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Nyaguen lives in floodwaters nearly all year round and has no means to feed her children

Dear John,

In my last emails to you I shared stories of incredible women Joshua and I met in flooded Bentiu, like Nyakouth, who, after losing everything to the floods, was able to open a bakery and employ other women in the community, thanks to a small business grant.

The last place we visited in South Sudan was a place called Bor, where we visited a camp for people who were forced to flee violence and conflict over ten years ago. I worked in the camp when it first opened and can remember the people I met as if it were yesterday. Back then, people had faced extraordinary violence and were relieved to find safety.


“Flash floods are difficult to control. Water pours in through all the corners of the house. Even dangerous snakes find their way into the house at night. We always live in fear.” Nyaguen, pictured with her family in their home built with sticks and plastic sheets.
When returning to Bor I didn’t imagine the same people would still be living in the camp, but I was saddened to find a lot of them were still there. Unable to return home safely, they had made the camp their home. Devastatingly, these people who have overcome so much now face another challenge, due to cycles of heavy rainfall and flooding the camp is now permanently flooded. Stagnant water surrounded us as we waded knee deep to visit people in their tents.

Nyaguen now sleeps with her children on a flimsy mattress in the mud. She shivers as she talks to us.
“When the children experience cold, they pull the blankets to themselves and shiver. They will start crying for help. I know when a child is extremely cold by touching their bodies or by the way they are sneezing or shivering. We barely eat twice a day. At times we drink porridge in the morning and eat dinner in the evening. We did not eat since yesterday.” - Nyaguen
Families like Nyaguen’s live through this every day. Your support([link removed]) can help provide shelter, warmth, and food.

Nyaguen and other families living in the camp face the worst imaginable circumstances and are reliant on lifesaving humanitarian relief to survive. Especially in the peak of the flooding season, when they can’t get in or out of the camp and sleep with their beds raised over the water.

A 45-minute drive away, we meet another community who were forced to flee by floods, and with UNHCR’s support, has adapted their lives from cattle herding to fishing. Gai, a young fisherman from the community, comes to talk to us. “It wasn’t easy to start fishing, because I never knew how to do it. But l was in a situation where I wasn’t earning anything, so I was happy when I found fishing.”

On our last day in South Sudan, we join a small UNHCR team delivering six new canoes, paddles and nets to Gai’s community. There is palpable excitement in the air as the canoes are taken down from the roof of the vehicle. Here, a simple canoe can make a big difference to the lives of many. It’s a lifeline, an income, and nutrition for several families. Each canoe is shared by a group of 5 fishermen.

“There’s this saying that; you don’t give someone a fish every day, but you try to help them get some themselves instead. So, if you have given someone a net, they can live. Because, without a net, without a canoe, you cannot get fish.”
As we leave South Sudan, I am left with a feeling of hope. Despite being among the hardest hit the people we met are adapting and striving to thrive.

My UNHCR colleagues on the ground in South Sudan are also living and working in extreme conditions to support the people we met. They’re doing everything they can with limited resources, but they need more support to bring relief and essential aid to families among the hardest hit by floods.

Your support([link removed]) can make a big difference to someone like Gai. You can provide life-saving aid to families like the ones I met in South Sudan. 

Thank you,

Amy Christian
UNHCR Communications Officer
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