Joanne’s sandbag stocking to highlight plight of South Sudan this Christmas

Normally deployed in flood prevention, the sandbag is being used as a reminder that extreme weather exacerbated by climate change is a powerful driver of poverty and hunger, especially in flood-prone countries such as South Sudan.

In October, South Sudan saw its worst flooding in nearly 60 years, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to abandon their homes. Unusually heavy rainfall in recent months caused the Nile to burst its banks, leaving huge swathes of rich farmland under water. As well as destroying homes, the flooding killed livestock and destroyed crops, worsening a food crisis which has left 2.4 million people at risk of falling into famine.

Joanne, who is a teacher and a member of St Patrick’s Church of Ireland in Jordanstown, has been supporting Christian Aid for 30 years. For the last 15 years, she has been organising the Christian Aid Week house-to-house collection for her church.

Christian Aid is working through local partners to respond to the hunger and flooding crisis in South Sudan. The charity is providing emergency life-saving support including blankets, mosquito nets, water purification tablets and cash to flood-affected families as well as cash, seeds, farming tools and fishing kits to families struggling to get enough food to eat.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Joanne and all the members of St Patrick’s Parish Church in Jordanstown for their support for the charity’s work to relieve poverty in South Sudan and around the world:

“For many years, Joanne has stood in solidarity with people living in desperate situations. This year, her ‘sandbag stocking’ is helping to raise awareness of the impact that flooding is having on an already terrible hunger crisis in South Sudan.”

To support Christian Aid’s Christmas appeal, visit caid.ie/Christmas or call 028 9064 8133 to make a telephone donation.

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