Community centers provide refuge for for South Sudan’s mothers and girls

“As a widow, I find comfort at the women and girls’ community center, meeting other mothers, attending the counseling sessions and other learning activities. It gives me a sense of positivity and mental healing”, shares Ayen, a 26-year-old mother of three.

Tonj South County in South Sudan’s Warrap State’s has been reeling from communal conflicts, often triggered by cattle raids and floods. “I was devastated when I lost my husband to communal conflict. He was our family’s support and breadwinner,” says Ayen.

“I was helpless as a mother. It was a time of disaster for us. Losing my husband distressed me because I had nothing to support my children to survive,” Ayen adds.

Ayen and mothers in the three established women and girls friendly spaces in Greater Tonj gather regularly at the centre to be trained on life skills activities, including knitting bed sheets, bread baking, bead making and hair fileting, among others.

“The activities gave us hope and a fresh start. It enabled me to gather some courage to start working in a saloon and also learn how to knit, which generates good income as people use the locally-made attires for traditional dances,, she shares.

The mothers also received from the Gift-in-Kind (GIK) Project some baby wraps to protect their babies during the season. In some parts of South Sudan, mothers use cow skin to carry their babies and also use it as sleeping mats, since they cannot afford the baby wraps or mattresses.

The activities gave us hope and a fresh start. It enabled me to gather some courage to start working in a saloon and also learn how to knit.

Adeng, 17-year-old mother of one-month old Achiek, shares, “Our mothers used the cow skin to raise and protect us. The same thing should have continued to my children if not for the wraps we received.”

“I certainly feel that my baby is always comfortable and sleeps more which gives me enough time to do my house chores," she adds. 

Another mother, Nyariau, 28, mother of five, says, “The cow skin is our only option as it’s readily available although it so much exposes our children to sicknesses like pneumonia and Malaria during wet season and typhoid in the dry season.”

Nyariau adds, “The baby wrap is soft and fits in every season, that’s important and perfect, but I urge World Vision to extend the support to other mothers to keep their children safe too. For a healthy child gives a mother hope for tomorrow.”

The South Sudan Humanitarian Fund (SSHF) Project aims to equip people with life skills to help them generate some money for their microfinance saving and loaning activities.

Project Manager Joseph Deng said the target is to train and support 15,000 women and girls across greater Tonj Tonj North, South and East counties, all part of South Sudan’s Warrap State.

Story and photos by Scovia Faida Charles Duku, Communications Coordinator