Lebanese Tycoon donates food items to help Mangalla IDPs
By Kuorwel Kur Kuorwel
The Lebanese mogul on Sunday donated tons of food items to Jonglei state displaced communities that are currently seeking refuge in Mangalla county of Central Equatoria state as parts of gratifying his companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the country.
Ali Khalil Myrere, South Sudan Counsel to Lebanon, who also owned multimillion dollars companies in the world’s youngest republic, said the donation include water tanks to provide safe and clean drinking water to the displaced persons in the area.
“South Sudan and Lebanon shared good bilateral relationship hence there is a need to extend a helping to the sisterly country,” Myrere said.
He said on August 4, the world stood with Beirut following a devastating explosion that killed an estimate of 203 people and 6,500 others injured, including 300,000 forced homeless, hence, it is important for the Lebanese community in Juba to offer humanitarian assistance to the floods-affected people in the continent's youngest nation.
“Parts of this assistance came from my daughter who learned of the South Sudan situation and decided to sell her golden earrings and necklace to raise the funds for purchasing food items for the IDPs which I am donating today,” said Myrere.
Peter Mayen Majoungdit, Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, lauded Crown Hotel boss and said the assistance would benefit the IDPs who desperately need life-saving aid, noting that about 250 new households are being received at the displaced camp daily.
Mayen said the government and partners have teamed up to coordinate the joint effort in a bid to support the flood-affected population in the area.
‘’We started distributing tents for sheltering, water tanks and mobile clinics to support the affected persons,’’ Mayen told reporters.
The official said the country’s top leadership is exploring ways to approve an emergency budget to respond to the crisis but called on the IDPs to remain vigilant as the government prepare concrete plan.
Mary Ajah Lual, a displaced mother of four told the Witness reporter at the site that if all foreign business people were like Myrere then their suffering could have been addressed swiftly.
‘’Children are sick, many people here are women, and elderly people. This place is a bush and we lack medicines, water, and tents. So life is hard,’’ Ajah said.
Ajah said only God would reward the Lebanese tycoon as she appealed to the industrialist not to stop the goodwill gesture of extending support to the needy not only to South Sudanese but to the rest of the world.
One of the displaced community leaders who identified himself as Doutdit, said they fled their homes due to heavy flash floods that has displaced thousands of people in the areas along the White Nile.
The displaced camp leader decried lack of basic necessities since their belongings were submerged by water amid economic hardships in the country.
Doutdit said Myree donation is the first food ratio they have received from Juba after grappling with three months of no assistance from the UN and humanitarian agencies.
The aging elder urged the government not to rely on foreign aid, particularly from the World Food Programme (WFP) since they respond to so many world emergencies.