Transforming Lives Together: Couples Connect in South Sudan

This innovative approach is part of our revised Men's Engagement Programme curriculum and encourages couples to work together, ensuring a better future for their families.

Here’s how the Couples Connect sessions are making a difference in Betty's life, and many others: 

Displaced from her village during the 2016 crisis in South Sudan, Betty moved to the Ronyi Boma administrative division in Yei River County with her husband and their three children. 

We lacked food, the children were constantly sick due to poor nutrition, and they often missed school.

To make ends meet, Betty borrowed money, sold firewood and opened a small restaurant. Farming, her true passion, was yielding little with her traditional methods due to the poor land conditions.

In March 2023, everything changed when Betty and joined our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme and participated in the pilot sessions for couples.

This pilot initiative aims to evaluate if couples' vocational training can lead to stronger economic outcomes for women compared to women-only vocational training. In addition to the standard agricultural training, which includes modern farming methods, the couples’ training has been adapted to:

• Educate men and women together on how to think about gender-sensitive divisions of labour
• Promote the equitable management of resources
• Foster gender awareness and an understanding how an agricultural family business operates

Each participant received a monthly stipend, a grant upon graduation to start-up their agricultural business, and farming tools and seeds. 

Betty’s story is a testament to the pilot's positive outcomes for women:

With the new farming skills acquired, my husband and I embarked on joint farming.

For the men joining our Couples Connect vocational agricultural training, these sessions form part of a wider Men’s Engagement Programme curriculum, which is helping change patriarchal traditional norms and the perspectives of men in the community.

We spoke to Mawa, a programme participant, who joined our Couples Connect pilot sessions with his wife. He admitted that he had been a traditional, authoritarian husband, and that our programme helped him become a more supportive partner. As the training progressed, he began to appreciate his wife’s contributions and says he learnt the value of working together.

Today, my wife is the major breadwinner, and I support her in every way I can.

The Couples Connect vocational training pilot, paired with our wider Stronger Women, Stronger Nations and Men's Engagement programming, appears to be leading to positive outcomes for couples in South Sudan.

We are in the process of conducting an internal evaluation that will be published later in the year to fully assess the success of the pilot approach. For the time being, this initiative is empowering couples to work together to:

• Enhance family unity: Couples learn to communicate effectively and share responsibilities, strengthening their family bonds.
• Promote financial independence: Participants gain financial management skills and receive grants to start or expand their businesses.
• Encourage modern farming techniques: Couples are trained in modern, practical farming methods to improve crop yields and food security.
• Foster community development: As families thrive, entire communities benefit from increased stability and economic growth.

Betty and Mawa’s stories highlight the impact of this new pilot in South Sudan.

Women for Women International is committed to engaging more couples in South Sudan and beyond. It is with thanks to our global community of supporters that this vital work is possible, helping families build a better future together.