In December 2025, Aluel* walked into a market in Sudan looking for food to bring home to her six children since she was a single parent unfortunately, she never made it back.
Grabbed by force, loaded into a vehicle, and taken against her will, Aluel disappeared leaving behind four boys and two daughters, the oldest just 15, the youngest only 4 years old.
For three months, she had no way to reach them. No phone call. No word. Nothing. Hopeless
"For 3 months, without seeing my children, I wanted to kill myself. I wanted to commit suicide. I moved like a mad woman " She narrated
Meanwhile at home, Peter*, Aluel's eldest son, held himslef together long enough to hold everyone else. He told the younger children what he could “Mum went to get food” whenever asked.
Days passed. Then weeks. The food ran out. People around them were leaving due to the insecurity. The streets of were no longer safe for anyone especially not six children alone.
Peter made a decision no teenager should ever have to make. He gathered her brothers and sisters, the youngest still a toddler, and he walked. Into the unknown. No plan, no map, no guarantee just the belief that staying meant dying.
"We lost hope, because our mother was everything to us. I decided to pick myself up and lead my brothers and sisters out of here. People were killed every day and we didn't have food." Peter*, 15
Days of walking. Exhausted feet. Frightened children. Then a miracle in the shape of a familiar face. A Good Samaritan who recognized them paid for transportation for a large lorry heading toward safety, South Sudan Joda Border.
Before the South Sudan border (Joda) they were received by RED Cross and were registered, they then crossed to South Sudan side, They arrived at Joda with nothing but each other. At the Joda border crossing, IOM received the children and referred them to Save the Children for Family Tracing and Reunification and the team registered them immediately.
They were given blankets, buckets, bedsheets, clothes, and shoes. They received rice, posho, oil, sugar, salt, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, and dignity kits. They were placed with trained foster parents who gave them shelter, safety, and psychosocial support. They attended Child-Friendly Spaces. Slowly, the trauma began to have somewhere to go.
But even as the children received care, hope of finding their mother was fading.
"We didn't know where our mother was. For us, we knew she was killed." Aguer*, one of Aluel's daughters said
Meanwhile, Aluel was living her own nightmare. Released and displaced to Joda, she didn't want to go. She believed her children were still in Sudan. Other mothers told her they had seen children being taken to the South Sudan border, but she couldn't believe it.
Until she had no choice but to cross. At Joda, the Red Cross received her case. A caseworker told her something that made her heart stop and race all at once: Many children have been referred to Save the Children. Your children may be with them.
When she crossed the border, she immediately reached out to Save the Children. The team worked quickly. They took her to the police. Identification was confirmed.
And then the moment. "I first fainted. I couldn't believe my eyes. All six of my children, plus my little last born, all ran to hug me while crying. When I woke up, they were all around me." Aluel* said
Six children. One mother. Three months of separation, terror, and silence erased in an instant of screaming, crying and hugging.
"I can't say much. I can only say God is great, and thank Him for using Save the Children." She added
Upon arrival, the six children were placed in the care of a foster parent, carefully identified and trained by Save the Children caseworkers, ensuring they had not just a roof, but a safe, nurturing presence while they waited to be reunited with their mother.
They were provided with everything Non Food items such as: buckets, blankets, bedsheets, clothes, and shoes and also Food Items such as Lentils, rice, posho, oil, sugar, and salt. Dignity kits. Sleeping mats and mosquito nets were also provided.
With funding from Humanitarian Fund, the children were enrolled in Child-Friendly Space programming, where healing happened through play, art, and community. They received Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, a space to process the fear, the grief, and the uncertainty they had carried for months.
The big girl received dignity kits and attended special sessions addressing the unique challenges and concerns facing young girls in displacement. Together, all six children played games, competed in sports, and expressed themselves through art and craft slowly, gently, reclaiming their childhoods and an ease from trauma.
Today, the family are happy leaving in Renk awaiting transit to their home.
