A new wave of refugees fleeing Sudan's South Kordofan conflict... plus other recent media coverage touching on the International Rescue Committee's work around the world:
Due to the ongoing violence in the border region, the number of refugees escaping to South Sudan is increasing. According to the aid organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) over 400 refugees are arriving each day in the Jida camp south of the border.
In South Sudan’s Yida refugee camp – just one of several strung out along the volatile border – around 400 refugees are arriving every day, up from an average of 50 a day last week, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid agency said. There has been a “wave of refugees reaching the camp in crowded trucks and on foot,” IRC aid worker, Elizabeth Pender, told AFP from Yida refugee camp, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of the border with Sudan.
Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee says a new wave of refugees has fled South Kordofan to South Sudan. The aid agency said as many as 400 people were arriving every day at Yida camp, 25km (15 miles) inside South Sudan, up from an average of 50 a day a week earlier.
The IRC's Elizabeth Pender spoke to CNN from Yida about the growing humanitarian crisis. She described the range of health care services and other assistance the IRC is providing for women and girls who have been sexually assaulted while fleeing to South Sudan and after their arrival. “We … want to make sure that they know that they are not alone — that there's no shame associated with this, that they have a lot of support, and that we are here to ensure that they are safe to the best of our abilities."
She passionately devotes her creativity to helping the International Rescue Committee’s clients thrive in their new home. She proclaims, “I know that they are going to do well, it’s just a matter of time and it’s exciting for me to be part of that process.”
ANCHOR NATALIE MORALES: Meanwhile, some of the other work that you're doing [is] so important. You're also a spokesperson for the IRC, the International Rescue Committee. And you actually went to Thailand recently. JONES: Yes. MORALES: ... to lend a voice to--what was it like seeing some of the refugees and how did that open your eyes to the crisis? JONES: It was really inspiring. I went to the Tham Hin camp on the border of Burma and got to meet with a lot of the doctors and the people who live there, and then I got to go to San Diego and see where a lot of the refugees are resettled. And the IRC is a great organization. It's been around for 80 years and they're kind of like first in emergency services and recovery. And it's a great organization. They have a website, rescue.org. You can go there for more information. MORALES: You're doing it all, girl. You keep doing it, all right? ANCHOR MATT LAUER: Nice of you to lend your moniker to that, it really is.
With a new fire station sprouting up in its old garden space, the Mount Olympus garden is coming at a good time, said IRC’s Grace Henley. "We’re able to use the site as a training ground," she said, "and to provide access to supplemental food to a large number of families."
Regional awards were given to: International Rescue Committee San Diego, which has resettled more than 24,000 refugees and worked with UCSD to expand the Fresh Fund Program at farmers markets.
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