Humanity Helping Sudan Project

March 3, 2014 - PRLog -- Humanity Helping Sudan Project, Inc (HHSP) seeks to provide aid and assistance to the Sudanese Diaspora in the Gambella region of Ethiopia along the Eastern border of Southern Sudan. It is a project that is led and organized by Manyang Reath, the Founder and CEO and finalist VH1's Do Something Awards, with help from other knowledgeable volunteers based in the US as well as in Sudan and Ethiopia.

As a former refugee, Manyang has kept close contact with many still affected in this region and understands the struggle. His personal experience, continued concern, and communication with those still living in this area, have helped him create sustainable solutions to help alleviate three main causes of suffering in the region. While many nonprofit and government agencies attempt to provide relief, the need greatly outweighs the efforts currently in action. This is a simple and unique goal that can be accomplished quickly and directly without complication and provide immediate, lasting results.

Objective 1:  Addresses the massive food shortage in the region. Since the 2005 Peace Agreement between Northern and Southern Sudan; and now that Southern Sudan is a country in its own right, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees) no longer provides support. Manyang knows that local people simply need the tools to take advantage of environmental assets like the Baro River, which runs through the heart of the Gambella region in Ethiopia and Sudan. Resources are needed to locally purchase and provide fishing nets; chickens/roosters for eggs, food and barter power; and well repair for drinking and cooking water, thus empowering individuals directly to provide for their families. Because we purchase locally, the net makers, chicken farmers and well repair workers can be employed — SYNERGY! This can be accomplished quickly with long last results.

Objective 2:  Provide agricultural training and cultivation of indigenous crops: maize, sorghum, millet, vegetables, and fruits. In August 2011, thanks to a donation from Allegro Coffee and support from Whole Foods Market, HHSP has leased 10,000 sq. meters of uncleared land for a community garden. During August and continuing, local refugees began clearing the land with hoes, shovels and machetes.  Community elders have begun planning an irrigation system using the repaired wells and the Baro river.

An agreement with the local agriculture vocational training center will allow students to work the land; and families will also be able to grow their own food in the community garden.

HHSP will be able to enhance the vocational curriculum with the addition of instruction on chicken husbandry, fish farming, crop production and well repair.

Objective 3:  health and medical needs of the refugee community.  According to our physician: “I was totally overwhelmed at all the awful things that can happen to you in that part of the world and the scarcity of resources.  Kind of what you always knew but didn’t want to.  I don’t think a page would even list the diseases.  There are the “vaccine preventable” diseases that we’ve pretty nearly eliminated here: measles, rabies, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis A & B, polio……. And then malaria and sleeping sickness and schistosomiasis and filariasis and AIDS and tuberculosis and plague and Dengue fever and typhoid and yellow fever.  And then a whole host of “diarrheal diseases” that kill a million infants and small children yearly worldwide, mostly from dehydration and malnutrition.  All kinds of things you can get from lacking a clean water source or swimming in dirty water or insect bites.  And then of course there’s just good old malnutrition/starvation or “seasonal undernourishment”.  And landmines and terrorists and “armed conflict”.

There’s a scarcity of information on exactly what kind of medical resources there are except that it is scarce, unevenly distributed, and difficult to access and may be of dubious quality.  I can’t suggest anything but money to dig a well, vaccinate, provide AIDS meds to pregnant women, find a way to provide food that can be sustained, like a garden, or fishing nets.

http://humanityhelpingsudanproject.org/sudan/
http://enoughproject.org/blogs/refugees-once-again-south-sudanese-perspective-crisis

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Jennifer Allison - President of EXE Media Group

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