South Sudan’s civil war has separated many families, sometimes leaving people uncertain of where their loved ones are or even whether they are still alive or not.
In a short video, the Red Cross explains that it is working to trace missing family members. The organization estimates that from mid-December 2013 to May 2014 they have helped nearly 3000 people reestablish contact with their family members.
One way of doing this is by providing a phone service so that people without cell phones can attempt to contact relatives in other areas or refugee camps in other countries.
Lucia Benuzzi, tracing delegate with the International Committee of the Red Cross in Juba, says the South Sudan Red Cross now has more than 72 volunteers working on its family links programme.
One of the volunteers is Grace Acon (featured in the video), who found her own mother with the help of the South Sudan Red Cross.
Benuzzi says the volunteers “play a crucial role in organizing the phone calls as well as in the distribution of Red Cross messages.”