My name is Elena Balatti, and I am a Comboni Missionary. I serve as the director of Caritas in the Diocese of Malakal.

Malakal is a city situated on the banks of the Nile, very close to the border. The regional governor has established a large refugee camp here. For the past two years, intense fighting has engulfed Sudan, forcing many families to leave the country and seek refuge in South Sudan. 

Parents and children arrive at the border and travel in large barges along the Nile River to Malakal. Each boat can carry up to 500 people. The number of arrivals is substantial, and the camp sometimes hosts more than 5,000 displaced individuals from Sudan. 

When the barges reach the Malakal camp, our work begins. The children and their parents often arrive exhausted from a long journey during which they have lacked adequate food. Additionally, the parents have spent nearly all their money on the journey from Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, to South Sudan, leaving them unable to purchase proper food at the market. Therefore, upon their arrival, staff at the Caritas office promptly organise a food distribution.

The World Food Programme (WFP) provides assistance to all displaced persons for one week; however, many remain in the camp for longer periods. Each family member receives a small paper card bearing their name. The Caritas team gives those unable to leave the camp within a week daily food rations. The rations are simple: sorghum flour used to prepare a kind of porridge, alongside lentils, oil, and salt.

The camps are always filled with many children. I hope that they stay in the camp only briefly before finding transport to towns or cities where their families intend to go. While in the camp, they cannot attend school and spend their days playing or waiting for their daily meal, which is often just once a day.

Children from Sudan speak Arabic, but when they arrive in South Sudan, they need to learn English to attend school. Children often pick up a new language quickly; however, those who were in fifth grade in Khartoum must often start again, perhaps in second or third grade, because they do not know English. This presents a great challenge for them.

I am always amazed at the patience of children arriving from war zones, waiting in the camp until their final departure. One day, I saw a little boy standing with his father, waiting for their small daily ration of food. His father, who was on crutches, could not stand in line, so his son — about seven years old — went to collect the parcel. Afterwards, they returned together to their tent, where their mother was waiting to cook.

As a missionary, I am grateful that, along with others, we can help these families. We remember that the Lord said to us, “I was hungry and you gave me food,” and we strive to do just that in the Malakal camp. In these children and their families, we see Jesus speaking to us: “I am here, and I need you.”