World Vision’s food assistance helps feed 32,000 people in South Sudan Protection of Civilians' site

“We have been here for five years. Due to fighting, we have to leave our village in the Upper Nile”, says 22-year old Yawit as she showed the food ration she received that day from World Vision. An estimated 38,000 people displaced from different parts of the country, such as Yawit and 11-members of her family, are living in the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site set up by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The POC site was created on 2014 as a safe haven for people seeking refuge from the war. World Vision has been working in one of the sites and is providing food assistance, in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), to 32,000 people.

Food Assistance Project Manager Simanga Ndebele says, “Along with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), we follow strict procedures in undertaking the food distribution every month to ensure that everyone is properly assisted. It is a tough job but the team is doing great amidst the challenges.”

Each person receives a monthly food ration consisting of 15kgs cereals, 1.5kg pulses, 0.9kg vegetable oil and 0.15kg salt. The beneficiaries have been provided with cards that they show to the staff and as soon as the ration is distributed, divide them as a group. The queue has always been orderly.

Simanga adds, “The ration for the displaced is enough and within the standards. But families have other basic needs that humanitarian assistance are unable to provided. Many of them have to be resourceful in finding ways to earn income to fill in the rest of their needs.”

That is what 28-year old mother Sarah has been doing to help feed her four children. “I do embroidery and sell the cloth at USD100. It takes at least a month for me to complete but it helps when I am able to earn from it”, Sarah says. Her family has been in the camp for two years. Just like Yawit, her wish is for her children to be able to go to school.

Over six million people are reported to be food insecure all over the country and if measures are not undertaken, the localized famine that happened in 2017 is feared to occur again this year. World Vision’s food assistance country-wide has reached over a million people, at least 116,000 of them in Juba Urban including the PoC.