The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) will ramp up relief for war-torn Darfur, thanks to a $1.4 million nod of continued confidence from the United States government.

CRWRC, along with five other relief organizations that work together in Darfur as Global Relief Alliance (GRA), received word of the funding from the United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) on August 11, 2007. 

“The need continues and so should our relief efforts,” says CRWRC senior relief project manager Ken Little. Little will get a first hand look at the effect current aid programs have on those displaced in Darfur when he visits the Sudanese region September 14-24, 2007.

The new funds will be used over a 12-month period (starting September 2007) to expand existing projects that provide crucial needs like clean water, child immunizations and maternal care, as well as training programs in hygiene and HIV prevention. It is expected that 60,000 people living in some of the most conflict-ridden areas of West Darfur will benefit from these projects. 

Water sources and health standards in Darfur have been drastically depleted in the last three years from increasing inter-ethnic clashes, military conflict, decreasing water levels and poor sanitation. Since 2005, CRWRC has provided food, water and health care to some of the two million Darfurians displaced by this humanitarian crisis.  

According to the American aid coalition Interaction, CRWRC is one of a just handful of North American non-governmental organizations (NGOs) currently providing relief and rehabilitation in Darfur.

To support CRWRC's work in Darfur, click here.  Please remember to mark your gift "Sudan."

by Stephanie Tombari