The humanitarian organization Caritas has given out hundreds of kits containing plastic sheets to vulnerable families in Agok in order to protect them from the rains and cold. 

Caritas distributed 340 kits to vulnerable families in five residential areas in Agok about a week ago. Each kit contained non-food items such as plastic sheets, blankets and saucepans. The Caritas emergency coordinator in Abyei, Kuol Deng Biong, said the scheme had targeted widows, disabled people and elderly people in particular.

Some other people in Agok are requesting for their own plastic sheets so tat they can build themselves shelters. Adut Anei Deng lives in Maker with her three children. She said that her family suffered from sweltering heat during the day, and cold at night, because she could not afford a shelter.

They had only a tree for shade. She said she had nothing to eat, and her job of collecting elephant grass to sell had dried up because there was little grass available. She said she used to have a plastic sheet, but it had become torn; she now had nothing.

A field monitor with Caritas, Kuol Arop Kuol, said it was difficult to ensure that everyone who needed a kit received one. There was a never-ending demand, but the organization was trying hard to meet it.

Reporting by Abyei Today  

Photo: caritas.org