In war-torn areas of South Sudan most households are female led with an average of ten family members needing support. Having employment opportunities is essential for these mothers to provide food, health and education for their families.
Our project with charity partner Loreto Rumbek aims to support vulnerable families in the community of Maker Kuei in Rumbek centre by providing employment opportunities for mothers at the Loreto Rumbek compound, food provision for the wider families, educational scholarships and healthcare for the children.
The women leading the family will receive a decent paying job where they will be engaged in compound maintenance or in the school garden. As the female family members are empowered by having access to a job to uplift their family incomes, the project will also provide food support for the identified families, particularly for the children. Food scarcity is a common challenge in the community, market food prices are often high and unpredictable making access to this basic need very difficult. While these families typically have ten members this can often be higher with relatives, in laws and step siblings also cohabiting. The additional food support will comprise of maize, beans, cooking oil and salt which will contribute towards the food security of these households.
Children from the identified families will also receive educational support in the form of a partial scholarship to the Loreto primary school. Two children from each family will receive this support.
Children in South Sudan also suffer due to the low access to healthcare in the community with most of the health facilities in the country being poorly stocked or destroyed during conflict. This project will also include access to healthcare for children up to thirteen years old at the Mary Ward Primary Health Care Centre.