Telling the ECSA Story

William Penn said,  A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeable.  This quotes captures the spirit of humanitarian workers. They have freely given themselves to the noble cause of restoring human dignity. The World is a better place because of their work.  One of the ways to appreciate their works is sharing their experiences with the rest of the world. In the spirit of World Humanitarian Day, we would love to indulge you with two stories from our colleagues based in South Sudan. These stories reveal their selfless nature, passion for their work and fulfillment gained while in the line of duty. ENJOY. STORY 1 A man on a mission A lifetime of commitment to protect women and girls’ rights By Patrick Vuonze, CARE South Sudan Since I was young, I defended those who could not stand up for themselves. I would more than once confront others in...

With over 600 people dead, 5,100 injured, approximately 730,000 displaced, and few health centers operational, the dire situation in Sudan is getting worse, with growing health and hunger concerns. The conflict threatens the planting season which is set to begin at the end of May. If the season is missed, the number of people going hungry —at 11 million or 25 percent of the population prior to the current crisis—will increase. Before the conflict, one out of four people in Sudan was going to bed hungry. This additional (and imminent) threat to Sudan’s food system will impact women the most, a reality underscored by a recent analysis by CARE Sudan that found gender imbalances in the country’s existing hunger crises. David Macdonald, CARE Sudan Country Director, said, “With the ongoing crisis, women are eating less. Before the current crisis, 42% of households headed by women had less food compared to 31% of male-headed households. Women are key in the food production chain and with...

   A mother is heeding her child with plumbee nuts at a health facility in Bentiu. B etween January and June 2022, CARE supported Health facilities have treated over 26,000 children . A staggering 63 percent of South Sudan’s population will struggle to survive the peak of this year’s annual ‘lean season’, with 87,000 people predicted to be in catastrophic food crisis category – at the risk of starvation and death - whilst humanitarian agencies are forced to cut services due to lack of funds. According to Benoit Munsch, CARE Managing Deputy Regional Director for Great Lakes, “South Sudan was recently flagged, in a UN WFP/FAO hunger hotspots report , as being on the brink of starvation. The needs and the number of people going hungry are rising, while food assistance programmes are being cut thus leaving huge gaps in humanitarian funding. The current funding gap stands at $529 Million.” Over 7.7 million people are classified in Crisis or worse in South Sudan, with some 3 ...

Ms. Paska Nyaboth Alfred is a Youth and Women Rights Activist. She is the Advocacy Coordinator for the South Sudan Council of Churches. Ms. Nyaboth is a Co-Founder of the Organization for Responsive Governance ORG, a civil society organization keenly involved in monitoring the progress of the implementation of the R-ARCSS. Ms. Nyaboth is one of IGAD Roster of Technical Experts, a pool of individuals providing technical support to Mediators in the IGAD region with a specific focus on inclusivity in mediation processes. She is a member of FemWise-Africa of the African Union, the network of African women mediators and Peacebuilders. She is also a One Young World Ambassador, an international body that recognizes the work of youth globally. Ms. Nyaboth is a researcher, Gender, Mediation, and Conflict Transformation facilitator. She joins Women Deliver class of 2020 to advocate for gender equality, health and rights for girls and women together with 300 advocates globally for the n...