From Outreach Foundation ... Mission Partnership Update

• Your gifts to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal are making a difference … in South Sudan

Outreach Foundation Photos

With gifts that Outreach supporters sent to the COVID-19 Emergency Appeal we were able to send $14,000 to support our family of faith of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan - those who are refugees in camps in Ethiopia as well as displaced women and children near Juba in South Sudan - in providing essential protection against the virus and lifesaving food for many families.

Saturday, June 20, was World Refugee Day and we learned that there are now nearly 26 million refugees globally who have left everything behind and crossed borders to escape war, persecution, or terror (20 people each minute). An additional 55 million have been internally displaced seeking safety and basic services. And the COVID-19 pandemic poses an extra threat to refugees and displaced people. They rely on the United Nations and other organizations to provide their safety and wellbeing. Most are living in dense, temporary camps with limited access to clean water (4 gallons/day, on average) and sanitation. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions in Ethiopian camps for South Sudanese, over 200,000 children are now out of school. COVID-19 prevention measures have also led to a reduction in food rations, fuel sources, and the number of humanitarian workers available in clinics and for other services. South Sudan reported nearly 2,000 COVID-19 cases as of June 22, and the surrounding countries each report 2 to 4 times more cases than South Sudan. Throughout the region, cases are continuing to increase and supplies are scarce.

Since 2012, The Outreach Foundation has been in relationship with the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCoSS). In South Sudan, a country less than 10 years old, about 35% (4 million) of the population are displaced or refugees in neighboring countries (Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda). Many of the 1.5 million members of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan are refugees or displaced.

Presbyterian leaders have requested help from The Outreach Foundation to provide emergency assistance. Outreach has utilized COVID-19 Emergency Appeal funds to join with host communities and other East Africa Outreach partners to supply food and non-food relief.

John Jock Gatwech, PCoSS refugee camp education coordinator in Ethiopia, writes:

The Presbyterian Church of South Sudan Outreach teams for pandemic virus (COVID-19) awareness, with the help of The Outreach Foundation, today on 21 June 2020, have launched the hands washing campaign in all six camps around Gambella region.

It was a great pleasure to all of the Trauma Healing group representatives from the camps, and the vulnerable people who are not able to support themselves, have received the food, oil, and some kilos of sugar. The teams for the Pandemic Virus Awareness Campaign have received the prevention materials that will be taken by them to the camps. They all thank The Outreach Foundation for their support and prayers.

Click here to learn more about Outreach’s COVID-10 Emergency Appeal

Thank you!

---

Engaging followers of Christ for His work in the world, the Outreach Foundation is committed to helping the church live out its missional calling, building the capacity of the global church, especially where the church is vulnerable or growing rapidly, and transforming lives through mission involvement.

The Outreach Foundation
381 Riverside Drive, Suite 110
Franklin, TN 37064,
United States
(615) 778-8881
info@theoutreachfoundation.org