DARFUR: Saving lives in the Desert

20 September 2004

It’s estimated that up to a thousand displaced people are dying every day of starvation, sickness, and neglect in desert camps across the Darfur region of Sudan . We have sent our DC-3 cargo plane into the region to fly tons of food, medicine, blankets, and shelter material to the camps, which are scattered across an area the size of California .

This is one of the most difficult places to work that I have ever seen. The challenges we face include the harsh desert conditions, armed outlaws, and a bureaucracy in Khartoum that seems to be in no hurry to help.

To study the crisis firsthand, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist recently accompanied one of our relief flights to the tent city of Touloum in neighboring Chad . Senator Frist has made trips with Samaritan’s Purse each year for the past seven years. A skilled and compassionate physician, he has performed surgeries in mission hospitals, worked hard to assist missionary health services, and given his time to help the African people. He also is one of the world’s leading experts on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

While in Chad , Senator Frist heard refugees from Darfur describe the atrocities their families had suffered and the daily hardships they face. Afterward, he told reporters that the United States needs to do more to help victims and to put pressure on Sudan ’s government to resolve the crisis. “This is one of the greatest humanitarian challenges of our time,” he said. I believe God has called Samaritan’s Purse to respond to this crisis, and we are committed to helping the people of Darfur regardless of the dangers and difficulties. Please pray that the Lord will continue to make a way for us to lift up the Name of Jesus Christ in this troubled region.

In crisis like Darfur, children suffer the most. Too often I have witnessed the fear and despair in the eyes of children who have lost loved ones or who have not eaten a meal for days. They desperately need to know that someone loves and cares about them.


May God bless you.

Franklin Graham
President, Samaritan's Purse

>View a Powerpoint Presentation with pictures

>Donate online now

Home