A Letter from Nzara

I am writing to you today from South Sudan. A nation struggling to find its way after independence. A place where suffering is commonplace and where a better future is often only a dream. The communities I’m meeting with here were forced to leave their farms and homes due to insecurity and fighting. They are now without food, livelihoods, and without a belief that life will get better.

Hope is in short supply here.

Baby Josephina, suffering in a state of severe malnutrition, embodies this struggle. It is so sad. While holding her tiny, frail hand, I felt her own struggle for life, for another breath to be the lovely child she was created to be. This was her second day at St. Theresa Mission Hospital in Nzara, South Sudan.

Her mother and our dedicated medical staff are doing all they can to provide nourishment, medicine, and love. After two days of treatment, Josephina is beginning to respond. You can see the glint in her eyes, communicating the will to live, becoming more alert, and embracing another chance to be that gift of life to her mom.

Josephina’s mom was so quiet, so fearful, so close to heartbreak. Her feelings of inadequacy, her own struggle as a mom, with the why and how of her own frail daughter’s suffering. Yet in all this struggle, I honestly can say that restoring life to this child and hope to this mom, is the reason we are here. There is no other place more important, no other task more critical, than restoring this baby to life and keeping this mom’s heart from breaking.

CMMB CEO Bruce Wilkinson in South Sudan_severe malnutrition patient_Josephine receives care at CMMB partner St Teresa Hospital in Nzara

Bruce Wilkinson holds Josephine’s tiny hand.

So I thank you for for being here with me. Without your support, prayers, and your firm belief that God’s will is for life in all its fullness, I too would not be here to witness the recovery of this fragile life and the rekindled heart of this mom. We love what we do at CMMB and we thank you for being here in Nzara with us.

Today, Pope Francis is asking all people of good will—no matter what their beliefs—to pray for peace in places like South Sudan.

War has done terrible things to women and children around the world. Here in South Sudan, they’re hungry and afraid, and another famine alert has recently been issued. Children living in conflict zones like South Sudan need our prayers and support today and every day. That’s why I’m sharing Josephina’s story with compassionate friends like you—right now.

Pope-Francis calls for a day of prayer for peace in South Sudan on Feb 23 2018

 

Please say a prayer for peace in South Sudan, and consider a gift from the heart to support our work with the most vulnerable women and children.