In a dusty courtyard between sepia-colored mountain slopes, bright-eyed children in gray uniforms sing about respecting God and their elders. Their voices are high and clear, but the littlest struggle to clap along in time.

This is Our Father’s Cleft, a school and children’s home in the Nuba Mountains, a vast range spanning some 30,000 square miles in the borderland area between the conflict-racked countries of Sudan and South Sudan. Large numbers of children began arriving at Our Father’s Cleft after Sudan’s third civil war erupted in April 2023 – a testament to how many families have been torn apart as the fighting has spawned the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

Director Ezekiel Ayub, who applauds the singers on this hot February day, works with his staff to provide shelter, education, and care to the children.…