In Nuba language, Kulu means a safe water source or the beginning of a cool water stream where people and animals come to drink and rest. This is the life-giving mission of our organization, an agency committed to the welfare and thriving support of the people of the Nuba Mountains, Sudan. Kulu is a place of true refreshment that is surrounded by gardens of fruits and vegetables. It also surrounded by playgrounds and soccer or football and wrestling fields for the local youths’ recreation.

We are a team of ordinary people that came to exist in response to the egregious human rights violation in the Nuba Mountains region. Those heinous crimes committed by the former Sudan government in its inhuman attempt to obliterate the indigenous populations aiming to take control of their natural resources. Since June 6, 2011, the government has continuously attacked civilians in this southern region and blocked lifesaving humanitarian reliefs entering the devastated areas. As a result, hundreds of thousands of innocent people have lost their lives. The crisis persists to worsen day after day and we cannot keep silent while witnessing our family members, relatives, neighbors and friends suffer and in need of our help. That is why we started making contributions (of as little as $20 per family every month), which we sent to support people in the region. However, we felt we weren’t doing enough by this effort. That is why we formed Kulu Development Organization to mobilize broader support from people of good-will who are compassionate about working to end human suffering around the world. We all can help to change other people’s lives. Our first mission began in October 2011 when the situation became worst due to the government troops’ constant attacks, air strikes and long-range propelled rockets launching into the villages from near by barracks. The government armed forces and militias besieged and blocked all the sources of the basic need suppliers to the entire region. We proposed contribution in which we collected $3,500 and transferred to our representative in Kampala, Uganda where he bought first aid supplies and transported them to the Nuba Mountains. Some of the fund was used to pay school fees for students and medical bills for ill people in Juba, South Sudan. It wasn’t enough but it made a noticeable difference in many innocent lives. We were pleased to work and make at least a little difference in the community.

According to Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLMN), there are 1.6 million people trapped in caves in the Nuba Mountains where relief agencies are not able to reach them due to former Sudanese president, Al Bashir’s blockade order. They depend on the little crops they cultivate during rainy seasons, which lasts four to six months at the most. There is only one mission hospital (Mother Mercy Hospital) with only one doctor for the entire population of the Nuba Mountains. The illiteracy gap is increasingly in an alarming rate due to the isolation, which holds the region behind.

We are extremely anxious about the situation that our people have been experiencing throughout the history of Sudan; therefore, we’re keen to provide resources that will shape their lives for the better.