Stories from the field — updates on our work, our communities, and the people we serve.
Local organisations in South Sudan are often given funds to deliver activities, but rarely given support to grow as institutions. Without strong systems for finance, reporting and safeguarding, even the most committed local organisation struggles to attract funding and stay in the field for the long term.
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Behind every family we reach is a team that makes it happen.
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Too often, displaced communities are told what a project will do for them. Decisions are made in offices far away, and the people most affected are informed only when everything is already decided. The result is projects that do not fit, mistrust over who benefits, and change that disappears when the funding ends.
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In many homes in South Sudan, a girl’s place is still seen as being only at home. Her value is often measured by the work she does in the household or the bride price she may one day bring. Investing in her education can seem, to some families, like money spent on someone who will leave.
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EcoRise South Sudan has successfully executed a major grant disbursement drive providing seed capital to nine women-led enterprise collectives, creating immediate economic opportunities for 90 families under the IREP project supported by QCF and Cohere.
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Somewhere in the audience at the modelling competition, a younger girl was watching. She saw someone who looks like her, from a community like hers, standing proudly in front of the whole school. In that moment, something changed in what she believes is possible for herself.
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Too many South Sudanese girls grow up without a stage. From a young age, many are told to stay quiet, stay home and prepare for marriage. Early marriage, household responsibilities and a lack of role models push too many girls out of school before they ever discover what they are capable of.
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Giving money is the easy part. Making sure it changes lives takes time, presence and follow-up.
Read MoreIn Mangala IDP Camp, many women carry the full weight of their households. They cook, care for children, fetch water and look after the sick, while also trying to find a way to bring in money. Many have skills: they can cook, trade, tailor or brew tea. What they do not have is capital.
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In South Sudan, the rains are becoming harder to predict. They come late, stop early or arrive all at once as floods. For a family that depends entirely on rain-fed farming, one bad season can wipe out everything they have planted.
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Look at this field. Green, full and growing. Not long ago, this was idle land, and the family who farms it had just returned from Kakuma Refugee Camp with almost nothing.
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For a returnee family, a maize field is more than a crop. It is months of meals stored away. It is one less reason to fear the lean season. It is the difference between a child eating twice a day and going to bed hungry.
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At first glance, this is a photo of cucumbers. Look again, and it is a story of a family that refused to give up.
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To protect communities in flood-prone Jonglei State, EcoRise South Sudan has introduced river gauge monitoring and SMS early alerts in partnership with local Climate Champions.
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In Kakuma, every month began the same way: waiting in line for a food ration that kept getting smaller. When differentiated food assistance was introduced, many South Sudanese refugee families found that what they received was no longer enough to last. Some decided that if they were going to struggle, they would rather struggle at home, on their own land.
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For years, Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya was home for thousands of South Sudanese families who fled conflict. Life there was never easy, but the monthly food ration was something families could count on. That changed when differentiated food assistance was introduced. Households were placed into categories, and many saw their rations reduced sharply. For mothers trying to feed several children, a ration that once lasted the month now ran out in days.
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Twenty women GBV survivors have launched sustainable green businesses—from solar lamp assembly to reusable sanitary products—earning steady monthly incomes in Juba.
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Displaced youth in Gorom Refugee Camp are connecting with diaspora mentors and building digital skills in newly established community Talent Labs.
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