In early summer 2011, violence erupted on the border between Sudan and South Sudan. In the town of Abyei, families left everything behind them as they ran to escape aerial attacks, shooting, and house-burnings.
Caritas members immediately began helping families who walked miles to safer areas. In a place called Agok, Caritas has worked with the displaced parish of Abyei to give emergency supplies like blankets and mosquito nets to more than 8500 families and construction materials to help build more than 1900 homes. Caritas is also training teachers who are educating thousands of children.
A year after the crisis, and a day after a military pullout, a small Caritas team entered the nearly-empty town of Abyei on 2 June to assess future humanitarian needs. These are photos by Caritas communications officer Laura Sheahen of what they found.