Help Sudanese refugees in Chad this Christmas

More than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting broke out in Sudan in April 2023.

It is also estimated that more than one million people have had to cross the border to make their way to Chad, having taken a very dangerous journey across Sudan. 

Many of those people arrive in refugee camps with nothing but the clothes on their back. 

Chad is itself one of the poorest countries in the world with very limited resources, and Concern has been providing families with extra support and emergency supply kits that include warm blankets, sleeping mats and cooking equipment, as well as medical care.

With the intensity of the conflict in Sudan increasing and more families arriving every day, there really is no time to lose this Christmas.

Alafia never imagined that one day he would have to leave Sudan.

The father of six children was living a modest but happy life in his village when conflict broke out, and life has not been the same since.

‘’Men surrounded our village," he says, describing events in 2023. 

"They began shooting anybody who was moving. They killed very many people… It is also on this day that they shot me."

Alafia was left wounded, unable to move and waiting to die, until older relatives intervened to get him across the border to Chad.

Even worse was to follow.

Alafia's family managed to join him in September 2023, but soon their happy reunion was cut short by tragedy.

Only weeks after the family were all together again, Alafia's six-year-old son fell ill and died from malnutrition.

“My son loved me so much," a heartbroken Alafia tells us. 

"Every time he was around, he always wanted to be close to me. He was only six years old. He loved to tell me stories, always chatting by my side. I think about him every day, and I cry because I can never get him back.”

Alafia does his best to hold on to the memory of his son and stay positive for the sake of his other children. 

He says that the support of Concern has been a lifeline in such a difficult time. 

“I want to say thank you to Concern because from them, we received mats, jerry cans, blankets, and kitchen sets, and these things have helped us so much. We can now sit on the mat, sleep with our blankets, and cook food on the pots that we received."

Life is incredibly tough for all of those who have left Sudan, but your donation can help to provide them with essential goods and services as Christmas approaches.

You can help to provide everything from jerry cans, sleeping mats, blankets, and soap, while your donation will also help to keep a health clinic running that provides vital emergency therapeutic food and medical care for people fleeing violence.

This is a desperate struggle for families like Alafia's to survive but, with your support, we can ensure their safety and security in the most difficult of circumstance.

Please donate today.