Sudan (MNN) -- 2010 marks the fifth year since Sudan's North and South signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The accord ended civil war, but unrest proves the mood is anything but peaceful.
Over the past year, there has been a significant increase in the level of tribal violence in the South. In fact, about 2,500 people were killed, and 350,000 fled their homes in southern Sudan last year.
Tensions are high and are likely to stay that way. Matt Parker with Kids Alive agrees. "In the coming year, a referendum is planned to decide whether the north and the south of the country will split."
In April this year, government elections are scheduled, and this is causing increased tensions within the country. The major referendum is slated for January 2011.
Poverty and war have already created a wasteland. As refugees return to their homes in southern Sudan, the problem of street children becomes greater. An estimated 10 percent of Sudan's children are orphans, left to fend for themselves on the streets. Education takes a back seat to finding enough food to stay alive.
In fact, Parker says, "Statistics produced by the UN show that the South is so underdeveloped that a 15-year-old girl is more likely to die in childbirth than finish school."
Kids Alive is helping more than 300 children through Children's Homes, Schools and Care Centers. They recently launched a children's home in the town of Wau. "We started up a small home in a rented accommodation. We just bought land in the town, and our goal over the next year is to raise the money that we need for construction and to work with more children in that town."
Pray for Kids Alive's work in Sudan. It literally is the difference between life and death. "We provide a safe place for these children to live. We provide medical care. We provide education. One of our key goals, as Kids Alive, is to reach these children with the Good news of Jesus Christ."
Pray that tribal tensions in the South would cool. Pray too, for the church in Sudan - that it would have an impact in society. You can help. Click here for details.
