By Sonia Lowman | Senior Communications Specialist
Samuel is full of heart. It’s something more than passion or conviction for a cause; it’s a delicate hopefulness and an innate joyfulness. As a Nutrition Manager for International Medical Corps, Samuel consistently confronts harrowing starvation in children and, sometimes, devastating loss. But his memory is also abundant with many successes: smiling mothers and children, growing healthy, who would not have lived had International Medical Corps not been there.
Samuel’s first job with International Medical Corps took him from Uganda to South Sudan, as a Social Behavior Change Nutrition Manager, in 2012. In the very remote area where he first worked in South Sudan, people had no access to medical services before International Medical Corps arrived, and levels of hunger were exceptionally high. The work was dangerous because of constant outbreaks of intercommunal violence.
South Sudan became independent in 2011, and a bloody civil war broke out two years later. Since the beginning of the conflict in South Sudan, 4 million people have left their homes—85% of them women and children. In an economy where agriculture is often inextricably linked to one’s income, armed conflict and displacement destroy both livestock and farmland, crushing whatever modest income opportunities once existed in farming-reliant communities. Today, one-third of the population in South Sudan—4.8 million people—lacks access to food and a staggering 7 million people need humanitarian aid.
But Samuel sees humanitarian work as “quite encouraging” with the difference he can make. “You see a mother who has lost hope—but then, through the treatment, the child survives and thrives again, and she can take him or her home healthy,” Samuel says. “This encourages the health facility workers and they feel hopeful. It’s very rewarding.”
He describes with palpable emotion how “incredibly moving” it was to see health workers and mothers arrive at the International Medical Corps field office to collect medication and nutrition supplies, and transport them to health facilities deep in the rural areas. The teams would walk for days carrying 33-pound cartons of Plumpy'nut to treat and nourish starving children, as well as bringing much-needed medicine to underserved communities.
In 2013, Samuel moved to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, supervising nutrition managers based in five field offices, including in one of South Sudan’s largest refugee camps, Maban. He and his colleagues faced many challenges in getting supplies; often, planes could not land because of fighting or heavy rains. But “we were able to collaborate with other actors to get services to those in need,” says Samuel. “I am very proud of our work in South Sudan.” He is particularly proud of the training he provided for national staff, enabling them to treat acute malnutrition cases and write and analyze data reports.
We thank you and the GlobalGiving community for helping us providing these lifesaving services in South Sudan.
By Davis Nordeen | Resource Development Assistant
By Davis Nordeen | Resource Development Assistant
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