Elizabeth is a South Sudanese woman who spent many years fleeing the dangers and hardships of the Sudanese Civil War. She lived for about 15 years in refugee camps in Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya, and also in makeshift bush camps when it was too dangerous to move around with small children. Those years were filled with hunger, constant danger and loss of loved-ones.

Elizabeth was welcomed to Australia in 2003 as part of the government’s Women at Risk program. She and her seven children settled in Wollongong with the help of a kind caseworker from Anglicare, valued accommodation assistance from Housing Trust, and diverse services from a local organisation called SCARF (Strategic Community Assistance for Refugee Families.)

Elizabeth’s children have grown up safely in Wollongong and have benefited from a peaceful life and educational opportunities they had never thought possible. All are well-established adults with full-time work in various parts of Australia. And Elizabeth is now a grandmother.

As the Sudanese presence in Australia grew, Elizabeth emerged as a community leader, a responsibility she fulfilled for many years. She is also very active in the Sudanese Anglican community in Sydney.

In the past few years she has focussed her energy on helping the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people still sheltering in UN camps in Uganda.  With administrative assistance from Anglican Aid, she has tirelessly raised funds to provide food, clothing, mosquito nets and blankets for those still living in extreme hardship.

These days, in response to feed-back from the recipients of her aid, Elizabeth is working on establishing an educational sponsorship program. Leaders within the camps are keen for promising children to receive quality schooling outside the camps so that there are some well-educated people in the next generation ready to serve their country when the on-going civil war is over.

“I am very grateful to be in Australia and I appreciate everyone who has helped me and my family to make a good life here. God bless you all.”