South Sudan: Families receive seeds and tools to plant as rains set in

Once the people have been registered for the seeds and tools distribution, they received a token that they hand over to receive the goods (CC BY-NC-ND / ICRC / Florian Seriex)

While violence has decreased in South Sudan since the signing of the latest peace agreement, more than half of the population still struggles to have enough food to eat after years of conflict has left communities uprooted, without the security or tools to be able to farm.

"I just eat what I get," said Luka, 28. "If I don't get anything, I just don't eat."

In the last five months, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has given 352,000 people seeds and tools in South Sudan to help families plant once again before the rains set in. One of the communities that received support lives in Dulamaya as some 1,000 families have sought refuge there after they lost their homes and belongings to clashes that consumed Mundri East—an area roughly three hours' drive north-west of the capital Juba—in February.

Located 20 kilometers from the nearest village, Dulamaya is isolated and there are few opportunities for people like Luka to work, leaving people largely reliant on humanitarian assistance for their survival. "We need to follow-up on this community. They have shared with us their concerns, about food, water, education and we're looking at all the opportunities to support them," explained Ola Ulmo, Head of Sub-Delegation Equatoria. "The rainy season has now started, which will make the living conditions here more difficult and at the same time more challenging for us to reach this area by road."

While the camp will need support to get through the lean season the coming months, the hope is that the seeds, which include sorghum, maize, pumpkin, okra, and local green called kudra, will help them have food to harvest later this year, until Mundri is safe enough for them to return.