Violent tribal clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli of Wulu County in May and June caused 600 people to flee to Makernhoum in Lakes State, where WfWI-Sudan’s CIFI farm is located. Karak Mayik and the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants took the lead in assisting the hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) by enrolling some of the women in the WfWI-Sudan program and buying food and clothing for the others out of their own pockets.

Following a welcomed three-month lull in tribal violence in Lakes State, South Sudan, clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli tribe of Wulu County resumed on May 28th, unleashing a wave of attacks that destabilized the region for a month. As of June 28, the UN reported that the violence had caused the forced displacement of 8,214 in Rumbek and Cueibet in South Sudan, where Women for Women International-Sudan is housed. Women for Women International-Sudan (WfWI-Sudan) has helped thousands of women since its inception in 2007 through its program of support to women survivors of war; but on June 3rd, WfWI-Sudan expanded its humanitarian reach to support some 600 internally displaced persons stranded at the organization’s farm in Makernhoum.

Far from the reaches of the humanitarian crisis that ravages Darfur, Dinka and Wulu rivalries run deep and threaten the security of Lakes State in South Sudan where WfWI-Sudan’s offices are located. Lakes State is one of the most dangerous of the ten states in southern Sudan, where internal clashes threatened the safety of the Sudan chapter’s staff and participants earlier this year during a three month-long conflict that ended in March. Such intra-state tensions are especially disruptive given their lasting effects on the greater population – the violence not only threatens the lives of Lakes State residents, but also displaces thousands and causes the forced closure of schools and medical facilities. The internally displaced are usually women and children, often forced into vulnerable situations with no food, water, or shelter as their villages and households are destroyed. The clashes of early 2009 displaced at least 414 people according to WfWI-Sudan.

When the women of the CIFI farm arrived for work on June 3rd, they saw what one WfWI-Sudan staff member described as a “sea of humanity…. They were desperately in need of water, food, cooking utensils, clothes, blankets, medical services...” The WfWI-Sudan driver rushed back to town to inform the local authorities and the WfWI-Sudan office of the situation.

As one of the WfWI-Sudan staff members told us, when “the same information reached the local state authorities, …they were largely unable to do anything about it. As soon as this information reached us in our offices in Rumbek town, [Karak] organized part of her staff to rush to the site and estimate the gravity of the situation. It was a total human catastrophe and there was nobody on site to help.” WfWI-Sudan’s resources are meager and stretched thin as it is. To take on the responsibility of assisting 600 internally displaced people (IDPs) was a major task, one not even the local state government was capable of addressing. Lacking resources, infrastructure, and government autonomy, the local authorities are frequently unprepared to address the humanitarian crises that arise after conflicts in the region. Despite this, the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants made the collective decision to take the lead in assisting the 600 IDPs stranded in Makernhoum. They were able to enroll some of the displaced women as WfWI-Sudan participants; for others, the staff and participants pooled resources out of their own pockets to purchase 80 bags of sorghum, six bags of used clothes and ten plastic sheets. They also opened the gate to the farm to allow them access to the water well. Karak took the initiative to contact local UN office and the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission to assist the displaced. Happily, the UN agencies responded swiftly and were able to provide additional food and medical services with their ample resources.

Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of this exercise in humanitarian assistance was the relationship the participants in the WfWI-Sudan program forged with the women IDPs. Once stranded themselves, the women of WfWI-Sudan were now in a position to help other survivors of conflict. They welcomed them to the farm and shared with them their stories of Women for Women International. “Our women welcomed [all of the] IDP women to the farm, telling them success of the program and [that] it is for [all of the] women of Sudan, not only Rumbek women…” one staff member told of the experience.

With their sponsorship funds and income from the farm, the women donated money to the cause of providing the IDPs necessary commodities like food and clothing; with the knowledge they gained from their training, the women were able to spread the word of the WfWI-Sudan program and even help to enroll some of the internally displaced women in need of assistance. The farm they own provided water and shelter for the 600-some stranded IDPs.

Peace has returned to the Lakes State region, the Agar-Jur Beli conflict has been quelled for now. “Now the place is calm,” one WfWI-Sudan staff member told us, “and the government has come in to collect the guns from the local inhabitants and warned them sternly that the government will no longer tolerate any other form of violence.” But the outbreak in attacks that began on May 28th proved worse than the last, killing and displacing many more people and causing health services and schools in the area to close. The current lull in violence feels fragile to the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants who have seen resurgences in tribal conflicts occur time and again. “Lakes State is in the grip of this tribal violence, which knows no boundaries for old people, young children, pregnant mothers…” says Karak.

At a moment of extreme need, the women of WfWI-Sudan assumed responsibility for a humanitarian crisis outside the reach of the local authorities. Their generosity, enthusiasm, and skillfulness ensured the survival of the internally displaced at Makernhoum and ensured that their immediate needs were met. The assistance provided by WfWI-Sudan is a testament what can be accomplished in a nation torn by conflict when women are empowered with the tools to lift themselves and fellow survivors of conflict out of poverty and instability. As Karak and the participants of WfWI-Sudan showed through their leadership, in deed stronger women build stronger nations.

"Last week Sudan celebrated an ironic anniversary. In name only, it was the fifth anniversary of peace - specifically, the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), the official armistice signed to end one of Africa's longest-running civil wars in 2005. The CPA was supposed to signal the end of a war that is estimated to have displaced 4 million and claimed the lives of over 2 million, infamous for a brutal campaign of rape. Yet residents of Africa's largest country know today's Sudan is far from peaceful. “After the CPA we celebrated; we thought it was over,” says Karak Mayik, country director for the humanitarian and development aid organization Women for Women International, “but every year since, the violence has been rising. Things are not fine in Sudan.”

US Secretary of State Clinton echoed Mayik's concerns in her remarks on the anniversary, stating that, “[v]iolence in the South is rising and tensions continue in border areas,” estimating that 2,500 people had died and 350,000 been displaced in 2009 alone. Meanwhile, a senior adviser to President Omar al-Bashir sounded an ominous prediction, proclaiming war would be the result of next year's referendum that may well end in Southern secession.

In addition to outright violence, today's Sudan is also plagued by food insecurity, with more than 6 million people dependent on food aid. And President Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, a development that was greeted with the government's expulsion of 13 major aid groups providing critical assistance to the many hungry and displaced Sudanese.

From where Mayik sits as a Sudanese woman, war survivor and humanitarian in Southern Sudan, the next year is a critical one for her country, especially for women and children. She spent years in a Khartoum-based camp for people displaced by the war and now risks her life daily to equip women with valuable rights training and economic opportunities that will enable them and their families to rebuild. She recalls one instance last year when violent tribal clashes erupted near Women for Women International's offices. The violence threatened the lives of many, and displaced thousands of women and children, who found themselves without food, shelter and water. Mayik's staff put together the few resources they had to buy food, blankets and clothes for hundreds of displaced people stranded on Women for Women International farmland. The governor of Lakes State, South Sudan, recently gave her the title of "Commander of Nonviolent Forces" for her efforts. Even against a backdrop of violence and instability, these women were building bridges of peace and security.

So what is the American plan for Sudan? How will America work to quell the fighting and empower the grassroots movement for peace that Commander Karak and her colleagues are waging? Thankfully, President Obama has pledged to "confront the serious and urgent situation in Sudan." Last year, the Obama Administration released a carrot-and-stick strategy for the country that critically focuses equally on the obstacles to peace in the West and in the South, prioritizing both the crisis in Darfur as well as the implementation of the CPA. According to Mayik, US efforts should further focus on the main challenges impeding peace, including critical development issues such as land administration, water availability, oil sharing and lack of infrastructure. If unresolved these issues threaten to compromise the country's coming referendum, which we continue to hear may provoke another war.

There is increasing discussion on these points. Yet there is one tremendous gap in the policy discussion that has yet to be addressed: gender. From the unveiling of last year's Sudan strategy to last week's anniversary remarks, a gender agenda for peace in Sudan is absent. In a country where the violence of war has been profoundly gendered and a majority of the population engaged in civil society efforts to rebuild is female, this seems shortsighted.

This is nothing new, although it is something of a surprise in an administration that has from the beginning established gender as one of its key priorities, from the establishment of the White House Council on Women and Girls to the naming of an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The White House must remember that women are more vulnerable to displacement and violence in conflict, and yet have been historically excluded from peace negotiations. From Liberia to Rwanda, women on the continent have demonstrated their vested interest in and powerful action on peace and security. Yet during the landmark signing of the CPA, Sudanese women were underrepresented and have continued to face social exclusion and some of the worst violence to date after the war. As Washington turns toward Khartoum in the critical year ahead, will the women again be forgotten?

It can only be hoped that they will not. There is perhaps no better image of women's valuable, everyday contributions to peacemaking than the image of Mayik and her staff working to educate, feed, clothe and protect the vulnerable in times of war. This is the everyday work of implementing peace, and in declaring Mayik the "Commander of Non-Violent Forces" the Governor demonstrates extraordinary recognition of an ordinary truth - women are the architects of peace and are invaluable allies in our attempts at peace-building. As we look toward next year in Sudan, a year of important elections and what is hoped to be the full implementation of the fragile CPA, we must not forget these strong women, who if engaged, can be the engineers of a true and lasting peace in Sudan. Stronger women do build stronger nations."

Violent tribal clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli of Wulu County in May and June caused 600 people to flee to Makernhoum in Lakes State, where WfWI-Sudan’s CIFI farm is located. Karak Mayik and the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants took the lead in assisting the hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) by enrolling some of the women in the WfWI-Sudan program and buying food and clothing for the others out of their own pockets.

Following a welcomed three-month lull in tribal violence in Lakes State, South Sudan, clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli tribe of Wulu County resumed on May 28th, unleashing a wave of attacks that destabilized the region for a month. As of June 28, the UN reported that the violence had caused the forced displacement of 8,214 in Rumbek and Cueibet in South Sudan, where Women for Women International-Sudan is housed. Women for Women International-Sudan (WfWI-Sudan) has helped thousands of women since its inception in 2007 through its program of support to women survivors of war; but on June 3rd, WfWI-Sudan expanded its humanitarian reach to support some 600 internally displaced persons stranded at the organization’s farm in Makernhoum.

Far from the reaches of the humanitarian crisis that ravages Darfur, Dinka and Wulu rivalries run deep and threaten the security of Lakes State in South Sudan where WfWI-Sudan’s offices are located. Lakes State is one of the most dangerous of the ten states in southern Sudan, where internal clashes threatened the safety of the Sudan chapter’s staff and participants earlier this year during a three month-long conflict that ended in March. Such intra-state tensions are especially disruptive given their lasting effects on the greater population – the violence not only threatens the lives of Lakes State residents, but also displaces thousands and causes the forced closure of schools and medical facilities. The internally displaced are usually women and children, often forced into vulnerable situations with no food, water, or shelter as their villages and households are destroyed. The clashes of early 2009 displaced at least 414 people according to WfWI-Sudan.

When the women of the CIFI farm arrived for work on June 3rd, they saw what one WfWI-Sudan staff member described as a “sea of humanity…. They were desperately in need of water, food, cooking utensils, clothes, blankets, medical services...” The WfWI-Sudan driver rushed back to town to inform the local authorities and the WfWI-Sudan office of the situation.

As one of the WfWI-Sudan staff members told us, when “the same information reached the local state authorities, …they were largely unable to do anything about it. As soon as this information reached us in our offices in Rumbek town, [Karak] organized part of her staff to rush to the site and estimate the gravity of the situation. It was a total human catastrophe and there was nobody on site to help.” WfWI-Sudan’s resources are meager and stretched thin as it is. To take on the responsibility of assisting 600 internally displaced people (IDPs) was a major task, one not even the local state government was capable of addressing. Lacking resources, infrastructure, and government autonomy, the local authorities are frequently unprepared to address the humanitarian crises that arise after conflicts in the region. Despite this, the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants made the collective decision to take the lead in assisting the 600 IDPs stranded in Makernhoum. They were able to enroll some of the displaced women as WfWI-Sudan participants; for others, the staff and participants pooled resources out of their own pockets to purchase 80 bags of sorghum, six bags of used clothes and ten plastic sheets. They also opened the gate to the farm to allow them access to the water well. Karak took the initiative to contact local UN office and the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission to assist the displaced. Happily, the UN agencies responded swiftly and were able to provide additional food and medical services with their ample resources.

Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of this exercise in humanitarian assistance was the relationship the participants in the WfWI-Sudan program forged with the women IDPs. Once stranded themselves, the women of WfWI-Sudan were now in a position to help other survivors of conflict. They welcomed them to the farm and shared with them their stories of Women for Women International. “Our women welcomed [all of the] IDP women to the farm, telling them success of the program and [that] it is for [all of the] women of Sudan, not only Rumbek women…” one staff member told of the experience.

With their sponsorship funds and income from the farm, the women donated money to the cause of providing the IDPs necessary commodities like food and clothing; with the knowledge they gained from their training, the women were able to spread the word of the WfWI-Sudan program and even help to enroll some of the internally displaced women in need of assistance. The farm they own provided water and shelter for the 600-some stranded IDPs.

Peace has returned to the Lakes State region, the Agar-Jur Beli conflict has been quelled for now. “Now the place is calm,” one WfWI-Sudan staff member told us, “and the government has come in to collect the guns from the local inhabitants and warned them sternly that the government will no longer tolerate any other form of violence.” But the outbreak in attacks that began on May 28th proved worse than the last, killing and displacing many more people and causing health services and schools in the area to close. The current lull in violence feels fragile to the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants who have seen resurgences in tribal conflicts occur time and again. “Lakes State is in the grip of this tribal violence, which knows no boundaries for old people, young children, pregnant mothers…” says Karak.

At a moment of extreme need, the women of WfWI-Sudan assumed responsibility for a humanitarian crisis outside the reach of the local authorities. Their generosity, enthusiasm, and skillfulness ensured the survival of the internally displaced at Makernhoum and ensured that their immediate needs were met. The assistance provided by WfWI-Sudan is a testament what can be accomplished in a nation torn by conflict when women are empowered with the tools to lift themselves and fellow survivors of conflict out of poverty and instability. As Karak and the participants of WfWI-Sudan showed through their leadership, in deed stronger women build stronger nations.

These new pictures were taken by Judithe Registre, our Sudan Country Director, and show women in the program getting vital training in income generation, sanitation, right awareness and literacy.

The numbers from the Sudan are startling. Nearly 40 years of civil war... at least 2 million lives lost... 4 million uprooted from their homes... over 700,000 in refugee camps. But because of people like you, Women for Women International is providing a powerful opportunity for peace, stability and growth to women who have only known violence.

Pictures:

• A participant learns to write the alphabet... on the ground (JPG)
• Akuol attends literacy training in the village of Pacong (JPG)
• Women discuss hygiene and sanitation at a rights awareness class (JPG)

AMINA'S STORY

All around her at the refugee camp the tents were sunken into the mud. There were beds for a lucky few, but most people laid mattresses on the ground at night. Some slept standing up. As Amina explained, “some of us sleep on these beds as others stand and we go back and forth. Some of us just find a dry piece of land regardless of where in the camp, [others] sit on the ground and try to sleep sitting.”

“People don’t want to see us,” said Amina, a teenaged mother of two. “Do you see these barbed wires surrounding us? We feel like we are in a cage. We tried to write people. We tried to tell them about our circumstances. We wrote government officials, UN officials, we wrote NGOs, we wrote whoever we knew hoping that someone… anyone can come, can see what we are going through and can save us from this Hell.”

ANANAYA'S STORY

Fearful of living a life in war and conflict in Sudan, Ananaya tried to flee to neighboring Ethiopia. It was a dangerous trek. One day, Ananaya found herself in the midst of an ambush by rebel groups. She hid in the bush, but she saw one woman from her group lying dead on the ground. The trauma still haunts her with many other new traumas. On the trek back to her home in Sudan, Ananaya and her young daughter were separated for three days. She thought she had lost her little girl. It was too much to bear, especially after she had delivered a stillborn baby only weeks before. She wishes for change. “ We want things to improve to enjoy peace.”

ELIZABETH'S STORY

Elizabeth had been recently married when the war broke out. She and her husband had only lived together for a month when he was sent to fight on the front line. Elizabeth was left alone, already pregnant. One day, she heard that her husband was wounded. “I was pregnant at the time, and my baby died,” said Elizabeth, a frail woman who was overtaken with grief. “Our health can talk” about the condition of our lives, she said.

MARY'S STORY

Living amidst a war between the Dinka and Nuer tribes, Mary witnessed carnage and horrors. “They came at night, surrounded the cattle camp and shot everyone—even women and children. If women were still alive, they raped them; they even violated dead female bodies,” she recounted. “We have never had a good time since we were born, now we are mothers and life is not easy for women.”

Unlike the other members of her group, Mary did not flee to Ethiopia when the war broke out. She stayed in Akut the entire time. Like most girls in the South, Mary grew up in a cattle camp where soldiers would periodically stop to rest before returning to the battlefront. Girls in her community were tasked with carrying the soldiers’ luggage and ammunition to their next station. It was a harsh experience, Mary recalled. The girls were permitted to rest only when the soldiers allowed them to do so; otherwise they risked being beaten.

The soldiers would also “ask” the girls to sleep with them. There was no way to refuse, she remembered.

Links:

• Women for Women Sudan Page
• Sponsor a Woman

Women for Women International's project Help Women and Children Survivors of War Rebuild, makes it to the top 5 in the American Express Members Project. To nominate this project for potential funding, please go to Help Women and Children Survivors of War Rebuild. Please click the link on our project and click Nominate — and ultimately vote so we may share in the $2.5 million in funding from American Express. If you do not have an American Express website login, just click “Guest Member” provide a little information and you can then Nominate and vote.

http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/AM0MV5

Thanks for your Support!

Since gaining independence in 1956, Sudan's various constitutions have granted equal rights and duties to all Sudanese people, irrespective of gender, but these rights have not been brought to bear. For example, in 2000, the Governor of Khartoum issued a decree barring women from working in public places.

For the most part, Sudanese women remain confined to the private sphere where they are responsible for domestic chores, which is traditionally unpaid work. In Sudanese society, a woman's primary traditional social role is marriage and bearing children. Having many children is a wife's principal function and her ability to do so is often the only measure of her worth. Because of this, Sudanese fertility rates are among the highest in the world, as are maternal death rates during childbirth where 590 women die for every 100,000 live births. This emphasis on traditional roles also contributes to high primary school drop-out rates leading to rampant illiteracy among the female population.

Another issue for Sudanese women is the practice of female genital cutting (FGC). According to experts, FGC is more commonly practiced in Sudan than anywhere else in the world. Almost 90 percent of the country's female population experiences this custom, often in its most extreme form. A woman who does not undergo the FGC procedure risks being shunned. Communities impose harsh sanctions against an uncircumcised women and their families to ensure compliance, including restricting her association with other circumcised girls, calling her derogatory names, and denying her status and access to positions that adult women in that community may occupy.

Part of Women for Women International’s mission is to provide rights awareness and leadership education to the women of Sudan. This training offers women a safe space to discuss their social, political, and economic rights. Through this rights-based approach, women realize their value and their potential.

Through storytelling and workshops, we share knowledge with women about their worth and the importance of women’s roles and rights in society. The women form support groups to discuss issues such as the importance of education, voting rights, domestic violence and how to protect their health. Women from different religious or ethnic groups find common ground and often decide to pool resources to start businesses. Together, they actualize their rights and support one another. Sponsorship contributions also support a woman’s year-long participation in the Renewing Women’s Life Skills (ReneWLS) Program that provides her with rights awareness, leadership education and vocational and technical skills training.

Throughout her year in the program, she meets regularly with a group of approximately 20 women for rights awareness training sessions based on Women for Women International’s training manual, A Woman’s World. These meetings create a support network for women who may have lost everything during war and violence. Relying on her network becomes critical to a woman regaining control of her life after war.

Pictures:

• A group of Sudanese women (GIF)
• Sudanese woman reading (GIF)
• Women's Legal Awareness Group in Sudan (JPG)

Women for Women International in Washington, D.C., has been named the winner of the 2006 Hilton Humanitarian Prize, which comes with a $1.5 million award, one of the largest monetary prizes, in any category, in the world.

Founded in 1993 by Zainab Salbi — who survived years of strife in Iraq — Women for Women International (WWI) works with female survivors of war and conflict in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sudan. Picking up where humanitarian aid leaves off, WWI has served more than 70,000 women, assisted 380,000 family members, and distributed approximately $28 million in direct aid and micro-credit loans. The organization also operates a sister-to-sister program and a letter exchange that matches female sponsors with women who have lived through similar conflicts; its field offices are staffed almost entirely by country nationals. Salbi said the prize money will serve as a challenge gift for a $6 million campaign to build permanent safe women's centers in countries in which WWI operates.

"Women and children bear the major burdens of the unprecedented number of wars and civil conflicts raging worldwide and are often left to rebuild their lives without the basic necessities for survival or a viable means to earn a living and take care of their families," said Steven M. Hilton, chairman and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. "Women for Women International has demonstrated that it can create change and stability within a society by providing women survivors with the tools and resources to rebuild their lives. The organization also gives women the training and confidence to engage in their communities' and ultimately their nation's economic, political and social structures."