A Christian relief organization says its aid worker kidnapped in May in Sudan’s Darfur region was freed Monday.
Samaritan’s Purse relief worker Flavia Wagner was held hostage for 105 days by kidnappers but now is doing well and looking forward to being reunited with her family in the United States.
“We thank God that Flavia is safe and free,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “We appreciate the help of the government of Sudan and the United States government. “People around the world have been praying for her safety and her release. Today, those prayers have been answered.”
Wagner, 35, was among three Samaritan’s Purse workers kidnapped May 18 when their two-vehicle convoy was stopped by a group of armed men 25 miles southwest of Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur. The other two workers—both Sudanese men—were released one week later.
The people of Sudan suffered through more than two decades of civil war before a fragile peace agreement was reached in 2005, although the situation in Darfur went from bad to worse. Samaritan’s Purse has been helping the people of Sudan since 1997, providing food, shelter, clean water, agriculture assistance, medical aid, education, and vocational training programs, while rebuilding destroyed churches there.
(Read more about their work in Darfur on their website, www.samaritanspurse.org)