Put some food under their Christmas tree!

Hunger continues to devastate South Sudan. In the region where Caritas Luxembourg is based, almost half the population is currently suffering from acute food insecurity. As always, it is children who suffer the most from malnutrition and who are the first victims. We must act to help them - it's urgent!

There are many reasons for this almost permanent state of food insecurity: climatic conditions that alternate between droughts and floods and have a severe impact on harvests, inter-community conflicts that lead to the destruction of existing crops, the war in neighbouring Sudan that has led hundreds of thousands of people to take refuge in South Sudan, and the lack of access to drinking water.

Caritas Luxembourg has been working for many years to combat malnutrition and deal with the humanitarian crisis. We distribute food parcels to displaced and refugee families, organise screening sessions for malnutrition in children and distribute food supplements to those who need them. The most seriously affected children are sent to a health centre where they receive appropriate treatment. We also support women in developing vegetable gardens and small-scale livestock farming to improve food security.

Unfortunately, all these activities cannot be carried out without your invaluable support. As Christmas and the holiday season approach, please make a donation and make a present to the people suffering from hunger in South Sudan.

THANK YOU AND HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY, SURROUNDED BY YOUR LOVED ONES AND ALL THOSE WHO MEAN SOMETHING TO YOU.

"My children were really unwell, I was really worried".

Santa gave birth to triplets a few months ago. The babies soon stopped gaining weight and fell ill. They suffered from severe diarrhoea and dehydration. A few weeks ago, she decided to attend a malnutrition screening session organised by Caritas Luxembourg in her village. The three babies were suffering from acute malnutrition and were transferred to a nutrition centre where they received therapeutic treatment. In addition, Santa was given highly nutritious flour to speed up their recovery even further.

"The children are ill because their diet is not varied enough".

Rose has five children, all of whom have suffered from malnutrition. Caritas Luxembourg nutritionists have given her advice and good practices to put in place to try and prevent this from happening again. In particular, she realised that she had to change their diet and diversify as much as possible. In October, Caritas Luxembourg also gave her four hens and a cockerel. Thanks to them, she can now give eggs and meat to her family. The chicks and eggs, which she will soon be selling on the market, will also allow her to buy other foodstuffs to which she previously had no access.

"I want to prevent malnutrition of breastfeeding mothers and their children".

Theresa is 23 years old and has a seven-month-old child. When she gave birth and started breastfeeding her child, women nutritionists trained by Caritas Luxembourg organised malnutrition prevention sessions in her village. These helped her a great deal to know how best to take care of her child and herself. So much so, that she decided to become a nutritionist herself in order to help and support her community. For several weeks now, she has been taking part in this professional training course. In a few months' time, Theresa will be a "community nutritionist", joining the network of people fighting to prevent malnutrition in South Sudan. In the meantime, she is attending classes with her baby.