Mary Chol, 28 years old mother of three is among many women who bear the brunt of war. She is the resident of Odar Village located north of Kodok Payam in Fashoda County of Upper Nile State. Life was not easy for Mary as she couldn’t provide for the children. So she decided to leave the village for the IDPs camp in Aburoc.

My economic situation became very difficult at that village till it forced me to leave it and move to Aburoc where there are displaced people who were displaced by the conflict in 2017”

In the beginning, life was not rosy for Mary and her kids. He had to rely on her relatives for supports. She was later employed at a tea joint, where she was able a earn some money for her basic needs

I stay there for a year looking for a work, but I was getting support through the relatives till I got work at tea shop which was owned by someone else, the work was not going on well, but at least it supported me with some of my basic needs of my life…

 

Mary is among the many women who survived gender based violence in the hands of the people who once promised to love them forever, their husbands.

Mary separated with her husband seven years ago, and now she has to struggle to take care of her three children single handedly.

According to UN Children Agency, UNICEF, “Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most critical threats to the protection and wellbeing of women and children in South Sudan with some 51 per cent have suffered intimate partner violence (IPV)”.

However, Mary tried to start up her own tea business but failed due insufficient capital to run the business.

I tried to open my own tea shop but couldn’t managed it due to the less earning I got from it

With support from Widows and Orphans Charitable Organization, Mary was able to successfully boost up her tea joint and her income significantly improved.

In 2022 I was registered by WOCO organization under the income generating activity as part of support to the vulnerable families. I was trained and supported with the capital to run my own business. Now my situation is better than before, I can now buy food and clothes to my children without fear”

For generations, South Sudanese women have supported their families and communities by engaging in entrepreneurial activities, however their progress has often been constrained by a mixture of prevailing social norms, institutional impediments, and insufficient access to education, training, business services, and access to financing.

Widows and Orphans Charitable Organization is working with partner organizations, UNICEF and WarChild Holland to support vulnerable women who are trapped in a cycle of poverty triggered by the political violence and inter-communal conflicts in South Sudan

In May this year, 2022 the World Bank has approved a seventy million dollar International Development Association fund to boost women’s entrepreneurial and economic empowerment in South Sudan. The project is meant to support female entrepreneurs in formalizing and scaling up their business activities and help survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) access vital services that will enable them to recover and rebuild their lives.