Diocese of Salisbury's appeal for Sudan and South Sudan

He said: “Thanks be to God for the generosity of many donors who supported this emergency appeal for our partners in the Sudan and South Sudan. I know it will mean a lot to our partners and friends.

“This support is more than money. It is a gift of hope. It is also good for us to lift our sights and care for our neighbour at what is also a difficult time here. I thank those who gave from the bottom of my heart. It was an amazing achievement to raise this in a month.”

The Appeal was launched to raise at least £50,000 for soap and hygiene products for South Sudan and Food for the neighbouring Sudan.

Canon Ian Woodward, the chair of the Salisbury Sudans Committee, said: “We have been hugely blessed with the wonderful response to our appeal for the support of our Sudanese and South Sudanese brothers and sisters in the Covid-19 crisis.

“We set a target of £50,000 but have exceeded that by more than 50 per cent to £78,600 – and as many Sudanese folks think more in terms of $US -that’s over $US 100,000 in their terms. It is a magnificent achievement and says a great deal about how much we in the Diocese of Salisbury love and value our fellow Sudanese and South Sudanese friends.”

The funds will be divided equally between the two provinces of Sudan and South Sudan.

Canon Ian explained:

“In Sudan, Archbishop Ezekiel’s priorities are for food for his people where because of the collapse of the economy there, the threat of famine is an everyday reality for so many people. As the Archbishop has so tellingly said ‘people would rather die of Covid than hunger’.

“Archbishop Justin Badi the primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan has established a Covid-19 task force. It will be using the Salisbury donations to distribute water and hygiene materials to the dioceses to resist infection in those areas most in need, which we hope will include South Sudanese refugees across the border in Uganda once mutual lockdown restrictions are lifted.

“We will be receiving regular reports on how the Salisbury funds are being used in this emergency and we will publish them on Grapevine.

“In the meantime, my thanks again for your wonderful generosity. “