Image: Foodgrains Bank staff had the opportunity to meet and hear the stories of people impacted by the ongoing crisis in South Sudan. / Supplied
HUMANITARIAN AID

‘We have to help each other’: Chilliwack resident returns from refugee camp in South Sudan

Jun 21, 2025 | 10:18 AM

CHILLIWACK — Andy Harrington is happily back in Chilliwack after being away on a humanitarian visit a few months ago.

Speaking with Fraser Valley Today from his home on the lush green pastures of Ryder Lake, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank executive recollected his time spent on the dry tropical savanna of South Sudan.

The organization visited a refugee camp in Aweil in March to assess the need for its programs and saw that the situation remains as dire as ever.

“There’s about 25,000 people in that refugee camp, and what we saw there was really quite disturbing,” said Harrington. “We had women thrusting their babies at us trying to get us to help them. We were engulfed in a crowd saying you’ve got to help us this can’t happen we will die.”

As the U.S., which previously funded an average of $48.2 billion in 2023, cuts back on international aid services, organizations like USAID, the World Food Programme, and the UNHCR have begun to suffer—and so have the people relying on them.

“That nutrition centre was going to be closed in 24 hours because it was largely funded by USAID and the funding had been withdrawn at no notice,” he added. “We heard from one woman who said the only food we’ve got is when we go out into the fields to try and find some leaves, and you should know it was 43 degrees when we were there.”

“We’re not talking a lush green set of fields… we’re talking drought.”

Helping from a land of plenty

According to the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises, nearly 300 million people are now at risk of starvation. The number of people in famine-like conditions has also reached 200 million, surpassing the total for the past seven years combined. As institutions fail, Harrington is now calling on locals—and all Canadians—to step in and help.

“We have a cost-of-living crisis, but it’s not at the level that we’re seeing around the world.”

He advised that some small shows of support include:

  • Giving to reputable charities that are actively working in areas of poverty,
  • Advocate and educate yourself by speaking with MPs and consulting relevant resources, and more importantly,
  • Having empathy.

One story in particular struck Harrington about a woman who had previously received support from the Foodgrains Bank, but the program had been on pause as staff tried to find out how many more people they could assist.

Harrington stands with Mary*, who he met while visiting a refugee camp in Aweil, South Sudan. At 25 years old, Mary fled the violence of Sudan after losing family members to the brutal war. Yet, she still holds onto the hope of a better future – not just for herself, but for people around her. / Supplied

“Often what happens is people say ‘you’ve got to help us’, but she didn’t ask for help for herself. She just pointed to the two families that she had taken in, having nothing and saying, ‘We have to help each other. Will you help them?’”

“As I had spent that day in the refugee camp, and then gone to that village the day after, she kind of just reminded me that it is, that caring is the most bravest thing we can do.”

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank provided $68.3 million of assistance for 974,683 people in 35 countries in the 2023-24 budget year. World Refugee Day was held on Friday, June 20.

Click here to report an error or typo in this article