News & Updates
Check out the latest from Sudan and our movement
One Year After The Massacre, Has Anything Changed In Sudan?
Today marks a painful first anniversary for Sudan. Last year on June 3, the regime’s Rapid Support Forces and National Intelligence and Security Service launched a one-sided war against peaceful protesters in Khartoum. The resulting massacre shocked the world’s conscience and briefly put Sudan’s crisis in the global spotlight for the first time in years.
Today marks a painful first anniversary for Sudan. Last year on June 3, the regime’s Rapid Support Forces and National Intelligence and Security Service launched a one-sided war against peaceful protesters in Khartoum. The resulting massacre shocked the world’s conscience and briefly put Sudan’s crisis in the global spotlight for the first time in years.
The darkness that engulfed Sudan’s capital was not new to the country. For nearly 30 years, Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir’s government called Khartoum its untouched stronghold, a long-time garrison city from which the regime poured raw military power, political manipulation, and outright hatred into brutal policies and increasingly powerful paramilitaries who were unleashed on the country’s minorities and lower classes.
Countless massacres have been committed by regime forces across the country since the early 1990s. To many people outside of Sudan, Darfur is synonymous only with genocide, not the western region’s complex history that is both hard and beautiful to behold. Other lesser known parts of Sudan with equally rich histories, like the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, have been submitted to identical atrocities as those in Darfur.
So, the June 3 massacre was not unexpected, but it was still horrifying. After Bashir was removed from power in April, it was obvious that he left behind a fundamentally unchanged regime. Government forces continued committing war crimes in Sudan’s oppressed hinterlands, humanitarian aid was still denied to millions of Sudanese in need, and militiamen poured into Khartoum. The slaughter was even predicted months beforehand. Despite the glimmer of hope brought about by determined protesters, who displayed incredible courage, smarts, and restraint, the recipe for carnage was made in broad daylight.
Perhaps this is what made the Khartoum massacre feel particularly brutal. The regime had oppressed its citizens in the capital when needed, sometimes to a terrifying degree. But the true horrors of the scorched-earth warfare that has decimated Sudan’s periphery had never been felt in Khartoum.
The massacre was the cloak finally falling off the regime’s shoulders. Left standing was the worst kind of government: a hydra-headed monster of murderous security forces who worshipped their own power above all else, and saw ideology as a mere tool to advance their capturing of more power. Their purpose was never really about making Sudan an Islamic state. It was never really about Arabizing the country. Sure, many regime leaders cared deeply about these twisted visions, but the corrupt desire for power and wealth outweighed them in the end. The Khartoum massacre put the last of all Sudanese, regardless of their ethnicity, class, religion, or political leanings, in the crosshairs. It was the final declaration of war on the entire citizenry.
That and the massacre being live-streamed for the world to see, before the regime plunged the entire country into a communications blackout.
News of what transpired in Khartoum reached the outside world anyways. The sprawling protest encampment outside of the military’s headquarters was burned to the ground. Rapid Support Forces soldiers pelted fleeing protesters with grenades and gunned them down. Women were dragged off by regime paramilitaries, gang-raped for hours, and then cast onto the streets. Militiamen tossed the murdered into the Nile River like it was second nature. Paramilitaries murdered, tortured, and pillaged their way across the city.
When Sudan’s internet came back on a month later, images of the massacre flooded out. By that point, protesters had already surged back into the streets, only to be met with more violence. The only thing that had changed was their mood. Inspiration had been replaced with exasperation. Hope had been replaced with seething anger. Coupled with minimal international pressure, it was just enough to bring the regime slinking back to the negotiating table. After 30 long years, the hydra-headed monster finally blinked.
A transitional government was eventually formed: half regime leaders and half civilians. Sudan has been walking on a very fine tightrope ever since.
Has Anything Changed Since The Massacre?
Like all things in Sudan, today is incredibly complicated. Many Sudanese are mourning what was lost one year ago. Others are celebrating that some aspects of life have improved, while knowing that Sudan’s revolution is far from finished. Many feel both of these realities tugging at them. Some are protesting. Even more Sudanese feel like absolutely nothing has changed at all. Like the deck is still being stacked against them.
Uprooting this extremist regime was always going to be a monumental, decades-long undertaking. For years, many people inside and outside of Sudan aimed their ire at Bashir. He was the symbol of everything that had gone horribly wrong. The fall of an oppressive symbol certainly matters. It shows that change is possible. Deep down though, everyone has always known that the real work would begin post-Bashir.
Today, Sudan is barely into this new reality. Bashir himself is locked away in prison for corruption, but he has still not faced a courtroom for the far more serious war crimes and genocide charges against him. There is a good chance he never will. His powerful successors are seizing more and more control within the transitional government. The investigation into the massacre itself is still bogged down in bureaucratic obfuscation. Justice delayed really is justice denied.
Most concerning is the meteoric rise of the Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemeti, in the transitional government. Conservative estimates put the size of his paramilitary force at 50,000 strong. Hemeti wields his own foreign policy that is separate from Sudan’s, and his troops are busy trying to show that they are Sudan’s real military power. But the Rapid Support Forces are not invincible. As their power grows, they are facing more attacks from other security agencies, including the still powerful army, and are being defied by protesters who know that the paramilitary group must disarm and demobilize. In most of Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces are viewed as a hostile occupying force, not a legitimate governing institution.
Their oppression remains as brutal as ever. Just two weeks ago, Rapid Support Forces soldiers executed Awad El Wakeel, a 33 year old Nuba man, merely because he self-identified as belonging to a Nuba tribe. Speaking to a Nuba friend as I was preparing to write this piece, he brought up Awad’s murder as being particularly painful. “Why?” I asked. “Because this wasn't just a murder,” he said. “I think, in America, you call it a lynching.”
Millions of Sudanese from Darfur to the Nuba Mountains watch and feel these paramilitaries breathing down their necks every single day. For them, nothing has changed. There is no peace. There is no relief. There is no justice. The shortcomings of the transitional government certainly are most egregious in Sudan’s still oppressed periphery.
This isn’t to say that Sudan’s revolution is a failure. The civilian-wing of the transitional government is addressing issues the Sudanese people face. Underneath the leadership of the empathetic Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, a small string of victories has been building for months. Civilian leaders are busy confiscating billions of dollars of stolen wealth from fallen Islamic leaders, have outlawed female genital mutilation, and are pushing for basic freedoms for all Sudanese. Prime Minster Hamdok has even visited Sudan’s most oppressed regions to listen and help pry open humanitarian relief access to those most in need. A year ago, such a visit by a government leader was unthinkable. These are reasons to hope, but it would be generous to describe the activities of Sudan's transitional government as just the tip of the iceberg for what is really needed.
So, has anything changed in Sudan since the massacre one year ago? That depends on who you ask. It’s easy to point to changing laws and a more peaceful Khartoum and say yes, but only the Sudanese people are qualified to answer if they can feel these changes. Some Sudanese certainly have, and that’s a good thing. Many others across Sudan have not, which shows the revolution is far from over.
The Hardest Fights Lie Ahead
The successes and failures of Sudan’s revolution will be proven over time, but there will be key moments when we see how much really is changing. At some point, the very existence of the Rapid Support Forces is going to have to be addressed. The transitional government will have to make a decision concerning the secularism versus Islamic law approach to governance, and that will have implications that touch every corner of a society that appears ready to shake the yoke of the Islamists of. In the Nuba Mountains, where Sudan’s strongest armed opposition movement has bogged down tens of thousands of genocidal regime troops and secured a fragile ceasefire, the raging security forces and their begrudging Khartoum masters are going to have to make serious concessions for peace to work.
These moments and many more will be fraught with tremendous risk. They will show if the regime-wing of the transitional government and their attached business moguls are going to allow progress that severely weakens their own power, or if they are simply biding their time, waiting for an opportunity to drag the country back into full-blown military rule. History says the generals and security heads will resort to mass violence when they feel that the time is appropriate. Time will tell.
But far away from Khartoum is the most frustrating aspect of the slow pace of Sudan’s revolution: those most in need of change will probably be the last to see it, if they ever see change at all. Hundreds of thousands of Darfuris living in displacement camps for well over a decade still cannot go home, and there are signs that the Rapid Support Forces are making that reality permanent. Peace seems unlikely in the Nuba Mountains, where regime forces are escalating attacks on the Nuba people. Reparations to these communities seems even less likely, as the transitional government needs tens of billions of dollars just to move Sudan’s economy out of a death spiral and into a fragile state. It is in these parts of Sudan that the revolution feels non-existent.
As if this was not going to be challenging enough, the coronavirus pandemic is spreading rapidly through Sudan, slowing down the revolution even more. Sudan’s long-term prospects appear to be gloomier than they were just a few months ago.
The clouds may yet part. The younger generation of Sudanese grew up only knowing regime rule. They have tasted freedom. For many of them, there is no going back. They are willing to risk everything, including their lives, to move Sudan forward. And while the old guard regime and their attached business interests haven’t changed at all, even the generals and security heads seem to be aware that, at least in the short term, they should at least give the illusion of playing along to avoid another massive uprising.
And that leaves us: those who are looking into Sudan from the outside, both worried and hopeful, wondering how to help the changemakers. The Sudanese people have made it clear that they are taking control of their own destiny. That’s how it should be, but we have been asked to help in the Nuba Mountains, where the revolution remains unfelt.
In the background of everything you just read is Sudan’s next generation of leaders. Children living in the Nuba Mountains and nearby Yida Refugee Camp have grown up only knowing war. Most do not have access to a quality classroom. Their education will be what helps carry Sudan’s revolution forwards in the decades ahead.
Operation Broken Silence sponsors 24 Nuba teachers in Yida Refugee Camp. We’re the only organization in the world supporting teachers here. If you want to sustain these Sudanese changemakers during this time of uncertainty, I encourage you to join our campaign. If you can’t do that, help us spread the word.
About Us
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We focus on empowering Sudanese change makers and their critical work. Learn more here.
Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Give today.
About Mark
Mark Hackett is the Executive Director of Operation Broken Silence. He works with our Sudanese partners and oversees our daily operations.
Mark is one of only a few Americans to have been on the frontlines in the Nuba Mountains during the war.
An Update From Our Executive Director
An update on the situation in Sudan and our mission in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hello supporters,
It’s been a few weeks since we provided an update on our work in light of the coronavirus pandemic. A lot has happened since then, but we’ve made modest headway. Now that our footing is more certain, I want to provide you new information and some insight into how we are moving forward.
Sudan & Our Mission
Most of you know that we have downsized to survive the pandemic’s economic fallout. Our mission remains steadfast, but we’ve instituted a 60% budget cut across the organization, reduced staff hours and pay, and departed our offices.
Meanwhile in Sudan, COVID-19 is spreading faster than the disease is in most other countries. The infection rate is doubling every 10 days. The actual number of cases is certainly much higher. 30 years of extremist regime rule has left Sudan with a decimated healthcare system and limited testing capacity.
Right now, there are no reported COVID-19 cases in the Nuba Mountains and nearby Yida Refugee Camp. This is one of Sudan’s liberated areas, where armed rebels have pushed genocidal regime forces out of large swaths of the region. There are no ICU beds or ventilators in the Nuba Mountains. The rebel government has sealed off access to the region and shuttered markets and main roads. A major coronavirus outbreak in Nuba, where decades of regime oppression has created poor humanitarian conditions, would be catastrophic. Prevention is the only option.
It’s been a hard few weeks for sure. But there are rays of hope.
Since mid-March, Operation Broken Silence has not had a strategic plan, something we traditionally rely on. This was a purposeful decision. As the global pandemic unfolded, we needed the freedom to move quickly and make immediate progress against the chaos.
Our leadership’s focus has been growing the core of our movement: The Renewal. I can now report to you that this decision is leading to positive results. The size of our monthly giving family is growing at its fastest rate in our history. We still have a long road ahead, but we are trending in the right direction.
What Comes Next
Operation Broken Silence will not have a strategic plan for the remainder of 2020. The scientific consensus seems to be that the world will experience rolling outbreaks and shutdowns until there is a widely-distributed vaccine. We will be hit with more financial shocks and programming challenges in the months ahead. Our annual series of high-impact summer Brand Partnership events will most likely not be taking place. Embracing these hard realities is how we will come out stronger on the other side.
Last night our Board of Directors approved what we’re calling our Rebuilding Guide. I want to emphasize that this is a guide, not a plan. It sets benchmarks for when we can make decisions on accelerating funds to programs, return staffing to pre-pandemic levels, and rebuild our emergency cash reserves. Even when these benchmarks are met, we may decide to temporarily hold back on moving to the next phase if macro-economic, security, or health conditions appear unusually unstable in this already unstable time.
In the coming months we will see waves of generous donations that are followed by periods of giving famine. We’ve already been through two of these cycles. This is why our leadership’s focus will remain on growing The Renewal family.
Our goal remains 200 new Renewal members on the Do Justice campaign. Reaching this goal is at the core of our Rebuilding Guide. More monthly giving will cushion incoming financial shocks on our Sudanese partners. This may be the hard thing to do, but it’s the right thing to do. If you aren’t in a position to give monthly, you can help by spreading the word online.
Operation Broken Silence will be around for the long haul. For our staff, working here is our dream job. The world has become a more difficult place, but we believe in the strong connection between all of the teachers in Yida, ourselves, and you: our wonderful movement. We can't express enough how much we appreciate your support.
Onwards,
Mark C. Hackett
Executive Director
Operation Broken Silence
May 2020 Mother of Mercy Hospital Update
An update from the team at Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan.
In October 2016, Operation Broken Silence launched the Heart of Nuba Campaign. This online fundraising movement supports Mother of Mercy Hospital in the oppressed Nuba Mountains of Sudan. Here’s a recent story from Dr. Tom:
Hi friends,
I wish you could meet Ali in person. He just finished interning with me here at Gidel Hospital and has graduated as a clinical officer. He has a big smile and an even bigger heart. His gentle compassion and commitment to serving his people makes him one of my favorite people that I’ve worked with.
I actually first met Ali when he came to the hospital as a patient suffering from appendicitis. He needed emergency surgery and we were able to save his life. He says that experience is what made him pursue medicine.
Ali grew up in an area in Sudan called Western Jebel and saw firsthand, as a child, the trauma and devastation of the war there. Healthcare at that time was non-existent and he saw people dying without anyone to help.
Thankfully, with Gidel Hospital and our team here, that is no longer the case.
“Initially, it was very difficult for the Nuba population to reach any health services,” said Ali. “And this is the only hospital that is able to perform major surgery in the region.”
Ali and I went on rounds together, he diagnosed patients and helped me during operations.
Ali would like to pursue further schooling and study psychiatry. He’s lived through two wars and has seen many soldiers and families who experience post-traumatic stress and feels called to help them improve their mental health.
It’s really been a blessing to have someone like him to work alongside and gives me great hope for the future of Nuba. He is now being posted in another part of Nuba where he will be the only clinical officer for a very large area. Having local people trained and equipped to take care of their community is essential for the long-term sustainability of the hospital and healthcare system here. Ali says his favorite part of the job is knowing he is serving his people and getting to see their faces when they leave healed and well.
Thank you for your support, which makes it possible to train and teach Ali and others like him. Because of your compassion, the families here have hope for a better future.
Even as we’re caring for patients, we’re also working hard to prepare for the possibility of COVID-19 here in Nuba.
We’re grateful for your prayers and help in this season and are continuing to keep you and your loved ones in our prayers as well.
Thank you,
Dr. Tom Catena
CoVID-19 Update
Mother of Mercy is the only referral hospital in the Nuba Mountains.
They have no personal protection equipment, hand sanitizer, or simple soap. There are no ICU beds and no ventilators. And now the coronavirus pandemic has reached Sudan.
Prevention is absolutely critical to protecting the already vulnerable Nuba people. The Nuba rebel government has closed entry points into the mountains, shuttered markets and roads, and is restricting access to the few schools in the area. The hospital staff are making masks out of spare pieces of cloth. Dr. Tom has made the stakes clear: "If the virus reaches us here, we will be in dire straits."
Simply put, the team at Mother of Mercy Hospital needs you now more than ever. If you are in a position to help, please choose a way to get involved:
About Nuba
The Nuba Mountains are home to roughly 100 African tribal groups who have lived there for over 2,000 years.
The one million Christian, Muslim, and traditionalist Nuba people live in harmony together.
Sadly, the Nuba way of life has been in danger for decades. Sudan’s military and extremist regime officials have long viewed the Nuba people as a threat to their iron-fisted rule. The military and their extremist paramilitary allies have committed two genocides in the region since the 1990s.
Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a military coup in April 2019. Sudan now has a fledgling transitional government that is supposed to be moving the country toward civilian, democratic rule. This new government has not lifted the humanitarian blockade on the Nuba Mountains, nor has a permanent peace been achieved. A fragile ceasefire is in place right now, but war clouds still loom over the Nuba Mountains.
Operation Broken Silence focuses on the Nuba Mountains and nearby Yida Refugee Camp. We are one of the hospital’s financial partners. Your generous support is essential for the team at the hospital. Learn more about our mission here.
Your #GivingTuesdayNow Results
Here’s what you accomplished on the emergency day of global giving and unity.
Hello supporters,
Yesterday, we joined together with other nonprofits for #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of emergency giving and volunteering. Here’s what you accomplished for 24 Sudanese teachers in Yida Refugee Camp.
84% Goal REACHED
Our #GivingTuesdayNow purpose was welcoming 50 new members into The Renewal, our family of monthly givers. We came up a little short, but you made really good progress.
YOU SURPRISED US
We weren’t expecting you to make one-time donations, start fundraising pages or spread the word. You did anyway.
Two of you even took initiative and started campaigns to raise support for the teachers in Yida. It never gets old watching our movement leap into action.
What Comes Next
As we wrap up #GivingTuesdayNow, this is a great opportunity to look to the next few months.
The road to sustaining our teachers in Yida through the pandemic has more challenges ahead. We’ll only face them down if we stick together.
Every summer we have a series of brand partnership and private events. Most of these high-impact fundraising activities won't be taking place this year due to the pandemic.
Unlike when we were forced to postpone our annual gala in March, we are aware that this fight is coming. The good news is that we know how to overcome it. By August, we will need 200 monthly givers on the Do Justice campaign. It’s going to be an uphill battle.
Your support on #GivingTuesdayNow helped lay early groundwork for us to tackle this summer. We’re grateful that you are still showing up for the teachers in Yida. Stay safe. Talk to you soon.
Onwards,
Mark C. Hackett
Executive Director
Operation Broken Silence
About Us
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We focus on empowering Sudanese change makers and their critical work. Learn more here.
Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Give today.
#GivingTuesdayNow Is May 5. Get Involved.
#GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020. Here’s how you can be a part of it.
Every person on the planet has been touched by the coronavirus pandemic, including the uninfected. On May 5, 2020, nonprofits will band together for #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of emergency giving and volunteering. We’re proud to be a part of this effort.
How COVID-19 Has Damaged Our Mission
Since March, we have seen a 60% drop in funding for the wonderful programs we support in Sudan. We’ve said farewell to our office space, reduced staffing hours and pay, and cancelled the nonessential services we use.
The pandemic is also impacting the bigger picture in Sudan. The country’s painful move toward peace and democracy is in serious jeopardy. Rumors that an imminent regime coup against the transitional government are spreading like wildfire. Obviously, there are the health impacts of what the pandemic can unleash in Sudan, where healthcare capacity ranges from poor to nonexistent.
#GivingTuesdayNow is an opportunity for us to band together, stop the bleeding, and lay the groundwork for a comeback. The Renewal has always been the core of our movement. Growing our family of monthly givers is the smartest thing we can do to shield our programs from additional damage.
Between now and May 5, we need 50 of you to start giving at least $10 a month as Renewal members. This will help plug the sizable teacher pay gap at our schools in Yida Refugee Camp. Will you join us?
Can’t give monthly?
Here are a few other ways you can help.
Give Once. A one-time donation buys us time to grow The Renewal family and puts extra cash into our programs right now. GIVE HERE.
Become A Fundraiser. If you aren’t in a position to give from your wallet, will you give us the gift of your time? You can start an online fundraising campaign and ask your friends to donate! START A CAMPAIGN HERE.
Raise Awareness Online. Download our #GivingTuesdayNow Awareness Kit to share our photos on social media and ask friends to get involved. DOWNLOAD HERE.
We’re Here for You
Your anxieties and fears are relevant. We share many of them with you.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve talked to several of our supporters about how this pandemic has changed your lives and our work. I share many of the concerns you do, but I also find comfort in our mission. Steadfastness is the best remedy for chaos, even if it means taking things one day at a time. Our mission remains changed.
Still, these are hard times. There is no going back to normal whenever this moment ends. This pandemic is exploiting the weaknesses of our world, be it here in the United States or around the globe in Sudan. Preparing now for a more resilient future is one of the best things we can do together, even as we are apart.
Our board, staff, and Sudanese partners are thinking about all of you. Feel free to reach out if you have questions or ideas about our #GivingTuesdayNow plans. Talk to you soon.
Onward,
Mark C. Hackett
Executive Director
Operation Broken Silence
About Us
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We focus on empowering Sudanese change makers and their critical work. Learn more here.
Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Give today.
Serving The Most Vulnerable During COVID-19
In the midst of a global health crisis, roughly one million people in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan lack easy access to what they need most: quality healthcare and education services.
In the midst of a global health crisis, roughly one million people in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan still lack easy access to what they need most: quality healthcare and education.
Access to medical care and primary/secondary education does exist. In the heart of the Nuba Mountains sits Mother of Mercy Hospital, the only referral medical facility in the region. In nearby Yida Refugee Camp, the Endure Primary and Renewal High Schools serve nearly 1,300 students a year.
Operation Broken Silence has been providing financial support to all three of these critical institutions for years. Nuba nurses and teachers have certainly made great strides, but many people in the Nuba Mountains still live without a robust safety net.
NUBA & COVID-19
This isolated and little-known area of Sudan sits near the border with South Sudan. COVID-19 poses unique challenges here.
The Nuba Mountains are home to roughly 100 African tribal groups who have lived there for over 2,000 years. The one million Christian, Muslim, and traditionalist Nuba people live in harmony together.
Sadly, the tolerant Nuba way of life is in danger. The Sudanese government has committed two genocides here since the 1990s. A fragile ceasefire is in place right now.
People in the Nuba Mountains have limited access to soap and hand washing. Nuba is an agrarian and pastoral culture. If people don’t work, they don’t eat. Underlying health conditions, cancer, and preventable diseases are common. These realities make the spread of COVID-19 especially terrifying for those we serve.
OUR COVID-19 RESPONSE
Safety is our top priority.
As always, the safety of our staff and Sudanese partners is our top priority. Our staff is working from home and will do so for the foreseeable future. Our partners in Sudan are following local guidelines to help keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.
Coronavirus has reached Sudan. The case number is small, but the country’s healthcare sector is in poor condition after 30 years of extremist rule. So far though, there have been no COVID-19 cases reported in the Nuba Mountains or Yida Refugee Camp. We’re still anticipating our work will be impacted in four areas:
1. Security. Sudan’s transitional government is fragile. We’ve always expected that regime elites will try to regain their dictatorial power. A serious coronavirus outbreak could be the chaotic moment they are waiting for.
2. Adaptation. Our Sudanese partners will most likely have to tweak their activities to promote infection control. This is especially true for Mother of Mercy Hospital, which is uniquely positioned to help the local population if coronavirus does spread to the Nuba Mountains.
3. Access. All of our partners have already reported travel restrictions, delays, or changes. We expect supply chains will be disrupted. It’s possible our schools in Yida Refugee Camp will be forced to temporarily close depending on government requirements.
4. Funding. We are already seeing severe disruptions in funding for these programs. Now, more than ever, we need to come together to protect the most vulnerable.
These are difficult times, but we are moving forward with our usual determination. We are working diligently every day to mitigate the impacts this global health crisis has on our work. A long road lies ahead, but we are as committed as ever to see the day that every single Nuba community is safe, healthy, and thriving.
Extra Benefits For Giving Now
Underneath the CARES Act, there are new benefits for making a donation right now.
On March 26, 2020, the United States government passed the CARES Act as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. For 2020, the limitation on how much of your charitable gifts you can deduct has been lifted. Previously, it was a maximum of 60% for cash donations and 50% for non-cash gifts. Under the CARES Act, these limitations have been removed for federal income tax purposes.
Additionally, anyone who donates up to $300 to our work can deduct it against other income for 2020, even if you don’t itemize. This is considered an Above the Line deduction.
Simply put, this is a fantastic time to give.
Additional Ways To Give
Donate Part Of Your Relief Check. If the pandemic hasn’t affected your livelihood and you are anticipating a federal relief check, donating your check will help people who do need extra support. If you need to take care of your own bills, please do that.
How much you give is up to you. We recommend spending some of your relief check at your favorite local businesses. You can support our work too. GIVE ONLINE HERE ➾
Give By Check, DAF, or Stock. If you prefer donating by check, make one payable to Operation Broken Silence and mail to P.O. Box 770900 Memphis, TN 38177-0900. This also applies to gifts from donor-advised funds (DAFs). Learn about investment giving here.
Give Monthly. Finally, we are strongly encouraging online monthly giving. Our monthly donors are the life support to our programs in Sudan right now. We have a new monthly giving campaign for the 24 teachers we sponsor in Yida Refugee Camp.
Even if all you can spare is $10 a month, please sign up to give. The Sudanese we partner with need your consistent support now more than ever. Your giving makes the magic happen.
Coronavirus Assets
Help us spread the word as you work from home!
You can share our new campaign video, Do Justice, on social media too:
About Us
Operation Broken Silence is building a global movement to empower the Sudanese people through innovative programs as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We focus on empowering Sudanese change makers and their critical work. Learn more here.
Donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. Give today.