DCA's Humanitarian Director Lisa Henry has visited South Sudan which on Monday 9. July can celebrate two years as an independent nation
Amer is an 18 year woman with an astounding conviction. She is teaching 2-3 sessions per day on how women, men and children can protect themselves from the threat of landmines, unexploded bombs and munitions.
She is slim and you might think shy. She doesn't say much to begin with as she stands in her t-shirt, skirt and bare legs beside the men on the DanChurchAid Risk Education team.
Then, a strong voice accompanied by a beautiful smile, lights up the crowded and humid classroom packed with 45 gangly youth in Bor town, Jonglei state, South Sudan.
Amer is inspired. She is teaching 2-3 sessions per day on how women, men and children can protect themselves from the threat of landmines, unexploded bombs and munitions. Amer is an 18 year woman with an astounding conviction that she can make a difference for her people, her community, her South Sudan. Since I was 5 years old, I have said to myself, "I will build a school for the kids and a hospital for the people. I want to help my community and my South Sudan."
Home after 14 years
Amer speaks with the quiet conviction of someone who is home again after a long, difficult journey. And someone who knows what she is talking about.
She is home after 14 years as a refugee in Kenya, with 10 of those years in Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya. She remembers the violent war full of bombs and weapons which killed her father, broke her family apart and forced her mom to flee with 4 year old Amer in tow. "It was so difficult to be split from my brothers and not have a dad. It was just me and my mom alone in Kakuma."
Learning in Kakuma
Even though they were alone in Kakuma camp, life there with the almost 100.000 refugees was ok. Humanitarian agencies like DanChurchAid provided life saving support meeting basic needs and rights of the people.
The refugees were involved in decision making and Amer observed and learned from the system. Her address was Zone 3, Group 39. She and her mom lived in a small hut. Her classmates lived very close by, and the school teachers were kind and always showed up to teach. Discipline and clear messages were the order of the day. Amer remembers how her strict school teacher made her hug a tree for 1 hour because she was late for class.
Maybe it was her teachers in Kakuma camp who have inspired her. Maybe it was her family members who insisted she get an education, all the way through form 4. Maybe it was her own dream of building a school or a hospital or her own South Sudan. Most likely a combination. Whatever it was it has put Amer on a path to a future for herself and for her country.
"I feel good, very nice to be in the classroom teaching about risks. Girls are listening to me. They tell me, Amer, we are taking your example."
Unknown amounts of weapen and mines
The path to a future for South Sudan is currently littered with landmines and UXOs (unexploded ordnance). No one quite knows the extent of the contamination, as it has been impossible to map the problem.
Most likely 2-3 mio. small arms are still laying around. DanChurchAid and its development partners within the ACT alliance in Bor County know the issue quite well. And the local population is more than willing to learn about it and tell about UXOs which are buried nearby. In 2013 alone over 5800 people have received this risk education message through two DCA risk education teams, currently operating in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria states of South Sudan .
Back in the humid classroom full of 45 youth, Amer's long, slim legs dance as she mimics a child balancing her way down a road with landmines in the fields on either side of the road. She works them through a brief session where they learn that even when you are searching for a place in the bush to pee or when you have a bad stomach, you have to be careful and find a safe place. She teaches them to stand up to strict headmasters who may insist that kids find their football, even though it has rolled into a dangerous area. Her role play inspires the kids in the classroom to shout out answers, "the red sign means DANGER".
Amer's message is clearly understood by Akual Akoj, a small girl on the next to last bench, "We have learned about these risks and we don't want to be killed by these bombs. We want to live and finish school!" This young risk education educator has done her piece of work for her South Sudan.