Every sunrise in Renk brought with it another wave of humanity

Every sunrise in Renk signaled the arrival of yet another group of people fleeing Sudan, tired footsteps, dust-covered faces, and eyes searching desperately for safety. The war in Sudan had stripped people of their homes, their livelihoods, their safety, and their sense of certainty.

When I first arrived in Renk as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Field Coordinator at the start of 2025, the situation was already dire. Families from Blue Nile, White Nile, and Sinnar States were crossing into South Sudan in huge numbers, bringing what little they could carry. Some arrived with cars or belongings, but many had nothing at all. Mothers clutched children who hadn’t eaten properly in days. Elderly men leaned on sticks, their faces etched with exhaustion. Young boys carried siblings on their backs. The question that was in my mind and that of the team, every day, was simple but impossible: How do we restore dignity when people have lost everything overnight?

The shelters in Girbanat, Atham, and Gosfami, less than 50 kilometers from the border with Sudan, were classified as “informal settlements”. People arriving there were not registered as refugees and did not have access to basic services. But to me, labels meant nothing. They were people who had been uprooted overnight, people with urgent needs for health care, clean water, food, and safety. What I saw were not “informal settlements” but communities clinging to life in the harshest conditions. Labels did not matter when you saw the reality: makeshift camps in Girbanat, Athan and Gosfami, endless queues for water, and children coughing with untreated illnesses.

As MSF’s Field Coordinator, I was tasked with leading our emergency response. We quickly set up clinics to treat diseases, supported pregnant women, and cared for those wounded or sick from their long journeys. We worked urgently to provide clean water and sanitation, knowing that without it, outbreaks like cholera and other deadly diseases could devastate already fragile families. Every day brought new arrivals, exhausted, traumatized, and uncertain of what awaited them. Every day was urgent. Every decision mattered.

Since these people were not initially recognized as refugees, due to the distance from the border or their entry through informal routes, much of the international aid bypassed them. While we supported them directly, we also advocated on their behalf, we became their voice, and highlighted their needs. Eventually, we succeeded in convincing several actors to move into these areas and provide essential assistance, while our teams continued to cover their healthcare needs. Beyond the logistics, my work was about standing with people at their most vulnerable. I met mothers who had walked for days with children strapped to their backs. I saw elders too frail to stand, carried across the border by relatives who refused to leave them behind. I listened to young men who had lost family members in the chaos of displacement. Their resilience was striking, but so too were their vulnerabilities.

What stayed with me most were the moments of humanity amid crisis: children who had lost everything still finding ways to laugh and play, neighbors sharing food with families who had nothing.

On 30 June 2025, MSF concluded its emergency intervention in the informal settlements of Girbanat and Atham in Renk County, Upper Nile State. What began as a three-month emergency response in December 2024 was extended by another three months to meet overwhelming needs. At the close of the project, we handed over medicines and supplies to local health facilities, ensuring basic healthcare could continue for at least another three months.

During the intervention, MSF provided more than 16,500 outpatient consultations, including 5,300 patients reached through mobile clinics in hard-to-reach areas, and facilitated 119 referrals to Renk Civil Hospital. Our staff carried out 763 antenatal visits, assisted 42 safe deliveries, and offered 197 mental health sessions. Beyond medical care, we distributed relief items to 8,000 families, trucked clean water, installed a solar-powered water system, and built 88 latrines to improve sanitation.

Although this specific intervention has ended, MSF remains present in Renk County, continuing operations in Gosfami, Joda crossing point, and Renk County Hospital.

When I think of Renk today, I don’t only remember the crisis. I remember the faces of people who, despite everything, carried hope in their eyes. That hope is what stays with me, what keeps me going. It was never only about coordinating medical care; it was about bearing witness to the strength of the human spirit. It was about presence. It was about standing alongside people in their darkest hours, ensuring they could access care, but also dignity. In the middle of chaos and uncertainty, our presence said: You are not forgotten.

Every clinic we set up, every well we dug, every patient we treated was a reminder that even in the darkest times, people hold on to hope.