Samaritan's Purse is providing food and other aid to thousands of refugees escaping from the ongoing fighting in the Nuba Mountains region of Sudan.

More than 5,000 people have sought refuge in upper Unity State in South Sudan, and there are reports that at least 20,000 more are making their way to the area. Some have walked for 13 days. They have no other source of food or clean water, and are living amid swampy, black mud.

“The Nuban people are once again facing the horror of brutal persecution,” Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham said. “They are in urgent need of our prayers and support. For more than a decade, Samaritan’s Purse has supported the Christians in Nuba, and we will continue to stand with them in this time of great need. Please join me in praying for peace in Sudan.”




A steady stream of weary refugees arrives daily, mostly women and children and the elderly who are escaping the terrible atrocities taking place where they used to live.

Samaritan’s Purse has a disaster assistance team in Unity State, working in a remote area that is very difficult to reach because of rain that has washed out roads and left up to four feet of standing water in some places.

“The people have reached the end of their rope,” said David Phillips, the emergency response manager. “They have exhausted all of their food supplies that they had carried with them fleeing the fighting in the Nuba Mountains. They have resorted to collecting grass and leaves to boil, and then are drinking the green water just to get some nutrients.”

There was no way to transport the large amounts of food and other items needed by land, so we mobilized our Kenya-based DC-3 to airdrop emergency supplies to the area.




Since August 7, we have distributed over 12,000 metric tons of food provided by the World Food Program (WFP), along with plastic tarps and other supplies. We are coordinating closely with the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for this response.

We have distributed soap and trained 42 members of the community in hygiene and sanitation education. To date, more than 400 people have been reached with basic hygiene messages.

Samaritan’s Purse also has built a temporary clinic where we are conducting nutritional screenings for children under 5 and providing therapeutic treatment for those who are malnourished. The team has trained over 40 community nutrition workers.

Many of the refugees are accustomed to running for cover at the sound of aircraft, fearful that they were going to be bombed again. But the day of our first airdrop was different. This time there was rejoicing at the sound of the approaching aircraft.

“I watched as these white packages fell from the airplane, thinking to myself how surreal this was, when the only thing else these people had seen from planes were bombs,” a Samaritan’s Purse worker said.

Those bombs are continuing to fall on the hundreds of thousands remaining in the Nuba Mountains, who also live in constant fear of ground assaults.

Samaritan’s Purse is planning more airdrops and other assistance for the refugees.

Samaritan's Purse , South Sudan , Emergency Relief , Aid for Refugees