OUR WORK IN SOUTH SUDAN
Since 2006, Women for Women International - South Sudan has reached more than 21,098 women.
Country Profile - South Sudan
Women's Rights in South Sudan
For generations, South Sudanese women have been raised in conflict and targeted by armed groups for rape and physical violence.
The youngest country in the world, South Sudan’s political stability has been impacted by intercommunal hostility and violent clashes. Just two years after South Sudan’s proclamation of independence in 2011, tensions between ethnic groups and news of an attempted coup led to violent clashes that quickly escalated into a civil war in 2013. The fighting intensified once more in 2016; by 2018, over 400,000 casualties were reported due to clashes born from political violence.
The combination of conflict, floods drought and famine has also created a breakdown in social and family structures. For women and girls, the worsening climate and deforestation places a greater risk on their safety, as they travel to forests in search of firewood to sell and cook with. There, they may encounter roving soldiers who target them for brutal acts of sexual and physical violence. Yet for many women, firewood is a necessity for their livelihoods and to support their families. Today, 7.7 million in South Sudan contend with severe food insecurity.
Women in South Sudan
41%
of women in the programme in 2022 had no formal education before joining
1 in 7
women will die due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth
Source: Concern Worldwide
45%
of girls are married before the age of 18
Source: Concern Worldwide
Our work in South Sudan
Though conflict continues to rack the nation, South Sudanese women are becoming an unstoppable force for change as they are equipped to harness their inner power while connecting with local leadership and each other.
Women for Women International began operating in South Sudan in 2006, working with displaced women and survivors of sexual and physical violence. Our first office was established in Rumbek before relocating to Yei.
We launched our Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme to provide the training, resources and support for women to achieve economic self-sufficiency and social change. Women who join the programme are able to choose and pursue different vocational tracks, including baking sewing and harvesting crops. As they learn to develop businesses and make a profit, they strengthen their skills in earning and saving money to sustain their livelihoods. In turn, they harness the power they hold to transform their lives and communities.
Change Agents Programme
Women advocating in their communities
Through our Change Agents programme, Stronger Women, Stronger Nations programme graduates are prepared to use their power and voice to address the needs of women in their communities. One avenue of their training is speaking to radio listeners in South Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on topics deemed socially controversial, like women’s health and wellness, gender-based violence and civic engagement.
Men's Engagement Programme
Teaching men to become better allies
Men in the community are also engaged as allies to support our work for women’s rights in the community. Through our Men’s Engagement Programme, husbands and male relatives are taught gender equality, and the power of supporting women’s full rights. Our work with women is supplemented by fostering an environment which enables women to reach their full potential.
Impact of your support
Creating real change
- Women's total average savings increased from $0.04 to $20.66
- Percentage of women who have experienced food insecurity in the last month (at the time of survey) decreased from 89% to 31%
- Women's knowledge of forms and impacts of gender-based violence increased from 35% to 95%
- Percentage of women who have spoken up about women's rights in public increased from 1% to 45%
Data collected in 2023.
2,350
women enrolled in the programme in 2022
21,098
women reached since the programme’s inception
2,550
men reached since the inception of the Men's Engagement Programme in South Sudan
Read Nema's Story
When conflict broke out in Nema's hometown in 2016, she and her family were forced to move, displaced within the country. Life became harder, from struggling to find food for her children or pay their school fees, to losing her business capital.
Then, in 2019, Nema joined our programme. She gained the skills, knowledge and resources she needed to rebuild her life and fulfill her dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
CREATE A RIPPLE EFFECT OF CHANGE
"I will continue mobilising other women in the community in utilising the lessons I have learned, and I hope many more of them will be part of the training." - Regina, South Sudan.
With your support we can help more women survivors of war and conflict transform their lives and reach their full potential.
Learn more
Regina
subtitle:
I will continue mobilising other women in the community in utilising the lessons I have learned, and I hope many more of them will be part of the training.
9 JUNE 2022 | i NEWS
Marianne Kajokaya, Women for Women International's Country Director in South Sudan, recently spoke with iNews about the crisis women are currently facing in South Sudan and the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine.
After years of silent suffering, the women of South Sudan are beginning to speak out about rape and sexual violence. Read about how Change Agents are breaking the silence on Violence Against Women over the radio.