At the age of 15, Nyabuom Puok became a "mum" overnight.
Nyabuom and her family fled South Sudan to settle as refugees in the Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, northern Uganda. Not long after, their mother returned to South Sudan. Nyabuom and her four siblings waved goodbye, unsure when they would see her again.
Their mother’s last words to her children were a promise to return ‘soon’.
But by September — some 18 months later — there was no trace of her. The children became visibly malnourished, and Nyabuom – just a child herself – was living the daily nightmare of trying to keep her brothers and sisters alive.
‘I would not mind the responsibility,’ the teenage ‘mum’ explains, ‘but, when there’s no food, it’s very difficult.’
Six months ago, money previously given to the UN World Food Programme to buy food was abruptly cut off. Food rations for a million people stopped when rich countries slashed their aid budgets.
Yet, thanks to a MAF flight, this family is alive!
And that’s because people like you respond to these urgent appeals — keeping alive MAF’s long history of flying people to the world’s most isolated places. Places like Rhino Camp, to rescue children like Nyabuom in their darkest hour.
Will you give a special gift today to fly food supplies and aid - for abandoned families like Nyaboum's - before Christmas?
Chris Willis, a missionary from the Khayamandi Foundation who lives in the area, learned about Nyabuom’s dire situation. He was able to fly with MAF to meet with and rescue Nyabuom and her siblings from extreme hardship.
‘I would lose four days if I travelled here by road,’ says Chris. ‘With MAF, I can fly into the capital and be here on the same day!’
The Foundation gave Nyabuom and her siblings a tukel, a traditional South Sudanese, grass-thatched home, and a daily lunch through the nearby school.
They were no longer alone.
No longer ABANDONED.
Child-headed families like Nyabuom's are exceptionally vulnerable to oppression. Teenage pregnancy, enforced prostitution, or recruitment to armed groups is only the start of the abuse they face.
Nyabuom and her four siblings are out of harm's way for the most part. But many more refugee children are facing the same danger. And the number of child-headed families is only increasing.
You’re in a unique position. You have the power to keep sending the likes of Chris Willis to help the most desperate men, women and children on Earth.
This Christmas, your gift can help support the 50,000 forgotten children in Uganda, like 15-year old Nyabuom, who are abandoned and alone.
By giving today, you could enable more vital flights to support abandoned children, like Nyabuom, and help to bring a lifeline to those most in need.