HEALING MY SISTER
“You never know what someone is going through especially a girl until they speak up and that’s when you realize the problems they held inside their hearts are bigger than their age and body, we cried and laughed together” says Nyaboth Paska, one of our girls’ mentors after her two-day session with her group of girls.
Trauma has affected every individual differently in South Sudan and it is attributed to the protracted civil war. Traumatic experiences and recurrent conflict has had negative impact on young people especially girls. Lack of protection of children and young people creates fear and makes individuals vulnerable with fundamental alterations to the way they view the world. Such trauma tends to be interpersonal as its attributed to domestic violence, sexual abuse, neglect and/or exploitation, discrimination and financial challenges at family level, watching brothers being abducted and forced into militia among several issues these young girls mentioned. Due to the damage done to their core identity, young traumatized girls often experience low self-esteem, lack of self-compassion, guilt, and remorse. They struggle with a dysfunctional worldview that depicts the environment as unsafe and therefore it is dangerous to trust others or themselves.
These young girls experience overwhelming, unpredictable, and intense emotional reactions such as anger, anxiety, shame, frustration, and depression which all affect their performance in school and some eventually drop out of school.
Crown the woman acknowledges the above negative impact of trauma in girls and its effect on their performance in school and therefore, designed an intervention to support secondary school going girls to adopt positive coping mechanisms and heal the trauma. The intervention focuses on working with ten (10) trained mentors to support the physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual well-being of the girls.
The mentors conducted a two-day workshop at Women’s Union for 242 secondary school girls from three schools namely: Don Bosco, Promise Land and Juba Day secondary school. Conducting the sessions out of school, in smaller groups with the trainers further encouraging those who don’t feel ready and comfortable enough to share their issues before the group to write on paper and had private one-on-one sessions with each of them over tea and lunch breaks gave the girls the confidence to participate and speak up. The mentors were able to help the girls understand Trauma and Trauma overview, Symptoms and triggers of trauma, wounded-ness and psychosocial well-being, Mindfulness and the phases of healing, how to respond to trauma with self and among youth and children, Emotional regulation, Mentoring and support system, Safety and relationships, IASC guidelines on mental health and Communication and Self-care.
The objectives of the workshop were to:
- To increase opportunities for young girls to build their social assets and protect themselves through learning and peer interaction in safe spaces that facilitate a healing process.
- To create and build sisterhood across different age groups that uplift one another.
- To strengthen the resilience of conflict affected women and girls to trauma to enable them become each other’s’ support system.
“You never know what someone is going through especially a girl until they speak up and that’s when you realize the problems they held inside their heart are bigger are bigger than their age and body, we cried and laughed together” says Nyaboth Paska one of our girls’ mentors after her two-day session with her group of girls.
Some of these girls are fighting unimaginable battles and have no one to talk to. Speaking up is the first phase of the healing process and having someone to confide in is simply all these girls need sometimes. It was two emotional days filled with tears and laughter, a weekend truly well spent indeed.
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HEALED TO HEAL OTHERS
In many circumstances, people struggling with trauma do not have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to manage their emotional reactions, establish and achieve personal goals, or increase relational skills. Many survivors are unable to access the supports necessary to develop important coping skills and build relational abilities. Moreover, they do not have essential information on trauma that would promote the normalization of their experiences. They interpret their behaviors as weird or strange rather than normal reactions to abnormal events. Other people may not feel comfortable participating in traditional counselling environments or one-on-one therapy sessions. In South Sudan there is limited infrastructure and qualified personnel to deal with issues of mental health. The few NGOs focusing on mental health prioritize psychosocial support services because of the lack of infrastructure in South Sudan and the capacity to deal with mental health issues. The medication for psychiatric disorders is very expensive and usually is imported from outside the country. In the absence of these specialized services. It is important to deal with trauma focusing on healing and avoiding re-traumatization. The conflict in South Sudan has affected mostly women, young girls and children
CREW organized a Four-Day Training of Trainers (TOT) that provided our girls’ mentors who are female teachers and young women activists with an understanding of the concept of trauma healing and psychosocial support. The training was meant to provide mentors with knowledge and skills to enable them understand Trauma, its healing process and their roles in providing trauma healing services to the young girls CREW engages with. At the classroom and community level, teachers need to be trained in psychosocial support and how to identify symptoms of trauma in order to effectively address trauma common with students (girls).
Secondly, some of our mentors have also undergone traumatic events in their lives which affects their ability to effectively help the girls. Trauma causes powerlessness and fear, the training aimed at helping the mentors identify their own trauma and develop personal action plans to deal with it before going out to conduct trauma healing trainings with the girls. Change indeed begins with self.
The four (4) days training gave the mentors an understanding of Trauma and Trauma overview, Symptoms and triggers of trauma, wounded-ness and psychosocial well-being, Mindfulness and the phases of healing, how to respond to trauma with self and among youth and children, Emotional regulation, Mentoring and support system, Safety and relationships, IASC guidelines on mental health and Communication and Self-care.
For a case study, the mentors also watched a short video on trauma (sexual violence). This film was meant to highlight the most common form of GBV in South Sudan, Early/forced marriage of girls and to put the mentors in a practical situation of some of the challenges they might have to handle while dealing with the girls
The objectives of the training were to;
- To help the mentors share their experiences of traumatic events with one another and how to overcome the pain.
- To explore trauma manifestation and strategies of helping mentors and girls to heal.
- To equip the mentors with knowledge and skills on trauma healing processes.
The ten (10) trained mentors comprised of seven (7) young women activists from the media, law, entrepreneurship, fashion and design sectors and three (3) female teachers (girls’ metrons) from three secondary schools namely; Promise Land, Juba Day and Don Bosco Senior Secondary School.
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UNDERSTANDING THE PEACE AGREEMENT(S) IS THE BEGINNING OF A GENUINE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS
Despite the efforts by the various stakeholders to familiarize South Sudanese with the Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) 2015, Majority of South Sudanese are still very unfamiliar with the agreement and what it entails. Now the High Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) is yet another National Process intended to bring peace to the country but there is still limited understanding of the process among the population.
The first phase witnessing the signing of another Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) in December 2017, and the second phase still ongoing, many newer documents are expected to be signed at the end of the process. Of all these documents both old and new, there has been limited awareness creation initiatives and civilians continue to be disengaged from the process and are unable to hold the signatories accountable for their actions.
There is an entire segment of the population that has been completely left out and that is; the educators together with students. Teachers have a crucial role in educating the society hence their understanding the contents of the Agreement (s) will go a long way in enhancing efforts intended to disseminate the agreement and keep the communities updated and engaged in the ongoing Peace Processes.
CREW in partnership with Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) organized a two-day workshop themed “Enhancing Teachers’ Understanding and Role in Dissemination, Implementation and Monitoring of the Peace Agreement Process”. The workshop was attended by over 100 Secondary and Primary School Teachers from Juba and its outskirts.
The objectives of the workshop were to;
- To create awareness on the content of the Peace Agreement 2015 and the CoHA 2017
- To enhance teachers’ understanding of the peace agreement, their role in peace building and the dissemination, implementation and monitoring process.
The JMEC advisors of respective Chapters took the participants through the contents of the Agreement on the Resolution of the conflict of South Sudan (ARCSS) chapter by chapter, the High Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) and the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities (ACoH). On the High Level Revitalization Forum, Ambassador Kebede said “the Commission believes that a properly inclusive revitalization process provides the most effective platform upon which to confront and resolve the severe security, governance, economic and humanitarian crisis that continue to overwhelm South Sudan”.
“Teachers play such an important role in every community in every country in the world and that most specifically includes South Sudan. Your critical role in supporting peace-building and shaping the next generation cannot be understated, “we recognize your role as vital agents of change, and we seek to involve you in our public information campaign so that you can effectively add your voice to the debate.” He continues.
The last session of the workshop, teachers formed groups and discussed their challenges in involvement in the peace processes and recommendations/areas of opportunities. It was evidenced that there is a lot that needs to be done in regards to dissemination of the Peace agreement(s);
Limited freedom of expression, access to information including the peace agreement document, therefore, most teachers are ignorant about most current national issues, always excluded from representation and participation, never recognized or consulted as stakeholders and often neglected by the political decision makers, parties and parties to the conflict in peace negotiations, poor working conditions of teachers and many teachers found themselves in remote areas of the country hence are not easily accessible by anyone who is interested to engage the them, lack of adequate information on implementation of the peace agreement and inadequacy of general communication network in the country to facilitate communication initiatives e.g. Radio talk shows were some of the most outstanding challenges the teachers raised as limitations to their engagement in not only the peace agreement but most National Processes.
However, the teachers strongly acknowledged their role in the Nation and Peacebuilding Processes and recommended; creation of avenues that make it possible for teachers to add their voice, representation and participation in the peace negotiation, reporting progress of the implementation process and other national processes, enact laws necessary to strengthen and enhance educational policy and the role of teachers in nation and peace building processes, create conducive environment to facilitate peace education, reconciliation and healing in the country and encourage teachers to serve as ambassadors of peace, Crown the Woman to do more awareness raising among the teachers and the importance of working together across different communities, intensify dissemination of information on peace agreement in all our communities including schools and have it translated into local languages, teachers to make an effort and look for information regarding the peace process e.g. on JMEC Website, engagement of teachers in workshops and seminars to discuss contents and different provisions of the peace agreement but above all TGoNU should show commitment to implement the peace agreement(s) and improve Security.
Inclusion of the rightful stakeholders in the ongoing peace processes is very vital, teachers play an important role in nurturing and shaping the mindsets of pupils and students at a tender age. Their involvement is an investment in South Sudan’s quest for lasting peace for generations to come.
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RECOGNIZING THE POWER OF SOUTH SUDANESE WOMEN
“We are, because she is”
The above statement is with reference to the women of South Sudan. The women of South Sudan have been the greatest and yet the most silent support system for South Sudan from the Liberation struggle to the current Peace and Nation-Building processes. As the world celebrates women on 8th March every year, the day passes unnoticed to majority of South Sudanese women.
On this international Women’s Day, CREW is celebrating those women who don’t make it to Nyakuron Cultural Center to join the rest of the women celebrating the day because they have to put food on the table for their families to eat. That woman that woke up today at 5am to go to her garden and collect something to bring to the market, controlling traffic on the streets, in the house doing house chores, in her office because she has no day off.
“We celebrate and Crown you; woman of strength, of courage, of heart and wisdom… your presence is a blessing to our nation.”
The two main activities (events of the day) were the Roadshow and a radio program. The 6hour Roadshow was within Juba and its outskirts with stop-points in all the seven main markets namely: Gudele1, Munuki, Custom, Jebel, KonyoKony, Sherikhat and Juba Town market. This was to simply recognize, appreciate their tirelessly efforts and also just interact with these women and find out what women’s Day means to them. It wasn’t surprising that some of these women had no idea it was Women’s Day or what it’s even about. Poor and limited facilities in the market (stalls for women to place their items/vegetables, some sit under the scorching sun with little or no shade over their heads), no access to loans, no associations, the income they generate is too little to even get them thinking about saving… are some of the few repeatedly mentioned challenges these women face.
The distribution of t-shirts and customized handkerchiefs with motivational words was what made the roadshow even more exciting to the women. Never underestimate the power of a simple gesture of appreciation. The jubilations from the women walking on the streets, selling their tea and snacks by the roadside, controlling traffic as we made a couple of stops to give them t-shirts and handkerchief was all the satisfaction there is.
The team ended the day with a one-hour Radio talk-show (discussion) on “South Sudanese women participation in the Peace and Nation-Building Processes” on Radio One Fm. The show focused on women’s movement, contributions in the current ongoing South Sudan Peace negotiation process and the role of women entrepreneurs in shaping the future of South Sudan.
To build on our findings from the women in the markets during the roadshow, we were honored to have been joined by two inspiring women entrepreneurs on the show. Mama Esther Simbe, a single mother who has been taking care of her children by making and selling cookies since her husband passed on in 2013, and Yom Rebecca, a young woman who runs a General Service Company. Both women in business at different levels but facing similar challenges.
This year’s international theme being: Press for progress and South Sudan national Theme being: “Time is now, press for progress to transform rural women and girls’ lives”, Women entrepreneurs at all levels have a great role to play in this country and there is need to support women doing different businesses as these initiatives directly benefit vulnerable women, their families and the economy at large. In South Sudan, women both in rural and urban areas are intensively engaged in entrepreneurship in different forms. We cannot progress as a nation unless women are recognized, given opportunities and supported to realize their dreams. Let’s act together to transform rural women and girls’ lives, this cycle of dependence on men needs to be broken and TIME IS NOW.
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RADIO CAMPAIGN ON GBV PREVENTION & RESPONSE
CREW started off a radio campaign on 87.9 Radio One-South Sudan. The campaign on Gender Based Violence (GBV) Prevention and Response was from 9th November to 15th December 2917. Media plays an outstanding role in creating and shaping public opinion and strengthening of society. Today, media is strongly used to create/raise awareness on social issues. With the current nationwide electricity challenges and limited access to other media outlets, majority of South Sudanese use radio as one of their main sources of information. Designing programs in both English and South Sudanese local Arabic has been one of the most effective ways of engaging the public on issues of social and national concern.
“Men are the main perpetrators of GBV and they must take lead in ending it”
Radio One Produced jingles in English and Arabic, the jingles were played throughout the day for a month, and especially on each week-day of the scheduled Radio Talk-Show. This informed listeners ahead of time and increased the engagement and participation of the audience. The hosts of these four (4) one-hour (5pm-6pm) talk-shows were; GBV Prevention Club Leaders, GBV focal persons and PTA members from selected four secondary schools namely; Juba Diocesan, Promised Land, Don Bosco and Juba Commercial Secondary School. These hosts were accompanied by one CREW staff during each talk-show. Recordings of the talk-shows have also been availed in audio form, thanks to Radio One-South Sudan.
The campaign focused mainly on school related Gender Based Violence Prevention and Response in schools and communities. This campaign gave six students, three teachers and one PTA Chairperson an opportunity to directly engage with the community during the weekly talk-shows. The hosts were able to share their understanding of GBV, what forms/kinds of GBV acts exist in their schools/communities, what they are doing in their respective positions in schools and communities to address the mentioned forms/kinds of GBV acts, and lastly give their piece of advice to the listeners of Radio One on how to best prevent GBV.
During one of the talk-shows, Mr. Morris Togo the chairperson of the PTA from Juba Commercial secondary school pointed out that “Men are the main perpetrators of GBV and they must take lead in ending it”. He further emphasized the need to establish a strong legal system in place to rightfully address GBV cases at all levels and hold perpetrators accountable.
The calls from the listeners during the talk-shows, some asking questions on the topic, others appreciating the guests and the programme made the talk-shows very interactive and engaging. GBV prevention is everyone’s responsibility, there is need to continuously create awareness and engage communities on these kinds of conversations. We can only address it if people are aware and informed enough to accept the fact that GBV is a serious issue that is limiting South Sudan’s prosperity at all levels
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CREW COMMEMORATES 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM 2017
Crown The Woman-South Sudan (CREW) joined the rest of the world this year to commemorate 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). An international campaign to challenge Violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25th November, the International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women to 10th December, Human Rights Day.
South Sudan has a history of gender based violence and this magnified after the 2013 and 2016 conflicts. Many women in South Sudan have, and are experiencing this form of violence which has adversely affected their wellbeing and productivity in their homes, communities and places of work. GBV in South Sudan has resulted due to the long effects of war and the nature of the society and cultural beliefs, which suppress women and leaves them to suffer in silence. These inhumane acts have continued to prevent women and girls from achieving their full potentials and compromise their physical and psychological integrity.
This year’s 16 Days of Activism international theme is “end gender based violence in education”and for South Sudan is “Stop Gender Based Violence against women/girls, end child marriage now”
“There is need to Strengthen resilience to prevent GBV within communities and grassroots structures, inclusive peace begins with protection and recognition of women’s rights.”
CREW on 7th December 2017 organized a march of 112 participants comprising of trained teachers on School Related gender based violence prevention and response, PTA members, GBV Club Leaders(students) from six secondary schools from Jubek and Rajaf states and representatives from Civil Society Organizations. The theme of this march was: let’s unite to end Gender Based Violence against women and girls. the march started from Jubek state Ministry of Gender, child and social welfare to Women Union, Hai Neem.
This march was followed by a panel discussion under the theme: “End Gender Based Violence in Education for Inclusive peace and Development in South Sudan”. the panelists were selected from influential institutions shaping policies and CSOs working in areas of Gender Based violence. Among the panelists was the Ministerial advisor in the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology a Presidential appointee, Ms. Viana kakuli Yuyunda who made such an insightful detailed presentation on the current South Sudan’s Higher Education system and its gender sensitivity.
Taban Romano, Senior Legal Aid Attorney with the South Sudan law Society did a presentation on sexual and gender based violence in regards to South Sudan’s constitution, Ms. Lillian Kiden, the Acting Director of South Sudan Women Empowerment Network focused on the types of school related gender based violence and lastly Ms. Suzan Pasqual, Executive Director of Women Advancement Organization, a victim of gender based violence shared her personal story, this left some participants in tears and admiration for Ms. Suzan’s courage.
Promise Land and Juba Diocesan Model Secondary school drama clubs entertained the participants with their educative plays on “early forced marriage” and “Domestic Violence and Sexual Gender Based Violence” respectively.
This was such a great platform for the rightful stakeholders in education system to come together and share their thoughts on how we can best prevent gender based violence for inclusive peacebuilding processes and development in South Sudan. GBV is one of the main obstacles limiting women’s participation in decision making processes. it’s important to shape the mindsets of young boys and girls if we intend to have future gender sensitive policy and decision makers in South Sudan, and there is no better way to do that than through the education system. The panel discussion gave teachers, students and PTA members a platform to interact with influential people shaping South Sudan Education system.
The objectives of this event were;
- To promote women’s rights for inclusive peace and development.
- To improve attitudes, knowledge and skills of influential people in young girls’ and boys ‘lives to protect them from Gender Based Violence.
- To increase girls’ opportunities to build their social assets to protect and enhance their ability to respond to violence.
Having over 100 participants escorted by a music band march on the streets attracted so much attention and jubilations from bystanders especially women upon reading the posters written on “Every Girl Counts, what action will you take to keep girls in school”.
There is need to Strengthen resilience to prevent GBV within communities and grassroots structures, inclusive peace begins with protection and recognition of women’s rights. This was all thanks to Norwegian People’s Aid, Democracy International(SUCCESS) and GBV Prevention Network
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ESTABLISHMENT OF GBV PREVENTION CLUBS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
We cannot continue to address issues concerning young people without involving young boys and girls. Gender Based Violence (GBV) in and around schools is a worldwide problem with serious implications for the educational attainment, health and well-being of boys and girls. The deeply rooted cultural norms in South Sudan further aggravates the problem. The physical and psychological abuse inflicted either consciously or unconsciously by students on other students makes their stay in school unattractive, some end up dropping out and can leave long-lasting scars invisible to the eye. It’s important to raise awareness at a tender age to shape the thinking and change the mindsets of boys and girls on gender sensitive issues.
“Statements like “she is my daughter, who are you to tell me what to do with her?” are commonly used by South Sudanese parents to disenfranchise the law and anyone else trying to intervene”
Crown The Woman-South Sudan (CREW) team with support from the 46 previously training teachers on School Related Gender Based Violence Prevention and Response conducted one day workshops with students (boys and girls) in six secondary schools namely; Promised Land Secondary school, Don Bosco, Juba Day, Juba Diocesan, Nile Model and Juba Commercial Secondary School to create awareness on GBV Prevention and Response. The workshops were headed by the four selected GBV Mentors in each school from the previously trained teachers. The workshops started with the introduction and understanding of GBV, this was followed by watching Crown The Woman GBV prevention produced film as a case study that was used to initiate discussions on GBV Prevention and Response mechanisms from the students’ point of view. The last activity was establishment of GBV Prevention clubs. The clubs are headed by the leadership of the president, the vice president, secretary, Treasurer and information minister selected democratically by the students.
The objectives of forming these clubs are to;
• To raise awareness, shape the mindsets of students especially boys and make them drivers of GBV Prevention and Response beyond their school-walls.
• To create linkage and GBV reporting mechanism from students to their elected leaders to mentors/teachers and CREW
• Create an avenue for the trained teachers to constantly integrate their acquired knowledge into their everyday teaching culture.
In as much as the students were so responsive and curious to learn more about GBV, it wasn’t a smooth process at all. There is still a lot to be done to change the mindsets of students and have them understand that GBV does exist and has serious implications on the victims. It’s difficult to convince a culturally “empowered” young South Sudanese boy that his sister or fellow female student is equal to him, some boys continued to make sexist jokes during the sessions. Some of the students shied off when their teachers were around and this limited their participation and opinions on SRGBV that occur in their schools/communities. Almost all schools had no large conference halls that can accommodate all or at least half of the students, that forced us to divide them up and handle them differently which greatly affected our initially planned joint interactions. Some of the trained teachers were Arabic speakers, most students wanted English language to be used during the sessions so this was another challenge. Did I mention the fuel crisis? Oh yeah, the lack of fuel in the whole of Juba and the insanely high black-market rates really delayed and made some of our activities nearly impossible to achieve on time.
Teachers are not only stakeholders but custodians, capacitating them and giving them power to have a say in decisions affecting their students is very vital. Statements like “she is my daughter, who are you to tell me what to do with her?” are commonly used by South Sudanese parents to disenfranchise the law and anyone else trying to intervene. A teacher from Promised Land Secondary school was successfully able to talk a parent out of forcefully marrying off his daughter (a student) a few days after the teachers completed their Five Days Training on GBV/SRGBV Prevention and Response. Early forced marriage is one of the main challenges to girls’ education in South Sudan. There is need to empower the right direct stakeholders in the education system to enable them protect these students especially the girl child.
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46 Secondary School Teachers Trained on Gender Based Violence Prevention and Response
Violence in and around schools is a worldwide problem with serious implications for the educational attainment, health and well-being of all children. The deeply rooted cultural norms in South Sudan further aggravates the problem. The physical, sexual and psychological abuse suffered by both girls and boys at the hands of teachers, classmates drives children out of school and can leave long-lasting scars invisible to the eye.
School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) has short and long-term consequences on both educational performance and health outcomes. GBV has resulted in school children being unable to concentrate, attaining lower grades, losing interest in school, transferring to different schools and even leaving formal schooling altogether. Reproductive health manifestations include risk-taking behaviors, unintended pregnancy, abortion and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Equally harmful are the psychological outcomes of GBV, which range from symptoms of anxiety and depression to suicide attempts.
There is little political will in South Sudan for the implementation of policies that aim to achieve gender equity and promote girls’ participation in schools. The absence of a standardized curriculum is a setback in the integration of GBV in school syllabus. The South Sudan Education curriculum is currently adopted from neighboring countries with various schools using different curriculum. There is need to train teachers on their role in advocating for safe learning environments free of GBV. Teachers need to be empowered to demand for a harmonized school curriculum and then integrate GBV education into the curriculum and ensure both teachers and students nationwide are trained on prevention and response to GBV.
Crown The Woman-South Sudan (CREW) organized a training to provide teachers with an understanding of School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV). The training was meant to provide participants with knowledge and skills to enable them understand SRGBV and their roles in prevention and response. At the classroom level, teachers need to be trained in the use of nonviolent teaching and discipline practices.
Secondly, some of the teachers are actively involved in various committees ranging from examination councils to curriculum revisions, there was need to provide the training in order to ensure that trained teachers adequately voice GBV issues at various Ministry Of Education meetings and ensure that ultimately GBV is integrated at policy level and during curriculum review meetings.
Thirdly the training was meant to prepare the participants as mentors for a rights-based life skills programs including school clubs designed by CREW to help both girls and boys break free of harmful gender stereotypes and build skills to protect themselves from violence and abuse.
The objectives of this training were;
- To strengthen participants understanding of sexual and Gender based violence and their role as protectors of students in promoting a safe learning environment.
- To strengthen the capacity of secondary school teachers to prevent and respond to sexual and gender based violence in a professional and ethical manner.
- To come up with recommendations and school based action plans.
The training targeted 60 participants but only 46 attended. Most of the teachers were graduates and a few came from the Arabic background. The teachers were representatives of seven schools namely; Don Bosco Secondary school, Promise Land Secondary School, Juba day Secondary School, Juba Commercial Secondary School, Juba Diocesan Secondary School, Nile Model Secondary school and Kapuki Secondary School.
The training employed participatory approaches of learning and sharing of experience which sought effective participation of the Arabic pattern /background target group. To ensure effective participation, the groups were subdivided and encouraged to share their perspectives in smaller groups who later converged at the plenary to discuss their input to the larger group represented by one group leader in each group. During plenary all presentations were subjected to debate verify the issues generated and to make additions to views and perspectives being presented.
The 5days training covered; official opening of each workshop by setting the mood using the mood barometer tool for Training and participants’ expectations, Definitions GBV concepts and terminologies, Case study/scenario analysis, School related GBV (SRGBV), Causes of GBV, Risk factors of GBV, Film on GBV produced by CREW, Myths and facts of sexual violence, Role of teachers in GBV prevention, Strategies and tools for responding to GBV in schools, Role of key stakeholders in GBV response, Basic communication Skills and Monitoring GBV strategies in schools. The training successfully ended with each school developing and presenting their action plan towards GBV prevention and Response.
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Menstruation Shouldn’t Be a Challenge To Young Girls’ Aspirations
Majority of adolescent girls in South Sudan miss about five school days every month due to menstruation. With the current economic crisis, the prices of sanitary towels have tripled, and on days when a girl unexpectedly gets her period at school, she is sent home because they don’t have sanitary towels in store for such an emergency. As a result, she misses that day’s lessons. No child deserves to miss school due to a normal physiological bodily function. Lack of Menstrual Hygiene Management services (MHMS) is among many major obstacles stunting completion of both secondary and primary school at a low level.
Crown The Woman-South Sudan (CREW) has been able to reach out, provide Menstrual Hygiene Education and distribute menstrual hygiene kits to 889 girls last term in six primary schools and three Secondary schools in Juba namely; Kapuri, Comprehensive, Yenet, Dr. John Garang (Bilpam road), All Saints and Brother Augusto Memorial Primary School, Promised Land, Don Bosco and Dr. John Garang Memorial Secondary School (Konyokony) among others. This was possible through CREW’s mentorship programs under the theme; “I am my sister’s keeper campaign”. The focus was on puberty and menstrual hygiene education, conducted by Dr. Ayak Chol Deng, an epidemiologist from the Ministry of Health, Dr. Koiti Emmily from Juba Teaching Hospital who is also youth representative to the Joint Monitoring & Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and Aluel Gai Mayang a medical assistant as well as nurse from Aspen Medical South Sudan.
The medics took the girls through menstrual hygiene management from Female Reproductive Health to menstruation and best hygiene practices. They further taught/demonstrated how to use and dispose a sanitary towel. CREW ended these Menstrual Hygiene education sessions with distribution of menstrual hygiene kits that included three packets of sanitary towels, two bars of washing soap per student (girl) and two trash bins per school for proper disposal of used sanitary towels.
CREW brought three mentors/motivational speakers to talk to the girls. Among them was Merekaje Lorna; previously awarded by CREW for her contribution towards shaping peace in South Sudan. Merekaje Lorna; the Secretary General of South Sudan Democratic Engagement and Monitoring Program (SSuDEMOP) encouraged the girls to stay focused in school and continue to study and finish as education is the only insurance a woman has. Lorna stayed and interacted with the girls at the end of every session and exchanged contacts with some girls who were inspired by her. They requested Ms Merekaje to be their personal mentor. Atong Malual, a lawyer by profession and Suzan Tingwa, a mentor from EVE Organization for Women Development were two other mentors who covered the Primary schools.
During these programs, CREW left 22 reading materials in each of the three secondary schools’ library. The books included personal development, self-help, adolescent health and motivational books to mention but a few. It is hoped that utilization of these books by the girls will boost their self-esteem and enhance understanding of the changes happening to their bodies. Ultimately a culture of reading will be promoted among the girls.
Furthermore, CREW distributed sports items; volleyballs, netballs and fixed poles, in three secondary schools with the aim of creating sports friendly spaces for the girls to encourage them to participate in sports and promote peace. For those who play together, stay together.
It was a better school term for the girls. This is owed to support from the German Embassy-South Sudan and FRIDA.
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AMPLIFYING WOMEN’S VOICES
After decades of war and in the wake of recent conflict, South Sudan has seen a deterioration in the rule of law translating into rampant looting, targeted and ethnic killings, as well as a spread in hunger, diseases and its related deaths, prompting citizens to seek refuge in neighboring towns and countries and thousands internally displaced with women and children bearing the brunt of the violence in its after effects.
CREW uses its platform to amplify the voice of those who suffer these injustices by advocating and raising awareness on issues of women and children’s rights on radio and other media outlets as well as on social media platforms (Facebook: Crown The Woman-South Sudan & Twitter: @CrownTheWoman)
We also engage with likeminded institutions to ensure key issues affecting women and children are highlighted as part of our efforts at mainstreaming gender and paving way for meaningful gender equality and equity in South Sudan.
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