Christian Mission Aid

South Sudan is barely three months old and the country is still weaning itself of old challenges. War and conflict continues to emerge in various parts of the nation, mostly caused by political tensions from past conflicts.

Christian Mission Aid’s (CMA) locations in the country, particularly Juaibor Boma, in Jonglei State, is one of the volatile areas with constant fears that war might break out any time and send the people back to the utter hopelessness of past years. Although not targets in the brewing conflict, CMA employees in Juaibor have been particularly on the edge, with good reason. “We have witnessed conflicts here before, and it is never a comfortable situation,” says one of our medical staff in Sudan.

Juaibor is the pilot station for CMA’s Sustaining Peace and Enhancing Livelihoods in Southern Sudan (SPELS) project. The program is aimed at improving livelihoods by enhancing self-sufficiency, as well as promoting peace among locals. In addition to training the community in trade and agriculture, SPELS promotes peace and peaceful ways of resolving conflict.

Impoverished by years of civil war, residents of South Sudan have virtually lived on the breadline most of their lives. The climate does not make things any better. It is exceedingly harsh in dry as well as rainy season. As a result, disease is rampant. A combination of these factors leads to a restlessness that causes any contention to grow beyond bounds. These conflicts are often fueled by a deep seated culture of vengeance.

The divergences can be so bad it temporarily paralyzes all work at the CMA stations. It keeps oscillating from bad to worse, then back to manageable levels. When at its worse, government officials warn CMA staff not to leave their tukuls (Sudanese mud walled, grass thatched huts), and the medical staff not to serve at the clinic until further notice.

Since assuming power, government officials have intensified gun mopping that started three years ago in most of the country, to reduce armed conflicts.

Besides SPELS, CMA’s presence in the remote area in itself motivates residents to maintain peace. A South Sudan resident says, “Conflicting parties are reluctant to fight in the presence of an NGO. If they have to, they will go to isolated lands far away, where they cannot harm staff of the NGO or women and children.”

So far the SPELS project has employed all the tactics at its disposal to cause sustainable peace. The traditional way was to fight, kill each other and await the vengeance of the children of those killed, but CMA has introduced dialogue to resolve issues without spilling any blood. This includes sports tournaments among the youth who are usually at the center of the conflicts.

Our efforts are bearing fruit. Negotiation, one of the lessons the people learn under SPELSs’ peace initiative, is becoming popular. We established 12 village peace committees with representatives of women, youth, elders and the local administration, to oversee conflicts. “Assessing the success of our peace initiatives in Juaibor, I’m proud that we have achieved much,” says a SPELS staff. “SPELS has enabled the locals work together, no longer viewing each other as enemies,” he adds.

The efforts by SPELS and the government disarmament program assure residents of a less bloody conflict. Indeed recent attacks have been quite mild, given the fighters no longer have the sophisticated armaments they previously used,” says the resident of South Sudan.

CMA is glad to note the progress made by residents of Juaibor in handling conflicts. We believe that with the help of our funders, partners and supporters, we will be able to reach more parts of the country with the SPELS project and reduce bloody conflicts in Sudan.