The crisis in Sudan is driving South Sudanese refugees living in the country to return home, only to find themselves lost in troubled borders with no homes to return to and constantly living in fear of the unknowns. When we met, Ajang, 35, she was struggling bare-handed to set up a makeshift tent in the transit camp in Renk, a county in South Sudan’s Upper Nile region where most of the arrivals – Sudanese refugees and South Sudanese returnees – enter through one of South Sudan’s border points.

“When I heard about the closure of schools, I felt as if the world became dark on me because [the doors to] education, school and the future were closed for us,” says Yalda.* “And I thought I’ll not be able to follow my dream anymore.” In March 2022, Yalda, 18, arrived at school in Afghanistan after the winter holiday, excited to start her final year of high school. But instead, she was told to go home, and that she was not allowed in school. This was devastating for her. Not only has she been unable to complete her final year, It means her future is also on hold, as she cannot start university until her high education is completed.

Apul had been displaced by conflict in South Sudan for years. When she was three, she had barely started preschool before she had to move away for her safety. As the conflict eases, Apul, now ten, finally has the chance to return to school again. Apul is happy to enjoy classes in temporary learning spaces, which create a conducive environment for her to learn in the midst of a war-torn nation. 

Too famished to concentrate, eight-year-old Moses shed tears in class. One of the many children suffering from drought in Kenya, he had to go for long hours without food and was overwhelmed by hunger pangs. Thankfully, his tears of hunger turned into showers of blessing after his story was featured on television, and World Vision intervened to change his life. 

Solang had been moving between Cambodian provinces with her parents for half her life. Instead of attending education, Solang had to work for a Chinese factory to support her family. However, all that changed when World Vision reached out to her family. Solang can now stay in her village and go to school, and study hard to work towards her aspirations. 

Azida’s Childhood has been torn apart by a barbed wire fence on which one side is her home, Myanmar; and the other side is Bangladesh, where she is called a “Refugee”. Five years ago, when Azida was only six years old, she was forced to leave her home as well as a part of her sweet childhood. Eleven-year-old Azida lives in the largest refugee camp in the World in Cox’s Bazar which is home to one million Rohingya refugees and half a million children.

"The main takeaways I have from this trip is that service requires so much humility and patience. It is only when we humble ourselves to really learn and listen to the needs of the community that we can truly serve and be of value and help. This was truly an insightful and humbling experience for me. I am extremely blessed to witness every single individual's inspiring acts of love."