For years, Sudan has been facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis; one that is probably far beyond the perception of the limited worldly awareness of most of us. Now, COVID 19 has acted as a fuel to the blazing fire of the already fragile, impoverished infrastructure, which was already hampered by inflation, flooding, starvation and conflicts. Helping, supporting and changing the lives of the families in Darfur, Sudan is the Kids for Kids charity. Running for 20 years, this organisation has strived to give the children there a chance - an opportunity for a better life.
Ms Patricia Parker, the founder of this organisation, explains the significance and urgency of raising awareness for the people living in these unimaginable hardships and how the Kids for Kids organisation believes in helping and empowering rather than simply being an ordinary charity. The inspiration behind this cause was a young boy, whom she met on a visit to Darfur, 20 years ago. She recalls the astounding yet illuminating moment, ‘When we stopped to talk to the little boy, it was so unbelievable to see him out there, under the scorching sun. And when we said to him how far are you walking, he said “I don’t know how far it is, but it takes me 7 hours”.’
Over the years, the organisation has expanded and many have got involved as patrons, volunteers or representators to help this cause. However, it is not enough to bring Darfur into line with the rest of the world. To bring about this change, Ms Parker emphasises the need for the involvement of more volunteers, particularly the youth. ‘There are quite a number of youngsters who have no experience of this sort of thing, hardship hasn’t touched them and they haven’t taken the time to look and see how they could be living of they had been born in that country.”
A glimpse of the severe living conditions in Sudan can be seen on the charity website. These are a rather hard-hitting reminder of the neglect on behalf of the rest of the world and surely will stir some empathy, to reach out and help. Whilst the charity has worked tirelessly for the last two decades, there is a lot more to do. The charity’s unique vision is to create long lasting, self-sustaining and community led projects, thereby empowering the local families to help themselves.
Even a small amount of time and effort can change a child’s life forever! This year, Kids for Kids is celebrating 20 years of helping the forgotten children of Darfur. Take on the Challenge20 – a sponsored challenge, which can be anything like running on the spot for 20 minutes, reading 20 books, doing 20 press-ups a day for 20 days or making 20 birthday cards whilst raising money for this cause. Alternatively, you can use social media to spread awareness and involve more people in supporting this.
The Kids for Kids charity rely on volunteers, who, like them, want children to have the future they deserve. Be their GOAT – Greatest of All Time! – and please help them to change the life of a child – for good.
Check out the Kids for Kids website for all the information on supporting, events and more (https://www.kidsforkids.org.uk).