World Vision South Sudan

We celebrate the inauguration of the three Watershed Management Committees last week in Aweil East and Aweil Centre, in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state. This achievement is part of the Watershed Approaches for Climate Resilience in the Agro-pastoral Landscapes Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility through UNDP and implemented by World Vision in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.   Each committee has 15 members, including representatives from local communities, government secondees, churches, and community-based organizations. Their role will be to manage water resources effectively and ensure the smooth operation of related initiatives.   Together, we can protect our environment and provide our communities with access to sufficient clean water! World Vision World Vision East Africa #resilience #climateaction #SDG 6 #SDG13 #SDG15 #SouthSudan

Today the world unites for one cause the 16 Days of Activism against #GenderBasedViolence as we raise awareness of this harmful vice that continues to eat into our society. I can't help but reflect on one moment that tore at my heart, which continues to haunt me from my recent visit to South Sudan. I interacted with Fatoumata (not her real name) whose friend pulled me to the side as I was chatting with some children. Fatoumata’s friend told me that Fatou needed help. When I asked what help she required, the friend said to me I should just talk to Fatou.  It was then that she led me to a room where I found Fatou.  It was here that Fatou opened her heart and shared with me a heart-wrenching encounter of how she had been raped by 3 men in East Darfur in her home. This was while her five children watched. She was raped in the presence of her husband too, who was held at gunpoint by a fourth man. She was subjected to other sexual abuse that is just too graphic and horrific to print. After the rape, her husband was shot dead at point blank rage in front of Fatou and her children. She says to this day she still hears his screams of agony as he struggled to protect her. She also hears the helpless screams of her children. She weeps as she narrates this painful ordeal to me. I have never felt so helpless and at a loss of how to comfort her. She told me that the image of that night replays over and over again in her head, and even after she finally managed to flee East Darfur with her 5 children, she still is very traumatized and afraid of an attack every night. She said her children are also traumatized.  Fatou and her children are all receiving psychosocial support in the refugee settlement, however, she and her children still need continued support on their journey to recovery. I will continue to uplift her and her children in prayers, as well as check on her progress. What is unfortunate is that there are so many women in Sudan and in various refugee camps who have lived the same experience and have a similar, traumatising story to tell. This is the ugly side of the Sudanese war, where rape is being used as a weapon of war against women and girl children.  In these 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we  World Vision call for an end to sexual violence and abuse of women and girl children in Sudan and around the world. They should not be targeted. Let us #UNITE! And Invest to prevent #violence against women and girls.   🌍❤️ #RefugeeSupport #WorldVision #UNHCR #16daysofactivism #NoExcuse #orangeworld #SDG5 #16Days

Thank you for your meaningful visit, Lilian Dodzo. We appreciate you highlighting the transformative impact of #schoolmeals on children’s well-being and school performance. We were honored to have you with us last week. World Vision World Vision East Africa

As the Convention of the Rights of the Child celebrates its 35th #WorldChildrensDay anniversary, World Vision is drawing attention to an urgent global regression in children’s rights.     Too many #children face preventable risks—death, hunger, abuse, exploitation, and inadequate education.     Together, we say #Enough to these challenges. By ensuring children are involved and prioritised in decision-making processes we can build a brighter and safer future for every child.     It is time to act and protect every child's future.  Read more here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dMUDmCJb   #CRC35 #AllForChildren

I just returned from an eye-opening trip to the Wedweil Refugee Settlement in Aweil West, South Sudan, where I witnessed incredible resilience and hope amidst challenging conditions. During our visit, Michael Messenger, President and CEO, World Vision Canada, the World Vision South Sudan team, and I met with Sudanese refugees, engaging with them and listening to their voices. Still engraved in my head are the voices of children running around, some playing and others screaming, and the beautiful smiles of hope. Speaking to some of them my heart wells up in pain. All they ask is for peace so they can go back home, see their friends, and go back to school! A harsh reality as the conflict in Sudan continues. Since the crisis in Sudan erupted in April last year, Wedweil Refugee Settlement has hosted over 13,000 refugees from Sudan. Our efforts include child protection, mental health support, WASH initiatives, and education programs to help build sustainable livelihoods.  As we continue to scale up our response, we call on all parties to the conflict to agree on a cessation of hostilities and promote unhindered humanitarian action and the protection of civilians.

Last week, we had the honour of hosting World Vision Canada President and CEO Michael Messenger and World Vision East Africa Regional Leader Lilian Dodzo. Together with the World Vision South Sudan team led b Mesfin Loha, Country Director, and Dorance Cooper, Operations Director, they experienced firsthand the transformative impact of school meals on children, the role of resilience programs in community development, and our efforts to support displaced individuals from Sudan. They participated in the school feeding program at Dr. John Garang Primary School in Juba. This school is one of 21 in Central Equatoria where World Vision and the World Food Programme implement the School Feeding Programme. Providing meals at school has significantly increased enrollment, improved student retention rates, and enhanced academic performance. Currently, the school has an enrollment of 1,442 students. They also spent a few days in Aweil, where they were warmly welcomed by women, youth, and members of community groups supported by the Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada-funded Fortifying Equality and Economic Diversification for Resilience (FEED II) Project. The community members demonstrated how the tools, training, and other support from the project have helped them establish sustainable sources of income while enhancing gender equality and community empowerment. During their visit to Aweil, Michael, Lilian, and the World Vision South Sudan team went to the Wedweil Refugee Settlement, where they listened to and interacted with refugees from Sudan. The settlement currently hosts over 14,000 refugees. World Vision is working alongside UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency to track refugee movements daily at the border points and connect this information directly to the UNHCR server. This collaboration facilitates transportation from the border to the refugee settlement camp and aids in capturing biometrics and profiling of the refugees, which informs decision-making regarding food distributions, non-food items, and other necessary interventions. World Vision has been providing essential services, including child protection, mental health and psychosocial support, gender-based violence awareness raising and sensitisation, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) initiatives—such as the construction of water yards, hygiene promotion, and the distribution of dignity kits—as well as education and food security programs to support the refugees’ livelihoods. #SchoolMeals #schoolFeeding #ENOUGH #SDG2 #Zerohunger #SudanCrisis #communityempowerment #genderequality #FEEDII World Vision Sudan Hailu Tolasa Badhane Diwa Gacosta

Thank you, Michael Messenger, for helping bring the issue of child hunger among South Sudanese children to the world's attention. We can end child hunger in South Sudan and the rest of the world if we all act now. #Enough #SDG2 #ZeroHunger #G20Summit

Starting this Monday, the #G20Summit will begin. Let's get Canada to take a stance on global child hunger by investing in school meals! Here's a glimpse of the positive impact of school meals for children in Juba, South Sudan, from our President Michael Messenger. For every $1 invested in school meals, communities reap $9 in economic benefits. Investing in school meals means investing in a positive global future. Take action along with us by sending a message to our government leaders that Canada needs to step up today: https://lnkd.in/gm-jCjqj #ENOUGH #education #advocacy #globalcitizenship

Joint human and animal vaccination programs (JHAVPs) are interventions that have been known to improve health care access and outcomes among livestock and pastoral communities, like those in Kapoeta East County of #SouthSudan. These individuals live in hard-to-reach areas, making it difficult to access routine health services, such as immunization and other primary health care services.   The World Vision led CORE Group Partner’s Project (#CGPP) often implements Global Health Security (GHS) activities, such as JHAVPs, to reduce the spread of zoonotic diseases across countries like South Sudan. GHS is similar to the #OneHealth approach, which works to coordinate interventions related to human, animal, and environmental health.   Take a look at CGPP's results from their most recent JHAVP in the cattle camps of Kapoeta. A total of 3,627 people and 62,154 livestock were vaccinated and treated against various communicable diseases.   #HumanHealth #AnimalHealth #EnvironmentalHealth #CommunityHealth World Vision World Vision East Africa

This week, World Vision successfully delivered emergency response medications to returnees and refugees entering South Sudan through Joda Boda in Renk County, Upper Nile. This effort aims to improve the management and treatment of malaria and other communicable diseases that are currently widespread in transit centres. This initiative is part of the Emergency Health Program funded by World Vision USA. We were also pleased to host a visit from the EU in Emergencies (ECHO) team at the transit centre health facility supported by World Vision. The ECHO team witnessed and commended the life-saving interventions provided to the returnees and refugees, particularly for women and children. Additionally, the ECHO team visited the Romello Primary Health Care Unit (PHCU), where they noted the integration of health, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. They saw how emergency responses are blended with routine health service delivery, supported by The World Bank and UNICEF through the Health Sector Transformation Project (HSTP). Through the HSTP, World Vision ensures that returnees and refugees receive secondary health care for severe cases requiring hospital-level management. We maintain a 24/7 referral system to ensure doctors are available at Renk Civil Hospital to address all severe cases. World Vision East Africa Mesfin Loha Stephen Leonard Epiu Dorance Cooper Diwa Gacosta Patrick Mugalula #SudanCrisis #HealthEmergency #SouthSudan