Preventing Gender-based Violence in South Sudan

IsraAID’s programming in the Palorinya Refugee Settlement in Moyo District provides Child Protection and basic educational services to the local population. Close to 330,000 individuals live in the area, including refugees and the host community, made up of 65% children under the age of 17. With 74% of households reporting that at least one member lacks the psychological care they need, protection services are crucial to provide urgent support. Uganda hosts more than 1.2 million refugees, just under one third of all refugees worldwide, and the highest number in Africa. 67% of these refugees are from neighboring South Sudan, where war and civil strife forced them from their homes; others are from the DRC, Burundi, Somalia, and Rwanda.

IsraAID’s team on the ground improves community-based Child Protection mechanisms, by providing daily activities for children in our Child Friendly Space (CFS). The CFS’ implementation model is designed to involve community members directly in ensuring that children have the resources they need to learn and grow.

Over the past months, IsraAID, thanks to the generous support from our partners, has begun to construct a new CFS, which will allow us to reach new families and children in need of support. Upon completion, this CFS will have capacity to host an average of 150 children per day, 6 days a week, for 8 hours per day. Daily programming in basic numeracy/literacy, recreational activities, sports, expressive arts, and psychosocial support will be implemented by refugee and host-community facilitators who have undergone intensive psychosocial and child protection training with IsraAID staff. In addition, the CFS will be used as an outreach hub to engage the wider community in the importance of Child Protection and advocate for education.

Currently, the building process is well underway, with the foundation set and the structures beginning to take shape. After the site was cleared of trees, bushes, and hills, the foundation’s pit was dug for the two-classroom block, as well as the latrine. The foundation and column base was set, made of concrete, and the brick for the walls is currently being laid for the classrooms. The latrine block is completed, with an iron roof. The steel casement for the doors have been fitted, and are awaiting painting, which will take place three weeks after the plaster surfaces have cured and been set. The external walls of the latrines are finished with
rough cast, to protect them from the effects of weathering. The latrines also have a gutter connection from the roof, a vent pipe to prevent bad odors, and a handwashing tank has been constructed next to the latrines.

Following a few issues with which  authorities had jurisdiction of the land (now resolved), the most significant challenge during this period was bad weather. Heavy rains slowed down the process of transporting materials to the construction site and delayed the contractor’s ability to keep up with the schedule. Although this has postponed the CFS’s launch date, the wet weather has helped to cure the CFS’s walls, which in the long term, will make the building far more durable and weather resistant.

In addition, the contractor faced some difficulty in employing a sufficient number of workers, which further slowed down the work. IsraAID staff stepped in, seeing this as an opportunity, and recruited local community members to support the process. Not only does this help speed up the process, but it also bolsters local ownership of the CFS.

Concurrent to the construction of the new CFS, IsraAID’s regional Protection team also trained the new, and existing, CFS facilitators from the refugee and host community. The training included Psychological First Aid (PFA), elements of Child  Protection, the Protection referral system, how to operate CFS and more!

Thank you for your support!!

Conflict, consistent drought, and widespread poverty in East Africa have left more than 22 million people in need of assistance to acquire adequate food. The ongoing civil conflict in South Sudan has especially exacerbated refugee crises and food shortages throughout the region. While 2018 received heavy regional rains that benefited cropland, the flooding was also devastating for individuals and livestock, causing widespread damage and intensifying local needs. Furthermore, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network has predicted that 2019 will see further erosion of household income, purchasing power, and food security, with widespread implications for millions in Yemen, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan.

40km northwest of Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement exists to help accommodate the severe overflow of refugees at the nearby camp. Both the settlement and the camp consistently increase in size as families flee from neighboring countries, including South Sudan, Burundi, and Rwanda. For many refugees, life in the camp or settlement is the only life they know. IsraAID continues to work in both Kakuma and Kalobeyei, focusing its efforts on empowering women and youth, offering support to the most vulnerable within the camp.

Dozens of community members and representatives from our partners, including the Latter Day Saints Charities, gathered at the recent opening of a new Child Resource Center in Kalobeyei! Annet, the IsraAID Field Coordinator at the camp and settlement, commenced the ceremony with enthusiastic remarks. The road to the opening of the Child Resource Center in Village III of Kalobeyei had been paved with growing pains and challenges. Nevertheless, the collective desire of everyone involved to create a child-friendly environment in Village III had fueled the perseverance of the community. As Annet spoke, I scanned the audience. The newly built Center was full of excited individuals, but nearly all of them were men. The gender composition of the room was an unexpected shock. Every time I had seen a child with an adult, it was his or her mother. I was encouraged to see the men so eager to engage in matters of child protection.

The event continued with remarks from our various partners. Eventually, I noticed that the center was becoming a bit noisy. Not only was there an increase in volume, there was also a shift in the energy of the room. It didn’t take me long to identify the source—a crowd of children had formed just outside, and accompanying the children, their mothers. The women might have been late for any number of reasons. Perhaps they were occupied caring for their young children, or maybe had some chores to finish before joining the ceremony.

Groups of kids peeked into the Child Resource Center to catch a glimpse of the action. Though they might not understand the mechanics of the Center’s construction, the children seemed to understand that this place had been created for them. The speakers remarked about the importance of Child Resource Centers, not just for their role in bringing the community together, but for their ability to safeguard the refugees’ hopes for the future. While many refugees have come to terms with spending their entire lives in Kakuma or Kalobeyei, they’re wholeheartedly hopeful that their children will have access to more. The establishment of a safe space for children to simply be children serves as a foundation for this hope.

Thank you for your support!

Yunny is currently attending George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. She is one of two IsraAID Humanitarian Fellows volunteering in Kenya for summer 2019.