Funding alone is not enough – we must give the brave girls of South Sudan every chance to succeed

Details: Written/Submitted by External Source; Category: South Sudan & African News From Various Sources; Published: 18 August 2018; Hits: 3584

Earlier this year, I flew to South Sudan with children’s rights charity Plan International UK ^[1] to meet and photograph teenage girls caught up in the crisis there.

I have a long-standing interest in the country, having spent a year in Sudan in 2005 after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement ^[2] and returned on various photo projects since violence broke out.

As I flew into Juba, I saw a city that had grown but, when I reached Rumbek, I realised that little had changed for the families I was about to meet.

The world’s youngest sovereign state has been embroiled in civil war for five of its seven years ^[3] of existence. Up to 300,000 people ^[4] are reported to have been killed in the war, and nearly a third ^[5] of the 12 million population has been displaced by the fighting.

It’s a painful truth that girls are always worst affected ^[6] by an emergency or conflict situation, and that is so evident in South Sudan. Sadly, their access to education has completely dwindled – the country has the worst education statistics for girls anywhere in the world, with nearly three-quarters of girls aged 6-11 ^[7] not in the classroom.

Teenage girls have been unduly affected by war and food insecurity (Photo: Kate Holt)

The UK government, since launching DFID’s Girls Education South Sudan programme ^[8] in 2013, has already supported thousands of girls to stay in school for longer. And their recent pledge of £70 million further funding is a step in the right direction.

But what I heard from the girls I met is that, even if good quality education is funded and provided, there are a myriad of factors affecting girls’ ability to go to school in this war-torn society.

For many, it’s the simple fact that their families are starving. Much of the fighting has taken place in the agricultural heart in the south of the country.

With crops ruined and farmers fleeing the violence, almost six million people now face starvation ^[9], with famine breaking out in some areas. The economy is completely devastated.

Roseanna, 17, told me: ‘Sometimes I can go without food for a day because there isn’t any – food is a big problem. If I don’t eat I feel hungry and if I don’t eat for a few days I can’t go to school because I feel weak.’

(Photo: Kate Holt)

She had fought to attend school after refusing to marry a neighbour, resulting in her cousin shooting her in the hip. Stories like hers are common – over half of girls are married before they are 18 ^[10], one in 10 ^[11] before they are 15. And more girls die in childbirth than graduate ^[12] from secondary school; sobering statistics.

Akujang was only 14 when she was married to her 18-year-old husband, and had given birth a year later. ‘I’m the eldest girl, so it was my job to cook and work in the garden,’ she explains. “I was married off – I did not have a choice. Now I’m breastfeeding but sometimes I have no milk and it is hard because my baby cries.’

For others, the violence that surrounds them makes getting to school difficult. Mary started school when she was 14 years old. She hadn’t been able to attend before due to the fighting. After she was given a school bag by Plan International, it was stolen by armed men – but she chased them and got it back.

That determination is evident in all the girls – they are incredibly brave. They carve out their lives, with passion and ambition, in one of the harshest environments possible, and all have hopes for the future.

Akujang wants her daughter to go to school so she can get a job. Roseanna wants to become a doctor and show her family that what they tried to do to her was wrong. And Mary now has the security of knowing she will be allowed to finish school without marrying.

More: Sudan ^[13]

A commitment to help them achieve their dreams through education is great, and it’s important that financial aid is given to this. But simply spending more money won’t solve the problem.

The only thing that will truly see them thrive is a peace agreement that puts an end to the fighting, letting families settle and earn a regular income once more. The UK Government, and the international community as a whole, must keep pushing for this. Only then will we see the right environment created for girls to access the educational opportunities that funding can create.

To find about more about Plan International UK’s work visit plan-uk.org ^[14]

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