South Sudan 10 Year Anniversary: ‘Violence Destroyed My Hometown, My Shop… and Now There Is No Water’
Picking up the pieces is sadly routine for people such as Roda whose teashop was destroyed by fighting — the World Food Programme is at hand but requires urgent funds to assist
With her bare hands, Roda clears debris and forages scraps from her wrecked teashop after attackers scorched Gumuruk, a town in the Greater Jonglei region where conflict frequently disrupts daily life and stifles progress.
The 36-year-old mother of six is just one of countless South Sudanese stuck in a tiring cycle of destruction and rebuilding.
Roda’s teashop is — or was — situated in the heart of a local market in Gumuruk. Made of a few simple metal sheets held together on the unpaved ground, before the attack it was a place where locals could enjoy each other’s company over the steady supply of sweet, warming tea.
The World Food Programme (WFP) and other UN agencies have been on the ground in South Sudan since it first gained its independence on 9 July 2011, providing millions of people with a lifeline of food and nutritional assistance, and helping them achieve the dream of developing their nation.
In many parts of South Sudan, a country of 12.2 million people, women, men and children have benefited from food security projects as well as WFP’s long-term programmes such Food Assistance For Assets and an extensive school feeding initiative.
This year, WFP plans to reach 5.3 million people with food assistance and over 730,000 people with livelihoods projects which build resilience against shocks and promote self-reliance.
Despite the progress that has been made through these and other ongoing projects, fighting among communities in the country has eroded many of the benefits experienced by South Sudanese, resulting in a host of missed opportunities for the young country.
Roda’s teashop is one example. After working hard to make a living for herself and her children, she is heartbroken by the loss of all her efforts and income.
“There is nothing to be happy about,” she says, tearfully. “Violence destroyed my hometown, my shop. And now — there is no water.”
This is an example of how conflict between communities has wasted resources and opportunities for the people of South Sudan. That’s 10 years of wasted opportunities to grow, develop and build happy and fulfilling lives. It leaves people like Roda, who are working hard to build their lives, stuck in a pattern of one step forward, two steps back.
The constant cycle of building and destruction weighs heavily on the dreams of Roda and many others in South Sudan. No matter how much hard work people put in, instead of being able to build on incremental successes, they find they are back to square one.
“If only the fighting would stop, then maybe a better future will come,” says Roda.
Little can be done to change the past but experience can be used to ensure that the future is brighter for people like Roda and for all South Sudanese people.
As Roda continues to clear the debris from her store, every now and again, her dirt-stained hand finds a small pot or a spoon buried underneath heaps of ash.
“I can still use this,” she says to me while slipping the blackened scrap in a bag she carries at her side. Despite its paltry contents, her resolve grows stronger.
Lives can be saved and improved in South Sudan if sufficient funding is made available. For the next six months, WFP requires US$ 170 million to continue delivering food assistance to the most vulnerable and promoting livelihoods projects which encourage self-reliance.
Click here to DONATE to the World Food Programme
*SOURCE: WFP-World Food Programme. Go to ORIGINAL.
Source: https://human-wrongs-watch.net/2021/07/09/south-sudan-10-year-anniversary-violence-destroyed-my-hometown-my-shop-and-now-there-is-no-water/
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