumpidas y rotas, pero todavĂa de alguna manera intactas, ahora de pie en la frontera. AquĂ estas vidas esperaban, preparĂĄndose para defender su caso de asilo.
Al aconsejar a individuos y familias sobre las posibles realidades de solicitar asilo en los Estados Unidos, simplemente deseamos poder darles una buena noticia; noticias de que el dolor y el miedo habĂan terminado y que podĂan comenzar a sanar y restaurar. Y sin embargo, nuestras palabras fueron simplemente mĂĄs palabras de preparaciĂłn para las dificultades que aĂșn estaban por venir: detenciĂłn, entrevistas, separaciĂłn familiar, posible deportaciĂłn, honorarios de abogados, y mĂĄs. La tormenta no habĂa terminado. Esto podria aun continuar.
Hubo dĂas cuando este conocimiento fue paralizante. Cuando la esperanza nos evadĂa. Y, sin embargo, mantuvimos la esperanza de que nuestro consejo y aliento proporcionarĂa a estas personas y familias vulnerables el apoyo que necesitaban para atravesar la siguiente fase de la tormenta.
Nuestro tiempo en la frontera fue un claro recordatorio de que este trabajo es poderoso, humilde y, a veces, incluso sagrado. A medida que nuestro equipo regresa a los EE.UU., seguiremos siendo testigos de lo que hemos encontrado en la frontera. Le pedimos que se una a nosotros en la oraciĂłn continua por este importante trabajo y por la paz de las cientos de familias que buscan refugio en nuestra frontera.
Ted Oswald has served with World Relief since 2017 as the Immigrant Legal Services (ILS) program director and attorney where he provides immigration legal services, mobilizes volunteers, and offers community legal education seminars. A licensed attorney, Ted has a Juris Doctor from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University, a Graduate Diploma in Forced Migration and Refugee Studies from the American University in Cairo, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from UC Davis. He is the author of three novels, Because We Are: A Novel of Haiti, There is a Land, and Little Flower.
Kevin Woehr Kevin Woehr is a partially DOJ Accredited Representative with World Relief DuPage/Aurora and has been a member of the legal team since August of 2012. As a Senior Immigration Specialist, Kevin represents clients before the Department of Homeland Security, providing legal counsel on a wide range of administrative processes. Additionally, Kevin oversees the application process of hundreds of eligible young adults each year in the capacity of DACA program coordinator. He is trilingual in English, French, and Spanish and was born and raised in Chile.
Frontline Report: Democratic Republic of Congo
Frontline Reports is a monthly series that provides updates on the countries, contexts, and situations in which we work as they continue to evolve. The reports are written entirely by program experts and local staff on the ground.
A Complex Crisis
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Referred to affectionately as the Heart of Africa; rich in resource, culture and beauty. The nation has some of the greatest concentrations of valuable raw minerals in the world, and Eastern Congo, in particular, is fertile and ripe for agricultural development. And yet this nation and its people have been engaged in a cycle of conflict and violence which has stolen more than five million lives and kept millions more from being able to realize their full potential.
In 1994, the devastating effects of the Rwandan genocide spilled over borders into the DRC, Burundi, and Uganda. Since that time, Eastern Congo has suffered constant unrest and instability. Dozens of armed groups have operated in there, at the great expense of the local population. Cyclical conflict and political gridlock have exacerbated problems of underdevelopment in the region, and the most vulnerable still suffer from interrupted livelihoods, inadequate systems of justice and lack of physical and mental health careâparticularly for women and girl survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
The overwhelming nature of the ongoing conflict in Congo can oftentimes be discouraging, made harder by the fact that we cannot claim to have all the solutions to the complex problems facing the nation at this moment. But at World Relief, we see beyond these seemingly devastating challenges. And we have hope, because we know that the solutions to Congoâs challenges, as well as the capacities to implement them, are already inherent within the communities we serve. That is why, beyond addressing the immediate humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable in Eastern Congo, we go a step further to work with and alongside churches and community members toward long-term sustainable change.
Sustainable Solutions
In our sexual and gender-based violence program, we not only provide immediate peer-to-peer psychosocial support and links to medical and legal services, but we also work to change community perceptions and stigmas surrounding SGBV survivors. In communities where survivors are often blamed for what happened to them, World Relief is mobilizing churches and communities to change hearts and minds and to speak out against SGBV to prevent future incidents, as well as to reintegrate survivors into their families and societies.
Similarly, our Peacebuilding work fills a crucial gap for community members seeking justice at the local level. Village Peace Committees (VPCs) do not just provide short-term solutions to disputes, but interrupt cycles of violence and revenge by focusing on reconciliation and forgiveness. Most importantly, families and community members form agreements to bury grievances, relationships are reconciled and potential tensions dissipate before they have the opportunity to spur conflict among wider groups.
In our Agricultural program, we not only equip farming households with improved seeds, tools and training to maximize yields, but we also train them on how to save seeds for future seasons and connect them to savings groups so they can save the income earned from selling their surplus produce and increase their household safety net.
In each of these solutions, World Relief comes alongside local churchesâ the widest and most influential social network in Congo. We currently work through more than 250 churches which are actively mobilizing more than 950 volunteers to reach the most vulnerable, both within and outside their congregations. It is these community members who will remainâlong outlasting World Reliefâs presence and ultimately catalyzing transformation in their communities.
Small Beginnings
These solutions, and ultimately their impact, may not grab headlines. Transformation will not be sudden. Yet at World Relief, we take heart in these small beginnings. Because we know that the Lord rejoices to see this work begin (Zechariah 4:10).
We are grateful for our partners who have had, and continue to have, the courage to embark on a journey of transformation one household, one church and one community at a time. As an old Swahili proverb reassures, âThe careful traveler goes far.â
Thank you for your continued support.
Heidi Dessecker joined World Relief in 2010 and has served in both the US and International Programs. She previously served as the Program Officer for Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan. Heidi is passionate about gender issues and reaching women in some of todayâs most complex crises.
Frontline Report: South Sudan
This year, we will be launching a new Perspectives series called Frontline Reports. This series is intended to provide updates on the countries, contexts, and situations in which we work as they continue to evolve. The reports will be written entirely by program experts and local staff on the ground.
So, how is South Sudan? Itâs a question that I get a lot these days. From other humanitarians in different countries, from friends who caught a rare headline, from family members who just want to know what is it that I do all day when I say I am going back. Itâs a question that is so much more complicated than it seems. I usually say something about security; well, there are roadblocks in Juba, but they seem to be leaving NGO cars alone, or the weather, rains are coming so we are enjoying some seasonal cool, and maybe a few lines about the peace process or a funding proposal Iâve been working on.
But, how is South Sudan, really? Let me start with a brief recent history. When the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, allowing the southern Sudan to vote for independence, the referendum was overwhelmingly supported. South Sudan was born on July 9, 2011 with much celebration and high hopes for the worldâs newest nation. Sadly, the celebration was short-lived. On December 15, 2013, gunfire rang across Juba when the former Vice President was accused of a plot to overthrow the President. Since then, violence has been ongoing in many parts of the country, with atrocities against civilians perpetrated by all parties. The war is far more complicated than an ethnic conflict or simply a struggle for power or resources. It is one with countless actors and proxies and continuously shifting alliances.
The conflict in South Sudan has devastated a country which was already severely underdeveloped after decades of war. More than 2.45 million South Sudanese have fled the country, 65% of whom are children younger than 18. Another 1.75 million are displaced internally. 6 to 7 million South Sudanese are projected to be food insecure.
World Reliefâs story in South Sudan began in 1998, and some of the areas where we have worked since then are now on the front lines of the fighting in Unity State. We are working among communities who have been forced to flee into the bush countless time when fighting erupts. They have watched their towns change hands only to be retaken by the other side the next week. They have seen their farms and their livelihoods destroyed and survived on only water lilies and other native plants for weeks at a time. They have seen their health facilities and their childrenâs schools destroyed.
In these communities, World Relief is responding with lifesaving health and nutrition services, as well as working to restore education and livelihoods. We are also responding to the needs of those who have had to flee these communities to the internally displaced personsâ camp in Bentiu, which currently hosts over 110,000 men, women, and children.
In Bentiu camp, we are responding with the following services:
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A primary health care facility that provides treatment for malaria, respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases and other life-threatening ailments. In the last nine months, we have provided over 45,000 consultations. The facility also includes a  24-hour maternity ward, serving vulnerable mothers and their infants.
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A school which enrolled over 7,000 children this school year, over 40% of whom were girls. Our back-to-learning campaigns were so successful that we even had to enroll some children in partner schools because our registers filled so quickly!
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Two nutrition feeding sites that have treated nearly 4,000 young children and mothers for malnutrition and reached over 20,000 caretakers of young children with nutrition and feeding education in the last nine months.
Indeed these immediate interventions in Bentiu and the surrounding counties are vital in responding to the basic needs of the South Sudanese people and the needs abound.
Yet, we believe we can do more. Stability must be achieved to end the suffering, and to begin to address the underdevelopment in South Sudan. In addition to responding on the frontlines of crisis, World Relief is working to preserve peace in Ibba and Maridi Counties in Western Equatoria, where strong church leaders are standing up and say NO to conflict within their borders. There, we are working with churches of all different denominations to unite them with one another and call them back to their mandate to serve their communities not just spiritually, but also physically, economically, and socially. Â And they are doing it together. Congregations are caring for their sick, planting gardens for their elderly and sending their orphans to school. They are coming together to pray and host peace dialogues between armed groups before tensions escalate into violence. At World Relief, we have seen that churches have the power to sustain peace and to revitalize their communities. They will be the leaders and influencers when stability comes. And our brothers and sisters in Ibba and Maridi will be ready to teach others.
Though this work is slow and complex, we believe the impact will be transformative for thousands of vulnerable men, women and children in South Sudan.
As my team and I pray for peace, we ask you to join us in our vision for peace in South Sudan. We cannot do this without you.
Heidi Dessecker joined World Relief in 2010 and has served in both the US and International Programs. She currently serves as the Program Officer for Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan. Heidi is passionate about gender issues and reaching women in some of todayâs most complex crises.
Frontline Report: Jordan
This year, we will be launching a new Perspectives series called Frontline Reports. This series is intended to provide updates on the countries, contexts, and situations in which we work as they continue to evolve. The reports will be written entirely by program experts and local staff on the ground.
This past March marked the 7-year anniversary of the war in Syria. It is a grim anniversary, marking seven years of loss, suffering and displacement for millions of people across the Middle East. Each month, the worldâs attention to the war in Syria ebbs and flows, usually dictated by a surge of media coverage in response to a specific event. But between the intermittent spikes of media attention, millions of people continually endure the consequences of violence and displacement across the Middle East
Seven years into the crisis, the massive needs of displaced populations continue to grow. Families have now mostly depleted whatever resources they managed to flee with at the start of the crisis. They face increased debt, financial pressure, shrinking resources and limited opportunities for generating income. Many are struggling to survive and meet basic needs, which sadly results in an increased reliance on negative coping mechanisms, like early or forced marriage, child labor, domestic violence and exploitative labor. Facing similarly dire circumstances, countries hosting refugees are experiencing increased pressure on already overburdened social, economic and political systems, resulting in a scarcity of resources and growing tensions between the diverse communities residing within Jordan and other countries in the Middle East.
The consequences of displacement are long-term and generational. Recognizing this complexity, World Relief come alongside these communities to build their capacity to find practical and sustainable solutions to their needs; solutions which address the root causes of the issues affecting their communities, not just the consequences.
The foundation of all of World Reliefâs work in the Middle East is the belief that affected communities are in the best position to strategize and implement effective and relevant solutions that will endure for generations. Together with the community, World Relief has developed a unique framework that seeks to engage and strengthen the whole family, both as individuals and as a family unit. By targeting entire families through both individual and joint programs, World Relief desires to see vulnerable refugee families and receiving communities healed, safe and thriving, despite the incredible pressures they face.
World Reliefâs programs target women, men, boys and girls in a diversity of programs, designed to help promote safe, healthy and thriving families. This has proven an effective strategy in meeting the diverse needs of vulnerable families, but also in protecting women and children, who are disproportionately endangered by violence and displacement.
World Reliefâs family strengthening approach in Jordan, for example, includes the following programs, which all use uniquely designed curricula developed together with the affected community:
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Child Friendly Spaces: World Relief provides designated safe spaces where displaced children can come to play, learn and recover some of the essential developmental activities of childhood, with the support of trained facilitators. Sessions include exercise, health, school skills and life-skills.
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Literacy Support: The diverse and significant barriers that children and adults face when they flee their homes as refugees contribute to significant literacy gaps, poor motivation, and an increased risk of negative coping mechanisms. Recognizing this threat, World Relief provides Arabic and English literacy support to illiterate adults and children who are struggling to keep up in school.
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Girlsâ Empowerment through Sports: In partnership with the Ministry of Education, this program provides vulnerable Jordanian and Syrian girls with access to sports. Teachers in local schools are equipped to be coaches and provide practical soccer skills as well as life-skills training to girls in the program.
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Caregiver Support Groups: Psychosocial counseling and support groups are made available to displaced women, particularly focused on mothers or caregivers.
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Positive Parenting: Our parenting group uses a curriculum that promotes positive parenting skills to promote healthy and supportive family environments. This curriculum is designed for use with both men and women, emphasizing the need for men to also engage in positive parenting.
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Marriage Strengthening: Refugee couples often face significant marital challenges catalyzed by the extreme pressure and trauma of displacement. Early marriages as well as sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) still exists in many places. World Relief has therefore developed a curricula for men and women on important marriage topics, and is piloting this with both men and women. This is often the first time men are learning and listening to the womenâs perspective on important family related topics.
We are so encouraged to see how our staff and volunteers are leading these programs and seeing transformation take place in individuals, within families, and in entire communities. While the needs are many, we have great hope when we see the resolve and commitment of the communities we serve. Healthy families create healthy communities, which in turn form nations. We continue to believe in restoration, healing and thriving futures for families and communities across the Middle East!
Maggie Konstanski has been a part of the World Relief team for over 4 years, and currently serves at the Middle East Programs Technical and Operations Coordinator. With a passion for international human rights, Maggie often uses work-related travel as a platform to tell the powerful stories of the vulnerable families and communities we serve.
Business as (Un)usual
When the small puddle jumper plane landed on its rinky-dink airstrip, I came to grips with the fact that I was face to face with one of the worldâs oldest, most isolated, and yet most intact cultures. I had been a student of Africa for years at that point, but Turkana (the name of the people and their ancestral homeland) was unlike anything I had ever encountered. This would not be âbusiness as usual.â
It was 2011 and I was on staff at Wheaton Bible Church. At the invitation of World Relief, our church was considering responding to the food crisis that was gripping Turkana, and setting up a long-term response by equipping the few local churches on the ground to help change their community. I had no idea what was in store for the journey aheadâboth for me and the Turkana.
After a 9-hour drive to World Reliefâs program area on the border of Kenya and Ethiopia, I realized just how much I had to learn. With roots dating back thousands of years, the Turkana have changed little until the past few decades. With very little Christian witness, the Turkana have maintained their centuries-old faith traditionâone of the only monotheistic traditions in sub-Saharan Africa.
At the center of the very complex life of the Turkana stood something very simple: cows. Cows represented stature in the community. They represented livelihood and economic well-being. Cows were traded between families as part of traditional marriage arrangements. Men created physical scars on their arms to note how many cows they had stolen from neighboring tribes during raids. One woman even told me on that inaugural trip that the pecking order of a Turkana family goes as follows: Men, cows, and then women. And if a man had to choose between his cow and his wife, he would choose his cow.
The importance of cattle is not something that is, by itself, remarkable about tribes in this region of Africa. However, as I entered Turkana on this first trip, I quickly became aware of something quite unsettling: there were absolutely zero cows to be seen.
While always a dry region, the severe changes in climate meant that the land could no longer sustain cows. They had all died. I learned that Turkana historically encountered roughly one period of unseasonable dryness in a 10-year period. However, in a very rapid fashion, their climate had changed dramatically. They were now experiencing periods without rain every 2-3 years [1].
Cowsâthe very thing at the center of Turkana lifeâhad been taken away. Without the ability to trade livestock for food, the populationâespecially childrenâfaced significant hardships. On that first trip, I learned that over thirty percent of the children were malnourished. The communities were being forced to transition from their ancient roots. Pastoralist herders now had to settle down and learn to grow food on plots of land.
To the outsider, this seems an obvious adaptation. But it was and continues to be a radical departure for the Turkana. Learning to grow food in a place with increasing severity of drought and altering their livelihood during the midst of crisis presents numerous challenges. The Turkana were facing the most significant challenge they had ever encountered in their ancient history. Â Nothing was usual about this experience for me, or for the Turkana.
The realization that your history and belief system could be (at worst) harmful, or (at best) not helpful for the future is a very painful and confusing process. Changing hundreds of generationsâ worth of cultural beliefs about what is valuableâbeliefs about identity, gender, family and vocationâis no easy feat and no short-term project. This is what the Turkana were faced with; simple interventions and programs would be helpful, but would not help the Turkana transition long-term. There needed to be something more unusual, something more transformational for this group of people.
On that first trip, we met seven small indigenous churches who were responding on the ground and who wanted to expand their reach. Through emergency food distribution and setting up wells and small farms, these churchesâmany of whom had pastors that could neither read nor writeâwere trying to do something remarkable. They wanted to help their communities transform their mindset and make the transition to life in a new climate. My colleagues and I could not say anything other than, âCount us in.â
You can view the first several years of this journey in a mini-documentary that was produced by Wheaton Bible Church. The Sunday this documentary was shown was my last Sunday on staff at Wheaton Bible. Coincidentally, I was in Turkana on a subsequent trip when God made clear a calling to my family to move to a different part of the country. Shortly after leaving Wheaton Bible Church, I joined the staff of World Relief.
Now, seven years into World Reliefâs project in Turkana, two things are true:
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A lot of good has happened in Turkana. World Relief has helped catalyze a movement of change where families are able to thrive, communities are able to flourish and churches are being strengthened and even planted. We now serve 41,258 people through 83 volunteers, 25 local staff and 20 Turkana churches. We are the only humanitarian organization in the area of Turkana where we work. The ministry includes wide-ranging activities such as providing access to clean water, agricultural programs, nutrition training, church and volunteer mobilization and maternal and child health interventionsânot counting several more programs on the way.
This progress is worth its own full-length exposé. Working with churches to help an ancient culture transition through the hardest thing it has dealt with in thousands of years is nothing short of an act of God! While many choose to stop short of total transformation, we are compelled to the longer, harder journey.
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Turkana is worse off now than it was in 2011. WaitâŠwhat? Yes, in spite of all the progress that we have made, it continues to be âbusiness as unusual.â Turkana is facing a new drought wherein it has not rained substantially in over two years. Remember those cows? The Turkana transitioned to small farms and goats. Goats are smaller and need less food and water. This current drought is so bad that even the goats cannot survive. When my World Relief colleagues visit villages, they are greeted with goat carcassesâa reminder of how bad things are. Remember the thirty percent of children who were malnourished seven years ago? Currently in 11 of our 12 operating areas, over fifty percent of people, including adults, are severely malnourished and in need of immediate food aid for their survival.
It has been reported (though not widely) that the world is facing the worst food crisis since World War II [2]. In Turkana and in many places throughout sub-Saharan Africa, this is due to several cycles of failed rains. In places like Yemen and South Sudan, it is due to conflict. In the coming months, World Relief will be writing more on this global catastrophe, as well as our response and the ideas we have about what our enduring solutions to it might be.
A quick detour: The institutions created post-World War II to work in such situations (e.g. the U.N. and the World Food Program) have never been so strained, due to this current food crisis and the global refugee crisis. The global community has cut poverty in half since 1990 [3], but now it is stretched so thin that many of those gains might be erased [4].
We canât let this happen. And we wonât.
Back in Turkana, we are seeking to provide emergency food aid to over 40,000 people through a network of community leaders, churches and volunteers developed by World Relief over the past seven years. We know how to do this. We have the skills, the knowledge and the network. But this effort will cost more than $2 million.
Food aid is simply not enough. The sad reality is that Turkana will continue to experience a worsening climate and more severe droughts like this one. We do not want to stop at giving food aid. We do not want to stop with normal programmingâbusiness as usual. We do not want the legacy of our work to be a faded sign on the side of the road. We want to work with the Turkana to help them change and adapt to the world around them. This is why working with churches is so important. Such complete change can only come from within the community and it will take years. This is what makes this work so transformative, so sustainable and so special.
It will not be an ordinary journey. Our hope is that people will come to find their identity in Christ. That women and girls will find dignity as image bearers of Godânot as less than livestock. That families will move from being on the brink of starvation to finding solutions that allow them to work with pride as they provide for their children. That churches would be strengthened and planted.
We need partners like you, and churches like Wheaton Bible, who wonât let 20 years of progress in sub-Saharan Africa be erased. We need individuals and churches throughout the U.S. whoâin the face of global crisisâwill answer Jesusâ call to stand with the vulnerable, to feed the hungry and to help an entire people group transition to a more resilient, sustainable future. Â We need people who are okay with business as unusual.
[2]Â 20 million at risk of starvation in world’s largest crisis since 1945, UN says (CNN)
[3] Worldâs Extreme Poverty Cut in Half Since 1990 (Wall Street Journal)
[4] The world has made great progress in eradicating extreme poverty (The Economist)
As SVP of Strategic Engagement, James Misner helps churches, foundations and individuals stand with the vulnerable in the U.S. and around the world. Leading teams domestically and internationally, James seeks to facilitate meaningful cross-cultural experiences, leading to deeper levels of discipleship. Prior to joining World Relief, James served on the pastoral staff at Wheaton Bible Church, leading global outreach efforts, and also on the outreach staff of McLean Bible Church. James received his undergraduate degree from American University, and a Master’s degree from Wheaton College. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Sabrina, and their family.
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