“We are the people who ran from South Sudan,” Beatrice said as she stood on the outskirts of the Pagirinya refugee camp in Uganda. Beyond her, the camp was overflowing with others who also had fled the violence.
But for Beatrice, South Sudan isn’t just a country of warfare. It’s the place where her belongings had to be abandoned … where her husband is buried … where her home once was … and where her memories remain.
Now she lives in the refugee camp with her four children. Every night her kids fall asleep in a foreign country with empty stomachs. And every morning when they wake up, there’s little hope of having anything to eat.
The monthly ration Beatrice receives from the camp isn’t enough. All that’s provided is 13 pounds of cornmeal and sometimes a little oil and some beans. This is supposed to last her an entire month … but it never does.
And since she has to sell some of her rations to pay for her children’s school fees — as well as other basic necessities — her family usually runs out of food after just two weeks.
Even though the refugee camp in Uganda is full of people, Beatrice often felt alone and forgotten.
“I’m praying that God will touch the hearts of people [to] help people like us who are widows and children who are orphans,” Beatrice said. “We are really suffering in this camp so much.”
And then one day, in the midst of her despair, Beatrice’s prayer was answered. Food and other critical supplies arrived for the refugees in Beatrice’s camp right when the monthly rations had run out. God used other people’s generosity to feed Beatrice and her four children.
“This food helps us because right now we are in the middle of the month and the food that we received is finished,” Beatrice said. She is grateful that she doesn’t have to worry how she’ll feed her children until the next rations arrive.
Now Beatrice doesn’t feel so alone. She knows that someone on the other side of the world loves her and her family so much they wanted to send them immediate care.
“I want to thank God for the grace and love you have shown to us,” Beatrice said.
With the arrival of the food came a new sense of hope for Beatrice. But there are others like her who are still in desperate need of lifesaving aid. Not only do refugees need food, but they also need medical attention, clean water, durable clothing, and hygiene items.
And, unfortunately, the refugee crisis is affecting countries all around the world. It’s not simply a Middle Eastern crisis or a South Sudanese crisis.
But today you can help a refugee who is struggling to get by. You can provide basic essentials he needs to survive.
God calls us as Christians to look after the widows like Beatrice and the orphans who have lost everything due to violence. And the best way you can care for them is by meeting their immediate needs.
So consider helping one refugee survive by sending the critical care he is desperately waiting for. You’ll be providing for him and reminding him he is not alone.