The South Sudan Multicultural Council
Promoting Seniors Health
Facilitating adjustment into Canada
About Us
The South Sudan Multicultural Council (SSMC) plays a pivotal role in community intergration of the South Sudanese People here in Edmonton, through Poverty alleviation projects, a quarterly Food Bank Drive to assist the poor and needy of the Sudanese community and have been instrumental in poverty alleviation projects and elder abuse prevention.
Vision
A world free of war, diseases and where all Sudanese people are protected and represented.
Mission
We play a pivotal role in community integration of the South Sudanese People here in Edmonton, through poverty alleviation and healthy living projects.
Objectives
- Provide legal and physical protection to refugees, asylum-seekers and others of concern while pursuing durable, comprehensive solutions with relevant governments. Populations of concern include newly arrived South Sudanese and individual mandate refugees.
- Actively participate in the inter-agency response to internal displacement; assist and protect internally displaced persons (IDPs) and seek to identify solutions within a collaborative approach.
- Promote harmonious relationships between the South Sudanese community and surrounding communities in Edmonton, by means of joint development projects and senior health initiatives.
Context
South Sudan seceded from the Republic of Sudan on July 9 , 2011 Despite South Sudan’s membership of theUnited Nations(UN),territorial disputesremain over the final and official course of theSudanese-South Sudanese border.
After a bloody conflict (two million deaths recorded) which also caused the displacement of four million civilians and disrupted food production to the point of triggering a terrible famine in 1998 , a ceasefire was signed between the protagonists in 2002 , consolidated three years later, the January 9 , 2005, by a peace agreement.
Between 2013 and 2020 , this country experienced a particularly deadly and bloody civil war between the supporters of the President of the Republic , Salva Kiir , and those of the Vice-President of the Republic , Riek Machar
In 2021 , South Sudan is ranked last country in the world in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI) by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which assigns it an HDI of 0.385.
The non stop wars and civil wars hve rendered millions of South Sudanese refugees, and most found refuge in Canada and the USA.
Faced with child soldiers[who have now become Seniors], scarred and victimised refugees- the South Sudan Center is amongst one of other Sudanese Non- Profits, gearing up amd geared to tackle the calamity of its aging populance. Most Seniors are finding it hard to adapt to ” western Food”. They were used to an organic African Diet. Ageism, rigidity of work and stress and foreign non- staple diets hve wrecked havoc to the South Sudan Senior, and the failure to network with mainstream Canada and take up exercise and health programs and lessons is wrecking havoc amongst the Seniors.
