Empower 103 Households for their Livelihoods

March 13, 2023 Thirteenth’s report Project ID: 32851 Project Title: Empower 103 households for their livelihoods The vicious circle of poverty; the Following cycle of low income, low savings, poor capital creation, low productivity, low output, and low income, leading to the decline of supply level; communities of Yambio County of Western Equatoria State, South Sudan continue to depend heavily on agriculture, yet they practice shifting cultivation using rudimentary tools for subsistent purposes. Mechanized agriculture is the way forward to increase production. With the present practice, it is highly doubted if the population will be able to cross the line of absolute poverty to an average living condition. Majority 80% of the population cannot afford 2 meals per day. Not much is being executed to break the chain of desperations. The experience of our vulnerable beneficiaries include but not limited to the following; daily hunger, child malnutrition, a lack of access to clean water, shelter, and health care, no opportunity to go to school, constant fear for the future and increased risk of exploitation and abuse. The people often lack hope for the future because they live in a lie. The lie of poverty, that is reinforced day-in and day-out is, “You don’t matter. You’re worthless.” With more than 400,000 of South Sudanese who lost their lives to civil war only from the span of 2013; orphans and widows make up for the majority of the population. According to War Child Holland report “ more than 5 million children remain displaced, in need of humanitarian support, abuse, exploitation, neglect, profound distress and death.” https://www.warchildholland.org/south-sudan/ Most homes are headed by females and there is acute hunger and children are malnourished. The situation is even worsened by the effect of Rassia-Ukraine war. CSD keeps educating the vulnerable civil population on good and sustainable agriculture practices. Very sadly, Yambio community needs to learn how to mitigate the effects of drastic climate change other than depending entirely on the insufficient seasonal rainfall. We have to double effort and resources for the welfare of the desperate communities of Yambio. Single mothers have the desire to seek remedies to their poverty. Community Skills Development continue to organize and team the women into groups; a) Women Farmers b) Tailoring group and empowering them for economic Each group is already engaged in some sort of initiative for orientation towards self-empowerment. Part of the story Community Skills Development majorly supports impoverished women in Yambio County, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan. Since the year 2015 CSD has provided farmers with agricultural tools and seeds, fed malnourished children, sponsored orphans and also trained women to do farming. Community skills development, identifies program beneficiaries through the collaboration with traditional leaders and members of the community. The need is huge and resources meagre and we are seeking the support of our partners and well-wishers to extend your helping hands to the vulnerable people in South Sudan. Children living in extreme poverty in Africa are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Help protect and care for t n in Africa and around the world with a donation to our Highly Vulnerable Children Fund. The empowerment project is targeting two different groups constituting the 103 households, our dream is to empower vulnerable women groups to farm and tailoring. We are doing well to achieving our objectives and we lean on you to boost our effort in the struggle to support the vulnerable women. The step taken to empower 103 households of single mothers for their livelihoods is only possible because of the support of distinct persons who provided the funds. This time, we were able to purchase vegetable seeds, ground nuts, maize seeds and fuel to operate irrigation machine. The cost of empowering women farmers each farming season totals to US$ 15,000 however we do receive less than a thousand Dollars. In truth, our efforts are being minimally boosted and how we wish we gained women support to help their sisters in this region. Out of the two categories of women groups we set to support; tailors, and Farmers, only the women Farmers have the chance to the support. It is our desire this time round to lay much effort and resources on the tailoring group; to train them and provide them with knitting machines and materials. We will prepare them for entrepreneurship and equip them for their livelihoods. We remain grateful and thanking you very much.

Project ID: 32851

Project Title: Empower 103 households for their livelihoods

At the end of first plantation; CSD women Farmers again cleared their field for plantation in May and had their vegetables planted in June. CSD women Farmers are situated at Zambago area in Yambio County, Western Equatoria, State South. This planting season, CSD women farmers have planted half Hectare of Tomatoes, Egg Plants, Amaranthus and Carrots. There is good yield this year, we thank God. CSD women farmers wish to grow some cash crops like coffee, bananas and raise domestic animals; financial resources towards this ideal.

The beneficiaries of the project; empowerment of 103 households, have been vulnerable women; single mothers, widows, school drops outs and female headed households. Generally, there has been starvationamong the vulnerable women and some families simply go hungry on empty stomach or just a meager meal for a day. CSD women’s farming is a solution to place food on the plates of the families. The vegetables grown are sold out on the market and some are taken home to the families. Money earned is divided amongst the members (30 members) for their own needs. In addition, the women have learnedand belong to village saving and loan association (VSLA). It is a merit-go-round method, where the 30 members contribute weekly into a box and members receive that amount in turn monthly to invest in small business. Some of the women have started small business from the capital raised.

In Western Equatoria State, and in the whole of South Sudan, community pattern of feeding is very poor; there are those who can afford only one meal a day, and do not have balance diet. Therefore, cases of malnutrition are common and frequent in children and adults; sores on legs, stunted growth and poor human development. Actually, the consequences stem from etiologies such as low birth weight, premature delivery, persistent diarrhea and recurring sepsis or chronic underlying diseases or disability and the development of severe acute malnutrition in tender age is commonly reflected in suboptimal feeding practices. More than 50% of households in Yambio generally experience severe acute malnutrition which is often associated with high mortality in young infants and it has effects on children as a whole; mental retardation, stunted growth, poor immune system, micronutrient deficiency, anaemia and death.

Community Skills Development supports the 103 households of single mothers by the provision of extension services, provision of agricultural tools, and seeds to help the beneficiaries to grow crops and vegetables. Irrigation method has been taken up and practiced to mitigate the effect of climate change.

Single mothers harbour the desire to seek remedies to their own poverty challenges and Community Skills Development continue to support and train the groups; a) Women Farmers b) Tailoring group and c) Hair dressing group.

Each group is steadily engaged in the above self-empowerment strategies but inadequacy of resources is the main challenge.

Part of the story

Community Skills Development majorly supports impoverished women in Yambio County, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan. Community Skill Development was established in the year 2008 and since then we have provided farmers with agricultural tools and seeds, fed malnourished children, sponsored orphans and also trained women to do farming. Community skills development, identifies program beneficiaries through the collaboration with traditional leaders and members of the community. The need is huge and resources meagre and we are seeking the support of our partners and well-wishers to extend your helping hands to the vulnerable people in South Sudan.

Children living in extreme poverty in Africa are especially vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Help protect and care for t The experience of our vulnerable beneficiaries include but not limited to the following; daily hunger, child malnutrition, a lack of access to clean water, shelter, and health care, no opportunity to go to school, constant fear for the future and increased risk of exploitation and abuse.The people often lack hope for the future because they live in a lie. The lie of poverty, that is reinforced day-in and day-out is, “You don’t matter. You’re worthless.” children in Africa and around the world with a donation to our Highly Vulnerable Children Fund.

The empowerment project is targeting three different groups constituting the 103 households, our dream is to empower vulnerable women groups to farm, to create small business via hair dressing and tailoring. We are almost half way to achieving our objectives and we lean on you to boost our effort in the struggle to support the vulnerable women.

We remain grateful and thanking you very much.

Project Title:  Empower 103 households for their livelihoods

The vicious cycle of poverty and mental health; the social drift pathway. So, poverty leads to poorer mental health – and vice versa – leading, in turn, to reduced opportunities for economic development and increasing the risk of lifelong poverty. Hence the vicious cycle. This cycle affects not just adults, but adolescents and children too.

South Sudan faces one of the world's worst food security situations and endemic poverty with at least 80 percent of the population defined as income-poor and living on equivalent of less than US$1 per day (FAO 2018). South Sudan is the World’s first illiterate Country with the literacy rate at 27.0% (https://www.infoplease.com/world/country-statistics/lowest-literacy-rates).

Young females in South Sudan and Yambio in particular, remain severely marginalized with lower education levels and fewer opportunities for work as compared to their male peers. Rural women and girls of reproductive age (13-49 years) have few or no assets at all and survive on less than $1 per day.

Being a woman or poor in South Sudan makes an individual twice as likely to suffer from poor access to low-quality public and private services in both urban and rural areas. Vulnerable women and their children have no access to any of the five basic public services and no access to decent quality services. This lack of access leads them to poverty.

The communities of Yambio County of Western Equatoria State, South Sudan depend heavily on agriculture, yet they practice shifting cultivation using rudimentary tools for subsistent purposes. Mechanized agriculture is the way forward to increase production. With the present practice, it is highly doubted if the population will be able to cross the line of absolute poverty to an average living condition. Majority 80% of the population cannot afford 2 meals per day.

Most homes are headed by females and there is acute hunger and children are malnourished. The situation is even worsened by the effect of COVID-19.  CSD keeps educating the civic population on sustainable agriculture practices. Very sadly again, Yambio community needs to learn how to mitigate the effects of drastic climate change other than depending entirely on the insufficient seasonal rainfall. We have to double effort and resources for the welfare of the desperate communities of Yambio.

Single mothers have the desire to seek remedies to their poverty. Community Skills Development keep organizing and teaming the women into groups; a) Women Farmers b) Tailoring group.

Each group needs support and engagement in capacity building for self-empowerment.

The single mothers have their own stories to tell

Community Skills Development majorly supports impoverished women in Western Equatoria State. Women are at the fore front of our focused activities; to empower them, offer them chances to equal opportunities and representation. The total number of our target population is 17,000 Households in Western Equatoria state for various services. Community Skill Development provides women farmers with agricultural tools, seeds and extension services, feeding malnourished children, sponsoring orphans and offering women tailoring skills. When needy women hear about community skills development, they come to express their interest to join the groups and we admit the neediest and the poorest of the poor.

Now we have 90 single mothers who are supported to do farming; growing vegetables and keeping small ruminants for home consumption and market. We hope to expand on the activities.

When the women get into their groups, they begin to build and enjoy strong bond of social cohesion and mutual support. Jonina, one of the women farmers, says that she got some money to pay for medical treatment and made payments for her children. That it sometimes takes her and her kids months before they can have the chance to some kind of balance diet.

The step taken to empower 103 households of single mothers for their livelihoods is only possible because of the support of distinct persons who provided the funds. This time, we want to purchase vegetable seeds, ground nuts, maize seeds, goats, and chickens. The cost of empowering women farmers each farming season totals to US$ 12,000 however we do receive less than a thousand Dollars.

We remain grateful and thanking you very much.

                                                                                                                              January 28, 2028

Tenth ID: 32851

Project Title:  Empower 103 households for their livelihoods

Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has been engulfed in civil war for much of its existence. More than 400,000 South Sudanese died as a result of the conflict that started in December 2013 over power struggle among leaders. Atrocities and widespread attacks on civilians, including rampant sexual violence, were predominantly in conflict. In this context, young people have been forcefully recruited by armed groups, killed extra judicially, used as informers, forcefully displaced from their homes and schools and denied learning opportunities, forced into prostitution, and trafficked within the armed groups and urban gangs.

Over 72 % of South Sudan population is under the age of 30. Despite making up such a significant portion of the population, the women and youth in South Sudan are among the most vulnerable, underserved, and untapped segments of the population. In 2020, South Sudan was ranked 185 out of 189 in the Human Development Index (HDI) and was shown to have among the world’s lowest human development outcomes.[1]

Women and Youth are faced by many challenges, which range from limited access to basic social services

such as education and health, to widespread unemployment and limited opportunities to engage in productive livelihoods.

Limited access to educational and other relevant livelihood skills and few employment opportunities mean that out-of-school, single mothers, widows and female headed families become more vulnerable to negative coping methods such as substance abuse, prostitution and mental health challenges.

The oil sector of South Sudan is the key driver of economic growth, accounting for over 70 percent of Gross

Domestic Product in 2017, but it has not resulted in much-needed jobs for South Sudanese. The oil industry is highly controlled and sets stringent international standards. Thus, the oil sector largely imports labor due to lack of a qualified local labor force. The other economic sectors include agriculture (10%), manufacturing (7%) and services (6.1%). The country’s rich natural endowment has not translated into improved standards of living for the people of South Sudan, particularly as much of the population is mobile due to insecurity.

South Sudan real GDP in 2018 was 0.5% and since then just a slight increment has been achieved, this cannot support jobs for the rapidly growing population, especially women and youth.

The poverty rate in South Sudan is estimated at 82 percent of the total population[2].  The demand for skilled labor is growing in South Sudan in sectors such as hospitality and construction. However, the current labor force does not have the required skills and mentality to enable women and youth to take advantage of the job opportunities. This has resulted in the country importing skilled labor from neighboring countries, contributing to South Sudanese women and youth unemployment.

Over 2.2 million[3] children were out of school in 2018, representing 47 percent of the 4.7 million Population of school-aged children in South Sudan.

Women seriously lack the knowledge and skills, including work readiness, psychosocial and social emotional skills, and the soft and life skills needed to function effectively. Despite these gaps, women would like to work and earn a living as well as lead healthy and productive lives and support their children to school.

Notably, the many years of conflict in the country have exacerbated ethnic tensions that weakened the social fabric and have had a negative impact on children’s mental health. The children associated with armed conflict in the country are estimated at 190,009[4].

In relation to health, although all young girls face multiple obstacles in accessing reproductive health supports and services, especially during the adolescence stage, the circumstances of adolescent girls and young women are particularly challenging. Child marriage and adolescent pregnancy remain quite high, with 31% of youth ages 15-19 already experiencing childbirth. Overall, about 51% of women ages 20-24 were married before the age of 18 despite the association of child marriage with childbirth complications and infant and maternal mortality.

CSD food security programme helps the vulnerable women and orphans in Yambio to do farming. Our CSD extension workers train women groups on group farming for livelihoods, producing crops to feed their families and bring surplus to market for sale. Collect the money into the group treasury and later distribute among themselves for the purchase of other basic services and materials.

Community Skills Development (CSD) has introduced VSLA (village saving and loan Associations) initiatives among our women farmers beneficiaries to help them diversify on their livelihood economic activities in addition to cultivation.

We call upon our benefactors to donote to us so that we (CSD) can continue to support the program to build the capacity of vulnerable women and empowers them to lead healthy, engaged, and productive lives in their communities. CSD will support the development of life skills and strengthen relationships among women, their families and communities.

The life skills will promote women readiness skills including functional literacy, numeracy, soft skills, social emotional skills, and economic opportunities for vulnerable and marginalized women. Driving the women to economic opportunities, foster employment, and promote entrepreneurship.

Life history of a single mother

Community Skills Development majorly supports impoverished women in Yambio within Western Equatoria State. Women are at the fore front of our focused programming; to empower for economic activities, offer them chances to equal opportunities and representation.

One of beneficiaries, Julie exclaimed that she wishes this programme can stay for an additional 3 years, their lives would never remain the same as before. Julie wants to point to the positive changes in her life and that of her family brought about by CSD in collaboration with our benefactors through GlobalGiving.

We remain grateful and thanking you very much.

Ignatius Mborihenga

Director

Community Skills Development

Yambio, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan

E-mail: ignatiuszasi@gmail.com

Whatsapp: +256788226641

[1]  UNDP 2020. ‘Human Development Report 2020: Accessible at:

http://hdr.undp.org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/country-notes/SSD.pdf

[2] World Bank (2021) Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southsudan/overview#1

[3] UNESCO (2018) Global Initiative for Out of School Children and Youth Report. South Sudan.

[4] U.S. States Department Report on Child Soldiers: accessed on Dec 17, 2021, at:

https://www.stimson.org/2021/cspa-country-south-sudan/

                                                                                                               September 26, 2021

Eighth ID: 32851

Project Title:  Empower 103 households for their livelihoods

Absolute poverty;  the community of Yambio County of Western Equatoria State, South Sudan continues to depend heavily on agriculture, yet they practice shifting cultivation using rudimentary tools for subsistent purposes. There is no commercial agricultural practice on this very fertile land. Millions of South Sudanese suffer famine and malnutrition for lack of support and empowerment. The civil wars since 2013 created orphans and widows who make up for 30% of the population especially in Yambio. Most of the homes are child-headed or female-headed; therefore, there is acute hunger and children are malnourished. 

CSD has a food security programme to help the vulnerable women and orphans in Yambio to do farming and CSD uses her extension workers to educate the vulnerable groups on livelihoods and sustainable agriculture practices. Very sadly, Yambio community cannot mitigate the effects of the drastic climate change and it depends entirely on an insufficient seasonal rainfall and cannot grow crops for most part of the year. This is where the empowerment component is direly required; to provide irrigation equipment and provide agricultural seeds, tools and then extension services to these vulnerable to cultivate for their livelihoods.

The skills deficits and high rate of illiteracy could be attributed to decades of conflicts, which deprived the population opportunities to acquire vital entrepreneurial and livelihood skills needed to participate in the economy of South Sudan.

South Sudan faces one of the world's worst food security situations and endemic poverty with at least 80 percent of the population defined as income-poor and living on equivalent of less than US$1 per day (FAO 2018). South Sudan is the World’s first illiterate Country with the literacy rate at 27.0% (https://www.infoplease.com/world/country-statistics/lowest-literacy-rates).

Again, young females in South Sudan remain severely marginalized with lower education levels and fewer opportunities for work as compared to their male peers. Rural women and girls of reproductive age (13-49 years) have few or no assets at all and survive on less than $1 per day. This project is for the support of women empowerment.

Community Skills Development continues to provide extension service to the women Farmers, in the support for them to grow groundnuts, Maize, vegetables, keep poultry and small ruminants. The provision of extension service is a catalyst and motivation for the women to work harder. The women work as a team and teamwork helps the women to cultivate large fields than when as individuals. The single mothers supported by Community Skills Development have their lives changed to better- before the members used to have single meals a day and now they say they can eat two meals in a day. It is hoped that the women Farmers would continue to use the cultivation and planting skills taught to them to generate more food for their families.

Life history of a single mother

Community Skills Development majorly supports impoverished women in Yambio within Western Equatoria State. Women are at the fore front of our focused programming; to empower for economic activities, offer them chances to equal opportunities and representation. The total number of our target population is 17,000 Households in Western Equatoria state for various traits of business for resilience but this project only targets 103 households. Community Skills Development by means of this project provided women farmers with agricultural tools, seeds and extension services. CSD other projects provide scholarship to orphans, unaccompanied children and train women in tailoring skills, Beauty salons.

The single mother Esther speaks out in the two Clips saying

Esther 1; in the very beginning we were too blind and vulnerable. CSD came looking for us and Emma came and grouped us into a team. We formed a group for gardening of which we have gained much benefit. From the profit of growing the vegetables, we can purchase things that are missing in our homes. I used to make local pancakes – very unprofitable, now I can afford to purchase oil and wheat flour to make better cakes for sale that are profitable.

Esther 2: I have the Mini grinding Mill for Groundnuts that I have managed to buy with money from this program.  that is why we are very much grateful for the support CSD continues to offer to us! We are aware of your great concern for us and I am very sure that your support for us will even continue more. We have received great support through your great coordination and the work you render. Thank you very much

The cost of empowering women farmers each planting season totals to US$ 7,000 and there are two main seasons in a year in this region. If we receive more than that budget, we could then provide small ruminants to the women and purchase seeds.

We remain grateful and thanking you very much.

Ignatius Mborihenga

Director

Community Skills Development

Yambio, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan