Ashraf Yacoub, a Canadian, was part of World Vision's assessment team:
"The situation is desperate.  In one area I visited, about 40,000 people were living in small huts made of whatever bits and pieces they could find. They have little food and clean water is a major issue despite the fact that it rains almost daily. They're also quite frightened but they have nowhere to go."

The assessment teams found overwhelming needs throughout Darfur for water, sanitation, nutrition, shelter, and basic health care; many areas are receiving little or no assistance. And the ongoing violence is making the humanitarian situation worse.

"Relief agencies are doing their best but the logistical challenges are severely hampering any efforts to help," said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada. 

Initially, World Vision will be providing basics like plastic sheeting for shelter, jerry cans (for water), cooking pots and water purification tablets.  The organization also plans to distribute food and set up special child protection programs to provide trauma counseling and secure places where children can gather to play, learn or rest and experience a sense of normalcy. World Vision is also assisting the thousands of Sudanese refugees across the border in Chad, most of whom lost everything when they fled Darfur.

World Vision has been working in Southern Sudan since 1989 providing food, basic needs and immunization in many communities throughout the region. Currently, the organization is providing emergency relief to children in the Shilluk Kingdom. 

Give a gift - Help send emergency survival kits to the victims of the Sudan Crisis.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian relief and development organization active in more than 90 countries around the world, providing help to more than 85 million people each year.