Teacher hangs up Christmas ‘sandbag stocking’ to raise awareness of flood-hit South Sudan

A new festive tradition began in Cookstown this week when local woman Iris Black hung a sandbag on her mantlepiece instead of a Christmas stocking, to raise awareness of the hunger crisis in flood-hit South Sudan.
By Stanley Campbell
Published 10th Dec 2021, 13:25 BST
Updated 10th Dec 2021, 13:26 BST
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Normally deployed in flood prevention, the sandbag is being used as a reminder that extreme weather exacerbated by climate change is a powerful driver of poverty and hunger, especially in flood-prone countries such as South Sudan.

In October, South Sudan saw its worst flooding in nearly 60 years, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to abandon their homes. Unusually heavy rainfall in recent months caused the Nile to burst its banks, leaving huge swathes of rich farmland under water. As well as destroying homes, the flooding killed livestock and destroyed crops, worsening a food crisis which has left 2.4 million people at risk of falling into famine.

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Iris, who is a member of First Cookstown Presbyterian Church, was a teacher at Cookstown High School for more than 30 years. Now retired, she has for many years been the main organiser of the Cookstown Lent lunches which raise funds for the work of international development charity Christian Aid Ireland. Iris leads a team of volunteers drawn from eight local churches, securing donations of soup and bread from businesses in the Cookstown area. The lunches are held each Friday during Lent in one of the church halls in the town and added to the proceeds of other fundraising initiatives, have raised almost £168,000 for the charity to date.

Retired teacher Iris Black from Cookstown holds up her Christmas sandbag stocking to raise awareness of the hunger crisis in flood-hit South Sudan, where around 2.4 million people are at risk of falling into famine. The worst flooding in nearly 60 years killed livestock and destroyed crops, worsening the country’s current hunger crisis.Retired teacher Iris Black from Cookstown holds up her Christmas sandbag stocking to raise awareness of the hunger crisis in flood-hit South Sudan, where around 2.4 million people are at risk of falling into famine. The worst flooding in nearly 60 years killed livestock and destroyed crops, worsening the country’s current hunger crisis.
Retired teacher Iris Black from Cookstown holds up her Christmas sandbag stocking to raise awareness of the hunger crisis in flood-hit South Sudan, where around 2.4 million people are at risk of falling into famine. The worst flooding in nearly 60 years killed livestock and destroyed crops, worsening the country’s current hunger crisis.

Christian Aid is working through local partners to respond to the hunger and flooding crisis in South Sudan. The charity is providing emergency life-saving support including blankets, mosquito nets, water purification tablets and cash to flood-affected families as well as cash, seeds, farming tools and fishing kits to families struggling to get enough food to eat.

Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Iris and all the soup lunch volunteers, as well as the businesses and local people of Cookstown who support the charity’s work to relieve poverty in South Sudan and around the world:

“For many years, Iris has stood in solidarity with people living in desperate situations. This year, her ‘sandbag stocking’ is helping to raise awareness of the impact that flooding is having on an already terrible hunger crisis in South Sudan.”

To support Christian Aid’s Christmas appeal, visit caid.ie/Christmas or call 028 9064 8133 to make a telephone donation.

Related topics:Christian AidIreland