Recovery and rehabilitation project in South Sudan Elisabeth Hartwig, VSF Germany

1. Where animals mean life

2. Animals do signify life …

3. …because in South Sudan, small holder agricultural
production is the base for a sustainable development.

4. VSF Germany supports pastoralists and
agropastoralists in the East of Africa…
… implementing projects in Kenya,
Ethiopia, Somalia, South-Sudan and
North-Sudan. VSF G works in South Sudan since 1998; since 2005
South Sudan is organised in „Bundesstaaten“ = States,
sub-dividd in Counties.

5. But taking care of the animals is not enough to
ensure food security and development of rural
communities, for example in
Gogrial East County
Warrap State / South Sudan
Recovery and Rehabilitation Project 09
Gogrial East (RRP), May 2006 – May 2010
an integral rural development project implemented by VSF Germany

6. RRP Gogrial East
A gate to
self-determined development …
4 lessons learned after 4 years of project implementation

7. RRP after the civil war– rehabilitation and first
steps towards the integrated development of a
rural county
RRP = Recovery and Rehabilitation Project
Global aim: Contribution to poverty reduction and improvement of food security of the rural
population
through:
improvement of animal health and livestock production; increase, improvement and
diversification of agricultural production;
improvement of Basic and Reproductive Health Services with focus on women and children;
improvement of access to safe water;
improvement of access to education and training;
based on close collaboration with the Local Government in supporting them to take up hteir
responsibilities
Partners collaborating in RRP therefore are:
- Local Government Authorities and Administration of Gogrial East - Citizens of Gogrial East
- VSF Germany as Lead Agent
- International NGOs:
CESVI, IoH, WVI, VSF Germany
- South Sudanese NGOs:
INFRAID and SEDA,

8. Lesson No 1: Close collaboration with LGA and communities
as a base
With RRP, citizens of Gogrial East met to discuss issues concerning the improvement of their lives,
like here in the Participatory Review and Planning Workshop in September 2008

9. Women are involved and take their stand: not only at community meetings, but
also when traders of the market towns came together to form their association.
…

10. …as well as the youth of both sexes
… as here in a meeting for youth groups in
the county capital Lietnhom

11. RRP moved ahead in supporting the setting up of county
structures:
Equipping of operational base in Luonyaker and finalising
the Local Government Authorities office in Lietnhom, the
county headquarters.
When in Luonyaker, the County
Officers used to hold meetings
in this tukul.
Now they use the rooms of the new
operational base whenever they
come from Lietnhom to Luonyaker.
Citizens come with their requests and are
attended; meetings and workshops are
hold here.
Giir Thiik Giir, the paramount chief, arriving
to discuss with the Executive Director

12. The Participatory Review and Planning Workshop, opened by His Excellency, the
Commissioner of Gogrial East, could be held at the office premises in Luonyaker and
turned out to be a big success.
For three days, more then 120 people participated daily.

13. Capacity Building of LGA staff
First steps into a new technology and …
To introduce the staff to the modern
communication technology, RRP 09
organized a 2 months comprehensive
computer training course for 40 LGA
staff; representatives of local NGO
were also invited.
The IT-trainer explained
basic computer operations to
the trainees, and they practised
for the first time in their live.
proud trainees and a happy trainer after a successful training

14. The County Planning Unit could put
into practice new skills learned in
computer training when working on
the county development plan and the
2008/2009 budget.

15. County Development
Plan:
Helping to come up with a 3
years’ integrated county
development plan including a
budget was one of the major
efforts RRP took to support the
Local Government during the
third year.
The consultant who came in to help the
development of the draft plan, used the
chance also to do capacity building for
Local Government Administrators in
The field of monitoring and evaluation.

16. The consultant discussed with
representatives of all county
departments and also gathered
all the information the planning
unit could get during their
payam consultations, before he
compiled a draft of the County
Strategic Plan.
This draft then was presented
and thoroughly discussed in a
3 days’ meeting for LGA
representatives held in the
county headquarters.

17. The meeting was held at the premises of the newly established Village Bank in
the county headquarter Lietnhom

18. The County Authorities support the office construction in Lietnhom, the county
headquarters, and help to motivate community contributions for the construction of health
centres and schools. They organised the community in laying and burning bricks and also
helped to provide timber, sand and gravel …
Lesson No 2:
LGA and community
contribution

19. Construction
in the Health Sector
moved on successfully:
The Primary Health Care Unit in
Luonyaker has been inaugurated,
as well as the Primary Health Care
Centre in Matiel. 5 further PHCCs
will be finished soon.
The former Primary Health
Centre in Yikador as an
example for how health
facilities looked like all over
the county: an old Tukul,
nearly falling apart ….
… and the newly constructed
Primary Health Centre in
Matiel awaiting the opening
ceremony – thanks to the work
done by many hands.

20. Community members were the ones
to provide bricks for all health
facilities constructed by RRP
It is mostly women involved in brick laying.

21. The women involved in brick laying
danced and rejoiced together with the
Traditional Birth Attendants trained
by the RRP Health Sector during the
opening ceremony of the Matiel Health
Centre.
The young people of Matiel – the youths, and
students down to Primary one came to join the
Celebrations and were welcomed by
their mothers.

22. The traditional chiefs - here
Chief Morris Ngor Ater and Sub-
Chief Ngor Mawien - thanked
RRP for the support received in
constructing the Matiel Health
Centre…
…as well as the representative
of the County Health
Department Theresa Akul
Arol and the women involved
in brick laying.

23. RRP work is appreciated
by the traditional
authorities:
For the inauguration
ceremony of the Luonyaker
Health Care Unit and the
Health Centre in Matiel,
the chiefs of the area
provided the bulls
slaughtered by the spear
masters

24. The communities and the county of
Gogrial East contributed local materials
including bricks and timber for the
construction of public buildings like
the Health Centres and Primary Schools
… and for all schools and
offices under construction
Yikador Health Centre

25. The County Authorities organised to get licences for cutting timbers in the
county forests for the roofing of the office and other buildings like health
centres and schools constructed under the RRP-programme
The Executive Chief selected the
trees and the youth of the nearby
villages helped the timber cutters
when necessary…

26. At the inauguration of the Matiel Health Centre, the Consortium Programme
Coordinator used the chance to thank LGA and the community of Gogrial East
for their contributions towards the construction of public buildings.
“With one hand alone you cannot clap”
LGA and Community Contribution
RRP construction – materials & labour budgeted:
1,89.000 SDG = 584,000 Euro
LGA and community contribution till the end of year three:
Timber 100,500 SDG = 34,000 Euro
Bricks, sand, gravel 884,000 SDG = 272,000 Euro
Total 994,500 SDG = 306,500 Euro
= Contribution of 1/3

27. Lesson No 3:
Combined Mobile
Clinic for
Human and
Animal Health
advisable
To improve the health services
offered to the citizens of Gogrial
East, the RRP Health Sector started
the Mobile Clinic Services: Once a
week a team went out to visit those
parts of the county far away from
health centres and difficult to access.

28. The mobile clinic team offered primary health
care services in general and also attends to
pregnant women and children
When arrival of the team is announced at
the village centre or at the cattle camp
… mothers come immediately to seek help for their sick
children – as farmers come to ask support for their sick
animals.

29. But after the civil war, violent conflicts among the local
communities are endangering the peaceful development of
the rural areas in South Sudan.
Therefore: Lesson No 4:
Peace and reconciliation
measures are needed as a pre-
condition for all activities
realised by NGOs.
VSF G supported efforts in Gogrial East that aimed
at ending the numerous clashes between the Dinka-
clans of the Apuk, Aguok and Kuac.

30. As a result, VSF Germany introduced a
peace and conflict resolution component as
a cross-cutting theme into the RRP-project
- As asked by the Commissioner of Gogrial East, VSF G organised a small conference
at county to level in preparation for the big peace conference at state level to be held
in Tonj.
- A VSF G team supported the delegation made up of county-representatives,
traditional rulers, traditional healers, women‘s and youths‘ representatives at the
first Peace Conference of Warrap Stae 2008; VSF G also helped to disseminate the
conditions laid down in the peace agreement signed there all over the county.
- VSF G supported women‘s representatives and women‘s organisation from the
hostile clans in forming the umbrella „Akac akac“ (=„Enouhg is enough“), who
wanted to bring an end to the violent clashes among the youth.
- In December 2010, during the 2nd State peace meeting, VSF G supported the local
government and CoTAL in organising a peace meeting between Apuc, Aguok and
Kuac, where youth from the different cattle camps for the first time could meet each
other and exchange their views.
- VSF G opted for traditional conflict resolution and accepted the sentnece of the
traditional court when directly involved: When one of the RRP-drivers was involved
in an accident.

31. In preparation for the big
peace conference:
Chiefs, other traditional leaders,
women and youth representatives
discussed about their grievances,
but also about those of the other
side, and tried to find root causes
for the conflict and proposals for
a way forward.
Chiefs spoke about their worries and …
... women expressed their grievances. As were the traditional spear masters, VSF G was also there
to see to delegation off to attend the Peace Meeting in Tonj.

32. Signing of the Peace
Agreement between
the clans of Apuk,
Aguok and Kuac in
Tonj:
Chief Giir Thiik Giir was the first to sign…
… and both the commissioners of Gogrial West and East sealed the
peace agreement by jumping hands together over the bull, which had
been sacrificed for the big event.

33. Presentation of the
Kal Kuel peace
covenant all over the
county
Mama Ayen Parek, widow of William …and the chiefs of Gogrial
Deng Nhial, gave her blessings as she did West and East joint hands in
in Tonj in the presence of the president … celebration.

34. The Governor led a delegation of the
Warrap State Traditional Authority
Leaders visiting different places in the
Greater Gogrial to disseminate the message
of the Kal Kuel peace covenant, and held
also a meeting in Luonyaker. VSF G helped
to organise the events in Gogrial East.
The women handed over white ribbons to all the
chiefs and authorities present– since white is the
colour of peace.
They also presented a rope to the governor - as a
symbol for the bull , which would be scacrificed
later to seal the peace treaty.

35. Young men and women from the
different cattle camps greeted the
the honorable guests with a white
flag, and offered, as a gesture of
peace, calabashes of sour milk to
them.

36. At the end of the ceremony everybody joined in
a dance of joy:
Chiefs, elders, celebrities, handicapped,
female members of the parliament,
children…

37. VSF Germany accepted the verdict
of the traditional council …
… and paid the traditional fine of cattle.
One bull was sacrificed for the ceremony
of reconciliation:
Representatives of both parties licked the
bile of the animal and spit: From then on
all bitterness should be forgotten.