Food Drop in South Sudan

A couple of weeks ago Simon was due to fly up to South Sudan to do some food drops for an organisation called MedAir.  Food is scarce in some areas and the only safe way to get food in is via aircraft in some regions.  However, the flight had to be cancelled due to heavy rainfall which made the airstrip unusable until it had dried out (this can take three days).  The black cotton soil on some of the airstrips makes it very difficult to land and take off when it has rained.  It gets very sticky.

Thankfully, last week the flight was able to go ahead so Simon headed up to South Sudan on Wednesday and was able to do two food drops on the Thursday.  The airstrip was located one and a half hours north of Juba.  Below are photos of Simon and some of the MAF team in Juba loading the aircraft.  Simon said the temperature on the ground was around 50c.  Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

The situation in South Sudan is not good.  Two days before Simon got to Juba there was a robbery not far from the MAF compound where a policeman was shot and killed.  Difficult times for many.

Last week I was speaking to a friend whose family live in South Sudan.  He has two brothers and they have 12 children between them along with their elderly mother.  They could not sleep in their homes at night because of fear that they would be attacked.  They would sleep in the bush and return to their homes during the day.  On one particular day it was not safe to go to the market as the r*bel groups and the g*vernment soldiers were in the area.  I asked if his family would try and make it to the refugee camps just over the border into Uganda but he said one of them was already full and it wasn't safe at that point to start the journey to the other one.

Please pray for South Sudan as a country and for its people!!!!

Our MAF Uganda Caravan "Romeo Mike"

MAF Uganda and MAF South Sudan Team Work :)

Photos courtesy of Mark Simmonds