Children under the care of Juba orphanage are pictured at their morning prayer. (Photo: Joice Evans/Eye Radio.)

The Director-General of Juba Orphanage said the charity center has stopped admitting children below two years under its care, due to inadequate feeding and the challenges of their long-distant caretakers.

Angelo Kenyi said lack of milk and other baby feedings, has now compelled them to only admit orphaned children who are three years and above.

Speaking to Eye Radio on Saturday, Kenyi said other challenges facing the orphanage include payment of school fees, electricity bills and incentive for social workers.

“For the first time, we were not admitting children from the age of two years to zero, we stopped this issue because we don’t have the infant milk, the biscuits for the small kids is not there,” he told Eye Radio.

“We are lacking a lot of food or the problem of the food and then the problem of movement specially those mothers because they are coming from far places.”

Kenyi said they are only admitting children above two years, who can eat beans and other adult food.

The charity center is one of the only government-run orphanages housing children from nearly all the 10 states.

Currently, it hosts 68 children including 29 girls and 40 boys – all aged from two years and above. It also has 30 social workers taking care of the children.

The government has allocated a budget of 200,000 South Sudanese Pounds per month to the orphanage.

However, Kenyi said they have gone for seven months without receiving the amount and added that they are depending on well-wishers and churches charities in Juba.

“We do not have a stable organization that supports these children with foodstuffs. Even the government that are with us, they did not bring a food cart here even once. It never happened. The government supposed to give us to 200,000ssp, but this money up to now is not coming.” ” he said.

“As for these children, we only depend in God. Our churches of South Sudan especially Juba they didn’t close their eyes about these children and our Christians individuals who are working with ministries they also didn’t close their eyes, they comes two, three and four.”

Kenyi said the lack of finance to run the orphanage resulted in the death of a 6-year-old girl in July this year.

But he said despite the challenges, the children are schooling in primary and secondary levels, and that six of them have so far joined the three public universities.