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VILLAGERS have had their homes and livelihoods destroyed as floods sweep through Sudan, reports aid agency Plan International.
More than 150,000 have been hit and 11 killed after weeks of heavy rain around the capital Khartoum and surrounding areas.
With further poor weather forecast, Plan is preparing to help survivors, including children and pregnant women with shelter.
“It is feared that additional rains will further deteriorate the situation,” says Plan’s emergency response manager in Sudan, Kamal Awouda.
“It may affect the movement of people, electricity power supply, telephone communication and water systems.”
Further rains could cause the Blue Nile River to burst its banks, while standing water could disrupt the transportation of food and other essential goods.
More than 15,000 homes have been destroyed and a further 11,500 damaged across nine states.
“Children are usually the most affected by disasters,” says Mr Awouda. “We will strive to ensure that they are protected and their needs fulfilled.”
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Notes to editors
1) Plan is a global children’s charity. We work with children in the world’s poorest countries to help them build a better future. A future you would want for all children, your family and friends. For more than 75 years we’ve been taking action and standing up for every child’s right to fulfill their potential by:
· giving children a healthy start in life, including access to safe drinking water
· securing the education of girls and boys
· working with communities to prepare for and survive disasters
· inspiring children to take a lead in decisions that affect their lives
· enabling families to earn a living and plan for their children’s future.
We do what’s needed, where it’s needed most. We do what you would do. With your support children, families and entire communities have the power to move themselves from a life of poverty to a future with opportunity.
2) Plan UK is a member of The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation for 14 leading humanitarian aid agencies.
3) We work with children in 50 of the world’s poorest countries to help them build a better future.
4) Plan was founded by British journalist John Langdon-Davies in 1937 to rescue orphans and other vulnerable children from the Spanish Civil War.
5) We have over 100,000 sponsors in the UK, generating £24 million a year, and 1 million sponsored children worldwide.
6) Sponsorship starts at £15-a-month and, rather than going to individual children and their families, funds projects to improve schooling, health, nutrition and livelihoods across communities.
