ceford annual report 2014-detailed (2)

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CEFoRD ANNUAL REPORT 2014

Empowering Children and Young people to claim their Rights

Advocating for peaceful co-existence and unity in diversity ( Project; Culture of peace and None

violence)

Ensuring Increased Participation Youth in decision-making processes

CEFoRD is located at Hai Gabat Residential Area

CEFoRD-Annual Report 2014

CEFoRD is located at Hai Gabat Residential Area

Plot A

Block No. 79

Tel: +211955025568, +211955030776, +211955546429

E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected] [email protected]

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Acknowledgement

Developing countries often face huge challenges of sustaining civil society organizations development and growth who struggle in different angles such as inventing new ideas to advance human development, inadequate funds to support trilling ideas and many more challenges. For that reason we congratulate our Bod of Directors for their continues support in providing the needed support for CEFoRD to grow. We also thank and appreciate the program staff with their increasingly compelling creativity of developing new innovative approaches to tackle social challenge and advance human development especially the vulnerable group tackle social challenge and advance human development especially the vulnerable group (Women, Children and young people) in this disadvantaged part of society. Especial appreciation goes to our long serving director Mawa George the co-founder of CEFoRD, Khemis Benson, Asiengzo Sony and above all Aloro Butrus in his undisputable talents and efforts put to compile this report. Lastly but most importantly, our Godly thanks goes to Camilla Ankersterne

s founder Eric J. Moses and Centre for Democracy and Development (CEDED) for their effort in nurturing CEFoRD till its transformation in a National Non-Governmental Organization in South Sudan. We also thank our Development Partners OSIEA, FOSI, War Child Holland, the EU, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and other Development partners that have extended their support to us in the Past. We also extend our thanks to all our stakeholders especially the local government and the community leaders in our areas of operation in welcoming our programs and actively participating in promoting human rights to achieve human development in all spheres of human live.


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Table of Contents

... Page 5 Organizational Designed, Planned and Implemented activities (all projects Designed, Planned and Implemented activities (all projects Participatory Governance and accountability Project Youth for Youth

Governance and Youth Participation Partnership for Peace

CEFoRD Annual Income and Expenditure Report 2013/2014


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Executive Summary Though CEFoRD have registered a drop in the volume of funding in 2012-2013, largely related to limited access to potential development partners, inadequate fund raising strength and scope of operation. However, in 2014 despite the fact that it was a very chaotic year CEFoRD have registered authentic progress and success if can put it. We were able to register four projects in total, out of which two were new projects and two were renewed. These includes Participatory Governance and Accountability funded by Open society initiative for east Africa (OSIEA-Renewal) Partnership for peace Project (Renewal) funded by the European Union (EU) (OSIEA-Renewal) Partnership for peace Project (Renewal) funded by the European Union (EU) through War Child Holland, Youth for Youth funded by Foundation Open Society Initiative (FOSI-New) administered by open Society Initiative and Governance and Youth participation (New) funded by National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Reflecting to our organizational strategic plan, in the past three years our focus had been guided by the strategic plan which focuses on Governance, Social Health, GBV, Child protection and livelihood. In all these social challenges, all of the have been tackled accept livelihood due to limited calls that support livelihood development for youth in South Sudan. In the previous years the target group of CEFoRD had not been very clear. However, in 2013 and 2014 CEFoRD was able to clear identify its entry point in promoting the past global millennium development goals as Children and Young people. This does not rule out involvement of the local government, community leaders and other civil society organization. Our overall funding in 2014 have reached to $ 180, 000 compared to the previous years which stand at $ 65,000 in 2013 and $ 96,00 in 2012 and $ 95,000 in 2011. These data indicate fluctuation in our annual income which might be related to the social-political situation of the country and the institutional capacity of CEFoRD. In our project activities, we have implemented nearly all the planned activities. For partnership for peace we have conduct 3 Assessment on the child right situation (focus group discussion based) 3 Assessment on the implementation and monitoring of child rights in three operation locations, 6 community dialogues with children and young people including balances for 2013, 3 trainings for children groups on the South Sudan Child Act 2009. 3 Awareness raising events on the rights of Children. 3 Series of workshops targeting community leaders, Faith based and primary schools, 3 Meetings linking community monitoring and reporting mechanism from the Bomas to the County and the Municipality and few others. (for all the details see page)


For the three projects focusing on governance, we have also implemented numerous activities including trainings, conferences, interschool debates Radio talk shows, review meetings and many other as detailed in page In Brief, 2014 had been a break-through for CEFoRD in programs, level of engagement, funding, external relation and many others as detailed later in this report

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Organizational Focus CEFoRD focus was based on the economic and social political aspect of the country that is characterized by lack of citizens participation in decision making process, high rate of corruption and lack of transparency and ineffective service delivery, continuous human rights violations, high prevalence of sexsual transmitted deceases, poor methods of farming that involves indiscriminate cutting of trees and many other challenging social political issues across the country. In brief below are the focus areas of the organization the country. In brief below are the focus areas of the organization

A. Governance B. Child Protection C. Gender Based Violence D. Health E. POVERTY REDUCTION

In its attempt to solve these social economic and political issues, CEFoRD was able to win some grants from development partners to address the above mentioned social challenges to achieve human development in South Sudan in Particular the greater Equatoria where those projects were implemented. To address the above mention challenges, CEFoRD developed strategic and participatory To address the above mention challenges, CEFoRD developed strategic and participatory approaches to tackle the mentioned social, economic and political issues. These approaches includes but not limited to Participatory Drama (Forum Theatre) that show case a problems and audiences come on stages to try and give solution to the identified issues, Participatory Video, board Games, Open debates, Debate cards, music and many other approaches that keeps evolving as CEFoRD keeps growing and developing its capacity both institutional capacity and coverage as such the organization has managed to achieve and reach some of the formulated goals and still working hard to achieve more.


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As did mentioned earlier below are our current standing programs

Governance

Youth 4 Youth

P. Location-CES Lainya Yei Morobo

Target. Youth

PGA

Target-

P.location-CES Lainya Yei Morobo

Governance & Youth Participation

Target-Youth

P.Location-WES Maridi Mundri East Ibba Nzara

Project Focus: Youth Participation in Governance and Conflict resolution initiative/Peace building Initiative

Project Focus: To improve participation of citizens and accountability in governance in South Sudan

Project Focus: Youth participation in decision making processes,

Child Protection


Partnership for peace

Target-Children and Young people

Project Location-CES Yei, Logo, Pakula & Goli

Project Focus: Children and young people in DRS and SS realize their rights to participate by meaningfully contributing to all decisions affecting them in order to fully support the realization of their rights at every level

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Organizational Capacity Development

CEFoRD continues to strengthen its capacity through support from partners and internal

development strategies that were laid fours ago and below are the capacity development

strategies undertaken

Training of field staff on M&E by WCH

The training was organized by War Child Holland for all its staff and partners in Yei to improve The training was organized by War Child Holland for all its staff and partners in Yei to improve

documentation of activity progress and insight analysis of the project performance in the areas

of operation. Since that training CEFoRD have realized improved and quality report writing from

its staff including case study documentation.

In Job coaching for finance person by a hired consultant

Early 2014, CEFoRD was able to hire a consultant to help improve the finance section especially

monthly finance report, cash projection and annual report compilation for Finance. Since then

it has relatively improved the finance department as reports are able to go on time though with

some irregularities but had helped improved the finance section.

Other capacity development includes the following

Training of one staff on communication development in Tanzania sponsored by OSIEA Training of one staff on communication development in Tanzania sponsored by OSIEA Procurement of one Car CEFoRD Joined NGO Forum Training of two staff on Advocacy

Recommendation-Organizational Development CEFoRD have to register with RRC and staff have to collaborate with RCC in all program CEFoRD have to renew registration with the ministry of legal affairs and constitutional

development CEFoRD have to resolve the issues of office space Need for Training on Project planning and Management or FR&GM, M&E and Report

writing


Fund Raising for 2014 In 2014 CEFoRD have developed and written numerous proposals and concept note to

different development partners both within and outside the country in line with its strategic plan 2011-2014. In total Six Proposals have been submitted in 2014 to different funding organization. In all the submitted projects, CEFoRD was awarded one project by

concept not to Youth advocates have not been received in time.

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One project agreement renewed for two years (PFP) One project Won

Potential Funding opportunity

1. ERICKS Development Partner 2. HECKS

Other accomplishment in 2014 In 2014, CEFoRD have registered some accomplishments that comes by the side these includes In 2014, CEFoRD have registered some accomplishments that comes by the side these includes the following Improved external relations with CSOs and the local government. In 2014 CEFoRD had

been closely working with different departments in the local government especially the department of Gender and social development conducting trainings and dialogue on Child Protection, Field visits and linking the community monitoring and reporting mechanism to the county. Similarly CEFoRD had been partnering with the department of Youth Culture and Sports by engaging them in conference, issues based radio talk shows, coordination meeting with development partners and many other activities. Active participation in Joined Advocacy through protest and press release. CEFoRD had

been actively participating in advocacy evens together with other Civil Society organizations in Yei, notably when 15 December incident happened in Juba where organizations in Yei, notably when 15 December incident happened in Juba where hundreds of people were murdered in a single night. Jointly CEFoRD and other partners conducted a peaceful protest condemning the massacre of the innocent civilians in Juba. Not only that, CEFoRD also participated in a peaceful protest when the former Mayor of Yei Municipality was murder in Juba which drew the attention of local government, Civil Society group in the country, the Media and the faith based condemning the act and arguing the perpetrators to brought to book.

Local donations and support to the municipal and county Authority and The (YCSOF). In

2014, CEFoRD sponsored some activities prepared by the local government notably, when the labor officer requested a support to conduct training for all civil servants and employers in Yei on the Labor act. CEFoRD also donated sports materials to the Municipal veteran club.

Expansion in coverage to two States. CEFoRD have expanded it geographical scope to


Expansion in coverage to two States. CEFoRD have expanded it geographical scope to Western Equatoria state for the NED funded project. Chances are high that CEFoRD equally reach other state should funds be realised.

CBOs and CSOs learns from CEFoRD best practices through exchange visit it to CEFoRD. CEFoRD was invited to take part in training organized by the National Peace Healing and

Reconciliation Committee. CEFoRD was able facilitate scheduled training on Forum Theatre as an approach to help communities find solutions to local problems and

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advance transformation. Participants were able to understand the uniqueness of Forum Theatre as a tool and how to use it in addressing conflict in different communities and settings

Comparison of Existing/current project with and the Strategic Plan The organization (CEFoRD) has five main focus namely; Governance, Social Health, Child Protection, GBV and livelihood (Poverty Reduction). In 2014 CEFoRD was able to cover up to 70% of its main focus areas with support from development partners. However, during the annual meeting the members have urged for the coverage of all the focus areas by identifying annual meeting the members have urged for the coverage of all the focus areas by identifying funding partners on areas that were not talked and increase geographical coverage as well. The members also recommended for the revision of the Strategic plan for the organization to analyze current political, social and economic challenges engulfing the country and identify potential development partners to address the identified challenges to advance human development in all sphere of life. Illustration of focus areas in terms of resources used.

Percentage of Fund utilised by CEFoRD to Social, plotical and economic Challenges in South Sudan

Governance

Peace Building/Conflict resolutions

Child Protection

The above illustration was influenced by the political situation in South Sudan as organizations were circumstantially forced to revert their focus areas to emergency response strategies. Secondly, the availability of potential donors to support other focus areas has also influenced the chart.

61%21%18%

0% 0%

Child Protection

Social Health

Livelihood


the chart.

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Designed, Planned and Implemented activities (all projects) In 2014 CEFoRD has 4 active projects; we will next look at the activities planned and implemented and others that were sifted to 2015 based on project duration and adjustments made by the management of CEFoRD. Participatory Governance and accountability Project The participatory governance and accountability (PGA) focuses on enhancing participation of The participatory governance and accountability (PGA) focuses on enhancing participation of

citizens and accountability in governance in South Sudan. The PGA is been implemented in the

three counties of Central Equatoria state namely; Yei, Morobo and Lainya. The target uadeince

for the projects are the Youth and Women groups in the three mentioned counties. The

activities for this project includes; Interschool debate, Round table talk shows, Training of civil

society Organization members and Democracy Bus Tour (later modified to fit the current

political set up). This report combines both the first and the second interim report for the

participatory governance and accountability project phase II with emphasis on aspect of

accountability (Not only governmental institutions but also the private sectors in South Sudan

to be accountable to the public and their stakeholders) and participation in governance in all

levels of government and institutions.(participation in an informed and organized manner) The

starting period for activity implementation was on December 2013 though, but with spark of

violence in South Sudan it interrupted the flow of activity implementation. Based on the violence in South Sudan it interrupted the flow of activity implementation. Based on the

previous experience in the implementation of the participatory governance and accountability

project in the different communities of Lainya, Yei, and Morobo, it has utmost made this first

phase of PGA part II easier. The start of the implementation this time begins with interschool

debates. Reflected in this report are the far we have gone and some few challenges

encountered in the due.

It should be noted that, In this phase II we have modified our approach for inter-school debates

into round table talk show to bring in, local government constitutional duty bearers including

the civil society to address the numerous changes that the students and the young people are

facing. Second, the modification was aimed at broadening the discussion to reach many

audiences, intellectuals and influential people on board given the complexity of the our the

current situation in South Sudan.


current situation in South Sudan.

Below are the planned activities for PGA in 214

Two Interschool debate

8 Round table talk shows

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Training of civil society Organization members (To be done jointly with members

organizations

Democracy Bus Tour.

Activities overall findings

In the findings, we realized that the schools were in a stressed situation due to south

Sudan syllabus against Ugandan syllabus. The ministry of Education science and Sudan syllabus against Ugandan syllabus. The ministry of Education science and

Technology has passed a resolution stopping the use of Uganda syllabus in all secondary

schools

The senior four students were affected confused of the sudden changes in the Ministry

of education science and technology not until most of them have to leave studies and go

home which also created a lot of tension from the parents or guardians of the students

from the respective schools.

Some secondary schools and students feel unsafe and uncertian about the ongoing

conflict in the country

zens lack information and it has been an opportunity for them to share, their ideas and reflect on the challenges they are going through, Yakani Mobuto a follower of the program appreciated the initiative and called on the government to come out and support the appreciated the initiative and called on the government to come out and support the youth farmers and youth business. Yeka Joel as well mentioned a challenge of the market for the produce from agriculture and he asked the civil society call on the government to open roads and markets. Mr. Leone called on the government to have access on information and freedom of association including making it affordable for legality in terms of registration. And Mr. John at at labara in Yei blamed the local government on poor implementation of policies that are meant for service deliverance. While Mr. Yakani Edmond a civil society activist called on the youth to be creative and think outside the box. He said there are no opportunities that exist but the youth should be able to ensure that the little knowledge they have is practiced. Mr. William an agricultural specialist mentioned that youth should take agric as a business to create more employment opportunity for other youths as well.

1. Outcome


1. Outcome

this is on how they contribute during the program, a follower from the hoka line blamed the

this crimes and the dependency syndrome is gone, we would not be victims of the

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Two young men from Morobo were able to open up four fedan of farm for onion and they were

able to find a market for the produce through the program. It attracted investors to reach their

The meeting resolved the use of the an

interschool school radio debated, Spirit fm shall be used and 14 secondary schools will be

participating,

Due to the need CEFoRD and Yei community Resource Centre have merged four debates to

make one program.

Challenges encountered while implementing the PGA project Challenges encountered while implementing the PGA project

The December 15th crisis had direct negative impact on the project, where activity

implementation at the community was not allowed by the community leaders.

Delay in disbursement of funds is another challenge that cannot be for gotten as well

Irresponsive invited speakers would turn down the invitation for the radio discussion

and it leaves a gap in terms of responding to concerns rose by the listeners.

Speakers sometimes could have limited knowledge on the matter of discussion and they

were not giving enough time for preparation, does not give feedback as well.

Recommendation for the PGA Project

We recommend that earlier disbursement is done to fasten the implementation of the

project according to the schedules of the project time frame.

It is our plea that the international community exert more pressure to the warring

parties to stop the ongoing conflict for peace to prevail in the communities where the

project in targeting

We will as CEFoRD continue to invite, and also ensure that the importance of sharing

with the people on the radio stations and make continues follow up with the invited

speakers and guide the moderator as well is posing questions.

The Youth for Youth Project.

Introduction.

Funded by Foundation Open Society Initiative (FOSI) and administered by the Open Society


Funded by Foundation Open Society Initiative (FOSI) and administered by the Open Society

youth,

government and other non-state actors in through informed dialogues/discussions that aim at

increasing and improving youth representation and participation in governance and other

democratic processes at different levels of government. The project further looks at supporting

formation and re-organization of strong youth groups or associations and empowering them to

influence change in policy (ies) and practice. The project is implemented in three counties

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within Central Equatoria state of South Sudan namely; Yei River County, Morobo County and

Lainya County.

The project has two key components; (1) Enhancing youth participation and representation at

all levels of government in South Sudan (2) Strengthening and reorganizing Youth associations

in the three Counties of Central Equatoria State. The project activities started with research in

the three counties of Yei, Lainya and Morobo to find the views of young people on the current the three counties of Yei, Lainya and Morobo to find the views of young people on the current

political crisis in the country including other political, social, and economic challenges

surrounding youth in the area. The research finding highlighted a number of challenges facing

the youth in South Sudan especially, Manipulation, miss-representation at different levels of

government, lack of involvement in decision making processes especially when handling issues

that directly affect the youth.

The start date for the project was the 1st /Jan 2014. However the 15 December incident in Juba

affected the smooth running of the activities in the areas of operation especially in the first

month as the conflicts quickly spread to the other parts of the country thus restricting peoples'

movement, close monitoring of organizations activities by the security operatives, Robbery

incidents and road blocks and many other inhuman treatment of humanitarian aid workers

across the country. Nevertheless, we had to start towards the end of February by meeting for across the country. Nevertheless, we had to start towards the end of February by meeting for

the inception of the project due to the fact that in Yei, Lainya and Morobo the situation came

back to normal.

The second phase of the project started by a training on Democracy, Governance, advocacy and

human right training at Lainya with Lainya youth Union, which brought about 19 young ladies

and gentlemen from the five payams of Kenyi, Kupera, Wuji, Mukaya and Lainya. The second

activity was the conference that gathered participants from all the payams of Lainya county

including the honorable members of the state legislative assembly. The A. commissioner youth

and sport Lainya county took an upper hand in ensuring the conference had taken place and

this indicates the ownership of the project in Lainya county.

Therefore this report reflects the activities implemented within the annual Calender year of the

organizatio, the achievements got, challenges encountered, lessons learnt and some


organizatio, the achievements got, challenges encountered, lessons learnt and some

recommendations for the future.

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Outline of planned activities

Annual Youth festival

Three conference

Three Trainings

2 Interface meeting

10 Radio Talk shows

Two interface meeting

One Radio Drama

Outline of Implemented activities

Three trainings on Advocacy, Human right based approach, Democracy and good

governance

1 Forum theatre refresher training

Three Youth conferences Three Youth conferences

One public Lecture

15 issue based Radio talk show

11 forum theatre performance

3 Public lectures

1 Interface meeting

Research on the topical issues in the targeted areas of operation

Based on the trend of events in the country, CEFoRD conducted a research in the three counties

of Yei, Morobo and Lainya in Central Equatoria State to update information and shape the

project implementation to address current issues in relation to meaningful youth participation


project implementation to address current issues in relation to meaningful youth participation

in governance in the country, their level of involvement in the Constitutional making/review

process as well as discover the level of their organization into groups and map out capacity

needs for the organized groups to enable them to advocate and influence policy change at an

informed point of view. The research also looked at mapping out social and economic issues

affecting young people in CES and South Sudan at large. Among other issues, lack of meaningful

youth involvement and participation within the governance structures and at different levels of

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government, unemployment and poor education system were key challenges highlighted by the

youth.

The research was done through a focused group discussions (FGDs) and in some cases one-to-

one interactions was employed to find a wider understanding and information in Lainya County,

Morobo County and Yei Municipality and County. It targeted the age group between 15 35

respectively and a total of 50 Youth are able identify the following issues respectively and a total of 50 Youth are able identify the following issues

Lack of representation and inclusion in decision making process

Manipulation of Youth political leaders

Corruption and nepotism

Lack of technical skills

Absence of Organized youth associations at Payam and County levels.

Youth are neglected by the government

No Youth representative in the national and state level

Unemployment You can read the full research report here

This research has shaped the trainings, conferences, interface meetings and the public lectures

that were organized after wards.

1 forum theatre refresher training

A forum theatre refresher training was conducted for all ten (10) CEFoRD volunteers 4 (four) of

whom were females whereas 6 (six) were males. This refresher training was aimed at making

the volunteers understand project and its targets which in turn will help them in developing

content based dramas for the Forum theatre performances. Topics covered included Forum

theatre/participatory drama and its components, the transitional constitution with focus on key

articles targeting youth and the also the review process, good governance and its characteristic


articles targeting youth and the also the review process, good governance and its characteristic

and understanding basics on advocacy.

The pre and post training assessment indicated that the participants were able to refresh their

knowledge on Participatory drama, gain and increase their knowledge on the translational

constitution and the review process, good governance and its characteristics, and gaining basic

advocacy knowledge. This was further evident in the dramas they formulated for the

awareness raising conducted in schools and in the communities.

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CEFoRD Volunteers during the Forum theatre refresher training.

Conducted three (3) trainings on Advocacy, Human Right, Democracy and good governance

to three organized youth groups in Yei Municipality, Yei County and Morobo County.

Following series of meetings with youths and local government officials in the three counties

especially members of the county associations on the need to re-organize the youths which

became a success. CEFoRD organized three trainings; one in Morobo County, one in Lainya and

another one in Yei. The first training was conducted in Morobo which brought in 21 participants another one in Yei. The first training was conducted in Morobo which brought in 21 participants

in total. The training was very interesting and participatory. During these training, the

participants expressed satisfaction as the training was broader and comprehensive which

covers all the governance related issues and increased knowledge on Advocacy, Human Right

based approach, democracy and good governance

Each training lasted for three (3) days and they opened up the minds of the participants as they

were able to identify Administrative vacuum in the county level especially the office of the

youth department been absent in the county. In the training the youth also identified social

economic problems that limit youth progress economically and socially. Economically the youth

have identified dependence and lack of positive thinking and creativity to better off their lives


and live to meaningful contribute to the development processes in the Country. In the social

effect the identified increased number of youth in consumption of harmful substances and

drugs that retards the progress and reasoning capacity, increased in the number of school

dropout, unemployment and many other social challenges. While in Yei, the training drew up

25 participants in total. The 25 participants are members of the two Youth association existing

in Yei, Yei County Youth Association (YECOYA) and the newly established Yei Municipal Youth

Association (YEMYA). The Youth were able to demonstrate increase in knowledge on Advocacy,

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Democracy, and good governance and how they can better address issues affecting young

people in both Yei municipality and the County as well. In Lainya the training was conducted

successfully, with 18 attendances that came from the five payams of the county, 5 of whom

were ladies. The planned topics were covered and the training in its nature had been practical

enough. Participants were able to participately actively and sight leave example of bad

governance, deliberate failure by the local government to follow the South Sudan local

government act and other human rights abuses in the county especially freedom of expression

on the current conflict in South Sudan. on the current conflict in South Sudan.

Ticko Emly presenting an group work (MUYA training in Morobo Participants practicing

Advocacy in demonstration Advocacy in demonstration


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Participants keenly attending to facilitator in Morobo. Participants in warm up exercise during

training in Yei

Immediate effect of the Trainings.

2. The Youth in Morobo planned to write a petition and do follow up on the establishment of

the Youth office at the county level

3. Expression of interest to ask duty bearers

4. Follow up on the representation of the Payams in Morobo county in the Morobo United


Youth association

5. Identification of challenges facing the youth association and reasons for its closure and the

coming up with recommendations for re-organisation including establishment of Payam

youth Associations.

6. Youth develop plans to address the issues affecting young people in the sponsored issue

based Radio Talk shows

7. Youth called for the speedy organisation for the youth conference.

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Conducted three youth conferences in Morobo County, Lainya and Yei Municipality.

Nothing about us without us

Morobo and 288 in Yei youths and 150 Participants in Lainya which comprises of MPS and

stakeholders in their respective positions to talk about the trending issues affecting the youth

and the communities at large. The conferences was facilitated the deputy director for Lands

and Planning at the national government Mr. Aggrey Cyrus, the former director of planning in and Planning at the national government Mr. Aggrey Cyrus, the former director of planning in

the Ministry of local government in central Equatoria state. The conferences opened the eyes

of the participants on the system of the governances in the country, gave an understanding to

the participants on national, state and county youth policies and enabled the youth to identify

ways to report youth issues, gave a better understanding of the roles of the three arms of

government and offered a platform for the youth to interact with members of parliament, State

officials and County officials. It also looked directly to the associations how they function to

spear head the activities of the youth in terms of planning in their respective locations. A

number of issues/challenges facing youth were enumerated which resulted into drawing of

strong conference resolutions that are based on the topics of discussion especially on the issue

of governance and how to involved Youth to meaningfully participate, how youth can be

creative to break dependency, how youth can re-organise themselves to ensure easy support

from the government and many others. The conference resolutions were later presented to the from the government and many others. The conference resolutions were later presented to the

members of parliament at the state level and to the county authorities.

The conference in Lainya was successfully conducted. In the last day participants, (Youth)

Consitutuency representatives and local government representatives were able to come

with key recommendation/Resolutions can be shared with key stakeholders for

implementation and follow up to be made by the youth Union and its leadership. With the

nothing about us without us

based on the socio, economical, political situation of the country and Lainya County in

particular. The conference came at the right time, when there are many issues trending i.e.

The county council dissolve, gap between the youth and the government, land disputes

among others. As did mentioned. Youth, MPs and local government representative were

able to deliberate and drew resolution on these issues.


able to deliberate and drew resolution on these issues.

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Commissioner responding to you questions during the Conference in Yei Ismail

expressing his views on the current system of governance. Morobo

Participants expressing their views in the conferences.


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Yei MPs, Mayor of Yei, Commissioner of Yei, Local Councilors and Chairperson of Commissions

and directors of Central Equatoria State taking seats to take questions from the youth and

respond to accordingly.

Key recommendations of the Youth includes;

20% Representation of Young people in all levels of government and it has to be included in 20% Representation of Young people in all levels of government and it has to be included in

permanent constitution

Legislation on Early marriage

Establishment of resources center in Morobo

Establishment of Technical/Vocational school to build the capacity of young people who

are out of school

Youth have also recommended Parliamentary Federalism that will best situation of South

Sudan and its diversity. (Youth can read report of the full recommendations for Yei Youth

conference here and Morobo Youth Conference here

7 forum theatre performances in schools 7 forum theatre performances in schools

Forum theatre or Participatory drama is a creative, entertaining and highly interactive

methodology, where an open-ended problem or dilemma is being dramatized and the

audiences contribute solutions by getting into the drama to suggest what can be done to end

the

box and suggest as many solutions as possible to a single problem. As one of many activities of

eers organized and

conducted seven 7 forum theatre performances in secondary schools which include; Nile High

Secondary school, kanyara SS, St. Samson SS and St. Obadiah Secondary school, Ras secondary

school and Excel Secondary School. Issues dramatized include governance within the schools,

local governments and understanding of governance in the country. Due to its interactive

nature, the audience suggested solutions and the actors improvised further which encouraged


nature, the audience suggested solutions and the actors improvised further which encouraged

participation of the audiences. Key discussions were focused on is fighting dependency

from the schools and then into the government. The participation of student was very live and

the student pointed out that what is been dramatized are the real scenario in the government,

in schools and the community and they called for change.

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Students participating in Forum Theatre performances and contributing solutions.

Two Interface meetings conducted in Morobo and Yei respectively

The interface meetings drew up members of parliament, government representatives, Youth

and other civil society members. In the meetings the Youth are able to ask their constituency

representatives on the promise of their manifesto during the campaign period and also shared

the challenges with the MPs and government representatives and get feedbacks on their

questions instantly which created a convenient forum of discussion and opened up an questions instantly which created a convenient forum of discussion and opened up an

understanding of how to follow-up issues within the government structures. The youth also

used these meetings to express their concerns especially about lack of involvement policy

formulation and in decision making processes. The MPs and the other government officials also

urged the youth to get organized into groups to ensure easy consultation on policy issues and

plan support for them. 30 youth and 3 members of parliament representing Morobo County at

the State Legislative Assembly, 5 local government Councilors and 4 county departmental heads

attended the interface meeting in Morobo while in Yei, 40 youth, 8 local government Councilors

drawn from the Yei County Legislative Council and the Yei Municipal council, 3 MPs, 2

Chairpersons of commissions (i.e. the commission on conflict mitigation and the public service,

justice and grievances commission) and two directors from the state ministry of education and

ministry of Land.


Two public lectures

The public lecture were intended to bring the Youth and their elected members of parliament,

local authorities at the level county, state, national level and other stake holders who are

basked within the local government. The public lectures handled key issues about system of

governance and its types in the country South Sudan, and how it can be applied at the lower

23 | Page

level. Key facilitators were identified such as Hon. Manoah Aligo a retired politician and

Aggrey Cyrus Kanyikwa a former executive director of Yei County who late was transferred to

the Ministry of local government and now Deputy Director for land and planning in Central

Equatoria State. The members of parliament who are representatives of the citizens spoke

about the current issues and the steps taken to address some questions asked by the citizens.

The student and the youth in general were educated and gained knowledge on the systems of

democracy and good governance during the public lectures. While the flaming issue

(federalism) which is the talk of the day was explained by the facilitator and the members of (federalism) which is the talk of the day was explained by the facilitator and the members of

the parliament were able to indicate their position. Most of the mps are from the state

parliament. While in Morobo we hosted three mps and the executive director of trade and

investment, central Equatoria state. It should also be noted that we connected the public

lectures to the conferences. We added one day for the public lecture as the attendance of the

two conferences were encouraging.

Hon Manoah Aligo lecturing on Federalism as a system of governance along side Mayor Cicilia Oba and Commissioner Juma David Augustine

Seven (15) issues based radio talk show

The purpose of the issue based round table radio discussion is to deliberate on the matters


The purpose of the issue based round table radio discussion is to deliberate on the matters

affecting youth either directly or indirectly, many issues were discussed during the program

which in the short run is causing some immediate impact in the lives of the youth in the

communities where the radio covers. Among them are the roles youth play in the socio-

economic and political development, the role of the councilors in policy development for youth,

the courts systems and procedures, and other issues like early and forced marriages among

others. These programs are run every Saturdays and within the course of the week, the youth

24 | Page

come together to develop messages for the talk shows. Morobo community radio is being used

because it has a wider coverage in central Equatoria and in Yei, Spirit fm and radio Easter were

both used. In this case stakeholders are engaged to answer questions raised by the youths in

the different capacities in their different communities.

Activities not implemented.

a) 2 Radio drama recording.

Major Achievements

1. A number of activities have already been implemented and in each activity, there is a

positive turn up and interesting discussions to.

2. The recommendations of the two conferences were widely shared and taken seriously by

the different institutions of government, NGOs and the youth themselves. A number of

follow up calls were made by the MPs, the mayor and commissioners of the two counties

and different state institutions.

3. , Lainya and Morobo

Counties. In addition, the use of social media (especially facebook and twitter) in posting

activities has further popularized the project and gained support of the youth.

4. Re-organization of the Youth Associations. In Morobo, the Morobo United Youth

association (MUYA) which was disintegrated four years ago due to internal conflicts was re-

organized and an interim body was elected to review the constitution and conduct general

assembly.

5. There is building of strong network between the different youth groups in Morobo County,

Lainya and in Yei County as well and between the youth and CEFoRD too. The associations

are now organized and recognized by the different levels of government.


6. Youth farmers groups, cooperative societies are coming up in response to fighting

dependency which was identified as a big disease among youth in the three counties.

7. The Youth in Morobo were able to follow the establishment of the Youth Office in the

county and the government responded by establishing the department.

25 | Page

8. Formation of Other Youth groups at the Payam level to better address concerns

meaningfully

9. In Yei, the two association (Yei County Youth Association and Yei Municipal Youth

Association were legitimized and given a go ahead in implementing their planned activities

by the Youth

10. Within just 7 months of implementation, the project has widely spread and outcomes are

enormous. This is evidence by the commitment of the government officials, the local

government councilors and members of parliament who always make it to attend and

participate fully in the activities of this project. In addition, the project objectives and

activities are relevant for South Sudan and this further made us to achieve a lot within this

short time.

Lesson learned

1. It is important to have a project start assessment. Due to the crisis in South Sudan,

CEFoRD quickly thought of doing an assessment to get the impression of the youth and

the communities on the project and the data collected greatly shaped the project the communities on the project and the data collected greatly shaped the project

implementation.

2. The youth groups trained in Yei and Morobo counties were not fully structured to the

best. Yei is being divided in to two i.e. Municipality and County and all were disunited

with not clear structure and yet same people doubling positions. A consultation meeting

was done between the two associations and a Conesus was reached

3. The communities did not know the role played by the members of the parliament and

this happened when the members of parliament and the youth were joined together

during the conference and the public lectures in Yei and Morobo respectively.

4. The youth and the general population were aware about the socio-economic and

political situations in the Country in their respective communities but lack general

knowledge of the role they can play in shaping this nation. The activities of this project


were found relevant in addressing this.

5. Grouping youth based on tallents will better organized the youth at the grass root and

at the urban setting-Thus the Union at county level will act as the overseer for all the

talent groups

6. The draft of the state youth policy (Currently in use for planning Youth activities in the

counties but not passed) was presented, which highlights livelihood, job creation, fight

illiterate among others which is done not in consultation with the youth in in Central

26 | Page

Equatoria State.

7. We also learned that the youth union is not structured, but rather the union is being led

by an interim committee, now still requires that general elections for new leadership.

Challenges encountered

The breakout of the conflicts in the country delayed the start of the activities thereby The breakout of the conflicts in the country delayed the start of the activities thereby

affecting planning. It has also brought a lot of security threats that we have to deal with

before kicking off with activities.

The local government in Lainya is not cooperating with the nongovernmental

organizations; they perceive the NGO activities as a treat to their positions. This makes the

project activties to halt in Lainya County.

Late receipt of the funds due to the political crisis in South Sudan delayed the achievement

of the planned activities. Many planned activities were not implemented and sifted to the

second phase implementation.

Change in the price of commodit Change in the price of commodit

against the current situation,

The number of the participants from the far payams was limited due to high cost of the

transport, and also this is because the budget was very. The conference scheduled in a time

when there was a fuel crisis in Lainya and it affected the participation so much on the

mobility of the participants.

Recommendation


Recommendation

A. There is a need to approach youth issues holistically, i.e. socially, economically and

politically as well. Establishment of platforms that target youth as beneficiaries such as

Intellectual symposium, Innovation scheme, and entrepreneurial scheme would better

tackle some challenges of the Youth as the discussions mirrored out that social and

economic empowerment of youth greatly affect political participation of youth.

27 | Page

B. The Yei civil society and the Human Right activist will need to issue a statement about

the misconception of the nongovernmental organizations by the local government in

Lainya, while CEFoRD and the team of the civil society forum in Yei will travel to meet

the Lainya county commissioner for face to face discussions on how the decision can be

reversed to allow the civil society organizations to operate in the county.

C. We also intend to focus more on implementation for activities in Lainya come the

second part of this project.

D. Due to the relevance of this project and how it is being felt by the youth, communities,

government and other actors like the civil society organizations and other NGOs, we

recommend that OSIEA supports CEFoRD to get beyond the three Counties as this will

help us build the capacity of youth across the country which will further enhance their

participation in governance processes at all levels of government.

E. CEFoRD and the project team will have to Act as mentors to the reorganized youth

association to ensure broader mobilization and bringing MPS and local government

representatives on board in the next remaining activities

F. There is need to increase the budget for Lainya in times to come since prices differs

from the rest of the counties from the rest of the counties

Encouraging statement and Live stories

Taban Noel a youth said during advocacy training.

Youth must be given the opportunity to take active part in politics. Failure to do that will lead

to creation of vacuum in leadership as the current politicians are aging. Organizing many

forums like this conference and allowing a positive interaction between the elders and youth will

help develop good leaders. So the time for youth is now Khemis Benz; Chairperson of the


help develop good leaders. So the time for youth is now Khemis Benz; Chairperson of the

Commission for conflict mitigation, Central Equatoria State speaking during the conference in

yei.

While a young lady miss. my parents have refused

at education is a right where parents are to give,

28 | Page

now I am going to ask my parents to pay my school fees for me to be in class like the rest of the

she said this during an advocacy training in Morobo.

Lagu Benjamine YEMYA Yei. The Major Achievement I got from this Association is the training

CEFoRD conducted on Advocacy, Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance and if You

ask me now I know what Human Rights, good governance and advocacy are.

Juma David Augustine Commissioner Yei: CEFoRD has done a great Job, if we want see change

Mrs. Hellen girl child education supervisor Lainya county central Equatoria state said

pleased for the initiative that CEFoRD has initiated, we as youth of Lainya county have for long

t

Miss Hellen

Hon. Suba Samuel is his comments is responding to a question raised by the participants on the

I appreciate the inventiveness

CEFoRD have come with something that none of the leaderships/representatives in the county

has done, information is power, and I want sure youth that why election is not done at the local

government level is the failure of the implementation of the local government act 2009 and now

you youth must get organized and advocate to bring change in Lainya county and as part of his


you youth must get organized and advocate to bring change in Lainya county and as part of his

contribution to reorganized the youth, Hon. Suba raised 5000 SSP and the youth raised from

Selected social media reactions to the CEFoRD activities are here as well;

29 | Page

http://www.southsudantribune.org/states-news/467-ceford-trains-youth-on-human-rights-

and-good-governance-in-morobo-county

Jillian Foerster @jillianfoer

"Nothing About Us Without Us" < excellent title of upcoming local

conference on governance & youth participation in #SouthSudan

@MawaGeorge

03:06 AM - 19 Jun 14


30 | Page

The Governance and Youth Participation Project

Introduction

Endowment for Democracy (NED) and implemented by Community Empowerment for

Rehabilitation and development (CEFoRD) in four Counties of western Equatoria state

namely Nzara, Ibba, Maridi and Mundri west.

The project has two key components namely; 1 Governance which emphasizes meaningful

participation and involvement of youth in policy making processes at all level of

government. Component 2 is conflict resolution. Here emphasis are put on empowering the

youth take active and leading role in conflict resolution and peace building activities in

their respective localities and or Counties given the ongoing conflicts in the country and

other internal conflicts which are either inter-county border conflicts, conflicts between

cattle keepers and farmers and others. This is meant to combat the problem of idle youth

turning to violence,

The project activities started with introductory meeting in the state capital in Yambio then

a round up visit to all four counties selected for the project implementation by two CEFoRD

staff The youth union played a vital role during the introductory meetings with all the staff The youth union played a vital role during the introductory meetings with all the

respective offices.

The authorities received the message positively and welcomed the project to the respective

Counties.The state authority and the local government at County level was very positive

and all welcomed the idea and hoped for the best. The State youth president too said the

project came at the right time when the youths are organized and the project is within the

priority areas of the youths and he is very delight and welcomed the project. It is safe to say

that the first quarter of the implementation of this project was a busy but mostly a

successful one

Therefore this report reflects the activities implemented within the first quarter of this

project, the achievements realized, challenges encountered, lessons learnt and some




31 | Page

Outline of planned activities (phase I)

a) Introductory meeting with the state authority in western equatoria state and the four

Counties

b) Four trainings in the four Counties

Activities successfully implemented.

1- The introductory meeting done at state level and four Counties

Two CEFoRD staff went for a one round trip to western equatoria state to majorly find facts

selected Counties also meant to strengthen relationship and familiarize with institutions

and youth groups right from the project inception.

The state authority welcomed the project and these introductory meeting gave CEFoRD the

chance to also know the cost of local movement within each County, the cost of

accommodations and other necessities the project will need to know. During the first visit

we found out that though the state is said to be a peaceful state, but there are intra conflicts

in the Counties selected so the intervention of CEFoRD was much needed to give trainings

and build the capacity of youths on good governance, conflict resolution and peace building

skills which was attended by other youth in the other counties of Western Equatoria. skills which was attended by other youth in the other counties of Western Equatoria.

The one round trip to all the state capital (Yambio) and to all four Counties enable CEFoRD

to map out some issues that are affecting the youths, through both formal meetings and

informal interactions with institutions, individuals and youth groups both at state and

county levels. These issues look crosscutting across Counties and among others, some key

ones are highlighted below;

The insecurity in the Country resulting from the December 15th 2014 Juba incident and

state that left

many displaced persons from their home most of them being youth. They miss school

and many are recruited to the army by the government in the name of defending the

nation against the rebels. In the process many died in this conflict that started on 15/

Dec/2013 and interestingly, their deaths remain under-reported


Dec/2013 and interestingly, their deaths remain under-reported

The cattle from the neighboring state eating crops in the garden hence it create conflict

between the pastoralists and farmers which the youths are actively involved in

reacting violently to such situation

Land dispute the youths are involved in the border conflicts that creates hatred among

the youths in different Counties.

Manipulation of youths by politicians

32 | Page

Increasing spread of HIV/AIDS among youth especially in Nzara County.

processes as another challenge they face. Those who happen to be in offices do not

have meaningful influence in terms of influencing decisions apart from just being

present.

Lack of technical and or livelihood skills due to lack of vocational skills training schools

in most of the counties.

Youth unemployment

Lack support for youth development initiatives

Absence of Youth representative in the national and state level

It should be noted that these identified issues shaped and are still shaping the

implementation of the project as it opened up new dimensions of thinking especially on

how to approach youth issues there.

2- Training in Nzara

The first training kicked off in Nzara County on 25/11 to 27/11/2014, the participants

were from all payams of Nzara and three other youth representatives/leaders from the

neighboring Counties (Ezo, Nagero, and Tombura) whom CEFoRD invited to attend on the

request of the State Ministry of Culture, antiquities, Youth and Sports; directorate of Youth

and Sports and the State youth Union. The training was opened by honorable and Sports and the State youth Union. The training was opened by honorable

Commissioner of Nzara County who encouraged the youth to make use of the three days to

learn a lot from the facilitators on governance, conflict resolution, peace building,

democracy and advocacy, and he urged that such topics like good governance, conflict

resolution Democracy and conflict resolution, will open the eyes and the mine of the youths

to always think of constructive ideas instated of involving in conflict. The CEFoRD

facilitators used a range of participatory approaches with issue based discussion and group

work and presentations, role plays, plenary discussions, and question and answer

approach which kept the participants alive and highly active and participative.

In the three days training the participant really showed interest for the training and

participated actively, they came up with issues affecting them as youths and these includes

the following; the ideas also participated actively in presentations and group discussions.


the following; the ideas also participated actively in presentations and group discussions.

Generally the youths received the training with great interest and committed themselves to

first absorb the learning and make it their daily life practice and pledged to go back to their

respective places and start awareness campaigns to other youths especially on the topics

covered within the training. They so much appreciated the support given to CEFoRD by the

National Endowment for Democracy and urged that the trainings be extended for 5 days

and be spread to all ten counties of the state.

33 | Page

Topics covered in this training and the other three trainings include; Youth Participation,

governance and the principles of good governance, understanding of peace and conflict,

tools and ways to resolve conflict without violence and advocacy and the advocacy cycle

including developing simple advocacy strategy.

Below are some of the challenges facing the youth in Nzara County?

I. Insecurity both internally and the threat caused by the famous Lord Resistance

Army. In most cases, the youth suffer from this as they are mobilized and formed Army. In most cases, the youth suffer from this as they are mobilized and formed

the LRA. Most ends up wounded, others suffer abduction and others killed.

II. Early marriage and high bride price which make young boys end up in jail

III. Still due to idleness causes conflict in the community of Nzara County.

IV. HIV/AIDS is spreading faster.

V. Poor education system

VI. Youth Unemployment

The youths in Nzara also came up with the following recommendation and ways to

addressing some of the challenges facing them;

The youths needs to go to school in order to change their attitude The youths need to organise community policing to address internal conflicts. The youths need to organise community policing to address internal conflicts. Carry out awareness to the community about the importance of peace and the

dangers of conflict through the talk shows that are to be conducted. The two states should come up with laws that controls the cattle grassing The youths need to respect the rule of law by the rule of law institutions Review of the state education policy to promote quality education and making

education attractive Engagement of youth in peace promotion Promotion of unity among youths and make proper consultation about issues in

state of imposing things on youths Involve youth decision making at all levels of government, participation of youths in

governance should be encouraged. Youths should be creative to enhance development; they also need to form a

relevant association that keeps them busy. Formation of water committees to avoid conflicts at the water source in the


Formation of water committees to avoid conflicts at the water source in the

communities

The training was closed by the Minister of Labour and public; Hon. Backsilia who conceded

that they have failed as leaders to create meaningful interaction with the youth. She

admitted that this was her first time to meet with the youth. A statement which the

Director general for youth also reiterated and said that they did not organise for such a

forum that can make them discuss with the youth. They learnt a lot from it and will plan for

34 | Page

more regular meetings with the County youth associations. They both commended CEFoRD

and the National Endowment for Democracy for the support. They called for continuous

engagement for realization of empowered and useful youth who can engage in constructive

discussions of development in the state and the Country.

See photos taken during the Nzara Training

Female participant making presentation on ways of resolving conflicts (L), Participants for group

discussions on mechanisms for youth participation in governance processes (C), and Participant

from Ezo County making presentation on advocacy cycle (R)


Some participants posing in a group photo with the Director General (Middle), President of the

State youth Union and the Coordinator of CEFoRD to his left in Nzara.

3- Training in Mundri west County;

35 | Page

Similar training as elaborated above was conducted in Mundri West County and proposed

in the project proposal. This training started on the 2/12, 2014 to 4/12/2014 with

participants drawn from all the five Payams of Mundri west and one representative from

Mundri East and another representative from Mvolo County. The turn up for ladies was

very encouraging and their participation was extra-ordinary as they were actively engaged

in leading group discussions and presentations, dominating contribution during plenary

etc. The Payam Administrator who opened the training conceded that this is the first of its

kind to happen in greater Mundri and urged the participants to participate actively and

gain the knowledge to address the existing governance gaps and conflicts in the

communities.

Most of the participants in Mundri were teachers and graduates but unemployed. They

were highly critical and explored more on local understanding and approaches to handling

conflicts and traditional approaches to advocacy.

In the training, they came up with common issues affecting the youths in the three Counties

of grater Mundri;

Lack of youth representation in key decision making processes.

Youth participation narrowed to games and sports. Youth participation narrowed to games and sports.

Cattles destroying crops that causing conflict in the community,

High bride price which influence the youths to kill and raid cattle for bride price

Unemployment is one of the major problems affecting the youths in grater Mundri

Poor health, the health services are not well equipped with drugs to be given to

patience

Poor quality of education in the Counties and down to the payams.

After analyzing these issues they came up with the following list of recommendations;

Conduct a peace conference between pastoralist and farmers

Formation of peace committees in the County by the youths


Engaged in developmental activities that keeps them busy.

Early intervention to conflict prevention before it escalates

Support the exciting groups with skills on conflict resolution in order to prevent

conflicts not to escalate.

The law enforcement agents in place should observe the rule of low to minimize

crimes in the County.

36 | Page

Call for 20% affirmative action for representation of youth in all institutions of

government and that it should be constitutionally provided.

There must be fair trial in the courts of low because many youths end up behind bars

not taken to be tried in the courts of low.

The counselors in the County should come up with bylaws for the movement of

animals in the County and should be implemented.

Carry out awareness about the importance of peace or the benefit of peace to the

community. community.

The participants expressed happiness for receiving such important training for the first

time in life and first time in the County. They requested that CEFoRD should come up with

more of such trainings to empower the youths to enhance their participation in governance

and policy making processes. The deputy executive director in his closing remarks said this

should not the last training but the beginning of more training of such to the youths and

next time urged CEFoRD to involve the chiefs in such trainings. He remarked that good

governance is very essential in all institutions and urged the youths to use the knowledge

and skills to advocate for good governance practices beginning at the family, to the schools

and other institutions, the Payam and

See some selected picture taken during the Mundri Training.

A group developing advocacy strategies on how to improve the performance of students in western

equatoria state (L) and Participants identifying common causes of Conflict in greater Mundri (R)

4- Training in Ibba County The training in Ibba started on the 8th/12 and ended on 10th/2014. Participants came from

all the five payams of Ibba County. The local authority were very pleased receive such

training specifically for youths.


training specifically for youths.

Just like the rest of the trainings, the Ibba training also covered the same topics and same

approaches were employed. A little more attention was paid to encouraging women

participation just as it was in Nzara but on the second and third days, the women gained

confidence and participated well.

37 | Page

During this training, the youth pointed out the below issues as the major governance and

conflicts issues facing the youth in the County.

Politics of division where politicians create hatred between youth and County authorities. This resulted to some youth presenting a memo to the State Governor requesting for the removal of the County Commissioner. This further resulted to imprisonment of 10 youth and since then the relationship between the youth association in the County and the County Authority remained tense. Cattle eating crops leading to misunderstandings among communities and between

individuals. Gender based violence issues in the communities e.g. men killing women and vies

visa. No support for the youth and sport office which is a line department of the Ministry

of Culture, antiquities, youth and Sports making it hard to engage youth constructively. The Inspector is not in the government pay roll as opposed to the rest of the counties. High bride price. Youth unemployment Land disputes i.e. border conflict especially between Maridi County and Ibba County.

This has even resulted to lack of cooperation between the Maridi youth and the Ibba youth.

The youth then came up with ways to addressing these issues. Among others, one is to

summon for a reconciliation meeting between the youth leadership and the County

Authority. CEFoRD spearheaded this and brought together the Hon. Commissioner, State

Youth Union and the County youth Association. They forgave each other and reconciled and

pledged to work together for the development of the County.

In her closing remarks, the honorable commissioner Ibba County came for the closing and

she said she had been waiting for such initiative that engages with the youth. She

appreciated CEFoRD and the national Endowment for Democracy for selecting Ibba as one

of the Counties to benefit from this project and asked for continuous support to the youth


of the Counties to benefit from this project and asked for continuous support to the youth

through more trainings and support to skills development through establishment of

Vocational skills training schools. She further encouraged the youth to use the knowledge

and sill they learnt on conflict resolution to address the internal conflicts within Ibba

County.

38 | Page

See some selected pictures from the Ibba Training.

Participant in Ibba identifying common conflicts affecting the youths in County (L) and

participants lying down advocacy strategy (R)

5- Training in Maridi The training in Maridi was the last training done under this grant. This training started on

the 11/12 to 13/2014. The training was officially opened by a youth state member

parliament representing Maridi County who appreciated the organizations behind such an

important training especially on good governance and Conflict resolution.

He stressed that with good governance there will be no conflict in south Sudan. So good He stressed that with good governance there will be no conflict in south Sudan. So good

governance is done in order to have stability, practicing democracy at family, churches,

NGOs and government will lead to respect of human dignity and rights as well. He noted

that lack of knowledge skills is the primary cause for hostility and aggressiveness and

urged the youth to take the training very important. The participants in Maridi were more

so like in Mundri west where the female participants took lead in participation and their

turn up was very great too. Most of the participants were intellectual from different

institutions and associations. The same training approach used in Mundri West was the

same employed in Maridi given the level of understanding of the participants.

A very unique thing about Maridi is that they have seven organized youth groups or

association and all are under the County Youth Association which also reports to the line

department of the directorate of youth and sports at the County.


The post training evaluation clearly showed how the participants gained more knowledge

as some of them remarked that they have attended such trainings before but the approach

used and the depth of knowledge shared further widened their understanding.

39 | Page

See some selected pictures from the Maridi training.

Participant presenting a conflict tree showing the root courses of conflict, the core issues and the effects

(L) and participants brainstorming on the principles of good governance (R)

Major Achievements so far. Major Achievements so far.

Just after two trainings and given the close collaboration between CEFoRD, the

Ministry and the State youth Union, where the recommendations of the trainings

were shared, the State Ministry in partnership with UNICEF organized a youth peace

conference in Maridi and the participants from Nzara and Mundri training became

of great help to shaping the discussions of the conference.

The Western Equatoria State youth Union and the County Associations have gained

more recognition after these trainings. This is shown during the peace conference in

Maridi organized by the Ministry of Culture, Antiquities, youth and sports with

support from UNICEF where selected youth from our project operational areas were

transported to Maridi for the conference.

In the recommendation given by the youths during our training; one is already been

done by the government of western equatoria state, the youths needed a peace


done by the government of western equatoria state, the youths needed a peace

conference between the famers and pastoralist. The government of the state

organized for a two days peace conference in Mundri West County which was

attended fully by the State governor and brought in IDP cattle keepers from Lakes

State, Central Equatoria State and the farmers from Western Equatoria. Most of the

youths who participated in the training were able to participate actively in the

conference. Resolutions were unanimously agreed upon by both parties and passed

40 | Page

at the end of the conference. Among others, one of the resolutions called for the

return of the cattle keepers and their cattle to their original areas and leave western

equatoria by latest 9th/2/2015 in order to have peace and encourage food

production.

The youths in Ibba had some differences among themselves and with the County

Authority. CEFoRD and the state youth Union brought them together and at the end

of the second day of the training and they were able to settle their differences and

reconciled. The Honorable commissioner after the reconciliation meeting done at

her residence said that she can smile again because the youths are now organize

and they can handle their issues in an amicable manna. She added that the youth

know how much they have worked for her downfall which went unsuccessful and

she believes that the reconciliatory meeting opens a new chapter of cooperation and

working together for the development of the County and urged for continuous

support from the donors for this project to ensure that the youth are fully

empowered politically, socially and economically.

The youths in the four counties were able to schedule days for reviewing their

constitutions and reorganize themselves again which they said must lead them to

There is a great coordination and communication between the youth associations,

departments of youth at County levels, state youth union, some of the trained youth

and CEFoRD for continuous engagement. They call regularly, write emails and chat and CEFoRD for continuous engagement. They call regularly, write emails and chat

on social media with the staff of CEFoRD asking about next steps. This shows how

they owned the project and how enthusiastic they are to see change in their

communities.

Through the trainings and the project in general, the voice of the youth is magnified

and youth are now feeling more empowered and contributing to the governance

processes in the state. The inspector of Youth and Sports department in Maridi

County in an interview with Gurtong Trust remarked that the youth are being

engaged in the governance processes. This interview came after three trainings

were done and on the second day of training in Maridi. See his Comments here:

http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/ArticleView/mid/519/artic

leId/15937/Western-Equatoria-Lauded-for-Inclusion-of-Youth.aspx Lessons learned


Lessons learned

Western equatoria state is relatively peaceful when it comes to the Dec 15th, 2013 conflicts.

But internal conflicts are enormous which are either caused due to inter county border

demarcation issues of between IDP cattle keepers and predominant farmers. In summary,

there are major conflicts that happen down in the villages and they are not addressed and

41 | Page

some of these conflicts have lasted for generations but are not address especially border

conflicts between Maridi and Ibba.

There are governance efforts in place to ensure representation and participation of youth

in decision making processes but not formalized yet. Informal mechanisms which are weak

to give the youth a strong voice exist and it is important to formalize and strengthen these

mechanisms. mechanisms.

Female participants from the eastern counties (Maridi and Mundri) were highly

empowered as they dominated participation during the training. Whereas in the Western

Counties (Ibba and Nzara), women participation was quite low and we (facilitators) had to

pay keen attention to them. During day one, they felt sigh but due to change of facilitation

strategies, they picked up in day two and three and became confident.

It is important to partner with already existing mechanisms/institutions. This project is a

big success because we worked closely with the Ministry of Culture, Antiquities, youth and

sports Directorate of Youth and the State youth Union. They have presence in the various sports Directorate of Youth and the State youth Union. They have presence in the various

counties and therefore mobilization was much easier and this helped activities to flow

normally.


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Challenges encountered

Although all the four trainings were successfully done, there were some challenges that we

faced;

There are bad roads which makes it difficult to reach some destination by car timely. We

end up using motorbike to reach the training venue in time. See sample pictures of the bad

spots of the road.

Not only bad road but we also faced the challenge of fluctuations of prices of food items,

beverages (soda and water) from one location to another. The cost of refreshment and local

transport was higher than anticipated and planned. transport was higher than anticipated and planned.

There was insecurity in same Counties like Mundri west one of the youth was killed on the

road by cattle keepers and this further caused fear of movement.

There was low turn up of women for the training even though the few who turned up

showed great participation in the trainings.

Recommendation


The already started initiative should be sustained in all the four locations and has to

be scaled up to cover the whole state as the project has shown great outcome in a

short period. Continuous engagement will change the attitudes of the youth and

government towards youth participation in decision making processes and other

development projects.

There is need to organise for inter-generational dialogue between the youth and

traditional authority and elders so as to address the cultural challenges of bride

43 | Page

price, jungle punishment for youth in regards to marital issues, etc which appears to

be a cross cutting issue.

There is need to strengthen the youth union and the county association to be more

proactive and push for policy changes.

There is need to increase training cost since the roads are bad making the transport

expensive and the distances between counties are far.

Selected statements from some participants and leaders. Selected statements from some participants and leaders.

I. m able to build peace with my family in my place of work and am going to try as much as I can to prevent conflict among the youths to manage some of this negative scendepartment of water and sanitation and a member of the youth association Ibba County.

II. after receiving CEFoRD in my office with a program specifically for youth and with genuine topic governance and youths participation this is a very great opportunity for

Director General of Youth and Sports Western Equatoria State in the opening of the first training in Nzara. first training in Nzara.

III. governance starts and the family level. It is about how you relate with your husband, how you share information in a transparent way, how accountable you are and how you collectively reach decisions. I feel that when we embrace this at a family level, we shall build a more democratic and accountable leadership in all institutions including

Mundri West County training.

Media Coverage of Activities:

For social media updates and reactions to the CEFoRD activities, our page:


https://www.facebook.com/pages/CEFoRD/172235956179435?ref=br_rs

There are also media houses; both print and radio stations that covered the activities and they

are listed below;

- Miraya fm conducted interviews with the participants and the project officer

during the training in Nzara County.

- Gurtong covered all the trainings and published in their news letter, see link below:

44 | Page

http://www.gurtong.net/ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ctl/ArticleView/mid/519/articleId/15905

/Youth-Trained-on-Good-Governance-Conflict-Resolution.aspx

- Catholic radio Network reported through Anisa FM in Yambio and Yambio fm

interviewed participants and the project officer in Nzara, and Mundri and here is a

link to one of the stories they covered;

http://catholicradionetwork.org/?q=node/16220

- Spirit fm Yei also covered the trainings through telephone interview with the

CEFoRD program Coordinator and the president of the Western Equatoria State

youth Union.

- Maridi FM also conducted live interviews at the training venue with the participant

and project officer.

However, our efforts to get interviews by the Nigeria based online radio did not work out

appointment emails.

Activities planned for the next quarter

1. Radio talk shows

2. 1 State wide conference

3. 2 Interface meetings. 3. 2 Interface meetings.

Annex I: Attendance/Data base

S/No. Training Location # of Male

participants

# of Female

Participants

Age

Group

Total # of

participants

1 Nzara 19 5 18-38 24

2 Mundri West 25 11 18-38 36

3 Ibba 19 11 18-40 30

4 Maridi 21 9 18-39 30


4 Maridi 21 9 18-39 30

Total 120

45 | Page

Partnership for Peace

The partnership for peae project is funded by the EU and administered by War Child Holland.

The project is implemented witihin Yei River County specifically, Goli, Pakula and Logo Boma.

The overall object of the project is to ensure that Children and Young people in South release

their rights to participation by meaningfully contributing to all decisions affecting them in order

to fully support the realization of their rights at every level of society. In 2014 CEFoRD have

implemented several activities to achieve the stated goal of the project as outline below. implemented several activities to achieve the stated goal of the project as outline below.

Planned activities for PFP

Conduct participatory assessments of child rights and child participation at community

level.

Assessment of the child rights monitoring mechanisms/mapping of stakeholders and

establishment of coordination between them

Facilitation of community dialogue through drama, songs etc

Awareness raising and promotion of child rights and participation among traditional Awareness raising and promotion of child rights and participation among traditional

leadership structures/faith based civil-social groups/organizations

Implemented activities

Conducted 3 participatory assessments of child rights and child participation at

community level

3 Assessment of the child rights monitoring mechanisms/mapping of stakeholders and

establishment of coordination between them

6 Facilitation of community dialogue through drama, songs


on child rights and responsibilities.

3 Refresher training for adult groups on the rights of Children, responsibilities of

children and parents

Development of community monitoring and reporting mechanisms

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4 Awareness raising and promotion of child rights and participation among traditional

leadership structures/faith based civil-social groups/organizations

3 meetings on community monitoring and reporting mechanism

Overall outcome and achievements

In the year 2014 CEFoRD registered some achievements based on the midterm assessment In the year 2014 CEFoRD registered some achievements based on the midterm assessment

conducted by all implementing organization and this includes the following.

Child Participation

Through the focus group discussions, the children and young people shared

working together, sharing ideas as a group, the involvement in children in decision making,

when a father asks the views of his child, working together in the family and the participation in

anything e.g. helping mother with digging, sharing or work and decisions with the parents and

teachers, a way that children can contribute to their community at home and school without

being forced. One focus group discussion in Goli

children share our ideas together with our parents, commenting in any issues which affect us,

in the community we focus group

discussions, the majority of the Children & Young people understand Child Participation and

what this entails

involvement of children in any activity that concerns them at home and at school, when adults

and children share ideas and work together, is sharing with child in decision making, involving

children in meetings so that they have ways of expressing themselves, asking the views of the

child, sharing with children and family members to make the a child know his/her issues within

Generally across 18 out of the 19 focus group discussions, adults are

supportive of Child Participation and understand what this entails and this is reflected in the

record of their discussion.


In comparison with the baseline assessment, there seems to be an increase in knowledge and

understanding by the Children & Young People and Adults on Child Participation. The baseline

assessment report states that the parents seem to have little knowledge of what child

participation is. A review of the baseline data reflects that adults surveyed reported as: 49% =

concerning them; 24% =Parents/caregivers inform children of the decisions they have already

47 | Page

made concerning issues that affect children; 5% = 3. Parents/caregivers don't discuss with

children anything; and 22% = No idea of what Child Participation means. In this Mid Term

Assessment, 18 of the 19 adult focus group discussions report that they understand what Child

Participation means and have knowledge and how/examples of how children can participate

within their community.

The below illustration was extracted from our midterm assessment conducted in 2014

The graph above presents that both Children & Young People and Adults report that they have

a high level of knowledge of how Children can participate in making decisions. This is also

supplemented by the focus group discussion data whereby it is reported that Children and

Young People can participate in decision making through: participating in family meetings,

sharing their ideas at the school, home and community level, attending workshops in churches,

participating in clubs/groups, sharing with elders and parents, participating in debates and

sports, and raising their concerns and issues during meetings.

Child Rights


As well as being focused on Child Participation, the Partnerships for Peace project is also

focused on Child Protection as the project aims to empower children and young people to

realize their right to participation by meaningfully contributing to all decisions affecting them

and this is only possible through the realization of their rights at every level of society. In

addition to this, the project also aims to support civil society organizations to support children

and young people to communicate the issues they face in their communities, and call for

48 | Page

response at every level in society, at national and international level. Based on our intervention

and the Mid Term assessment explored what Child Rights means to the target children & young

people and adults as well as the Child Right and Protection issues within the target

communities. All children, young people and adults who are directly involved in the project and

participated in this mid-term assessment was asked a series of questions regarding their

understanding of Child Rights and if they know where to report Child Right abuses and if they

are doing so.

It is important to know the Child Rights and Protection issues affecting the target communities It is important to know the Child Rights and Protection issues affecting the target communities

and which issues are the most common; to guide our work in supporting the target

communities to monitor, report and respond to these issues. The baseline assessment

identified five priority child rights and protection issues. The issues identified were: 1. Child

neglect, 2. Severe beating (Corporal Punishment) by caretakers, 3. Too much work at home, 4.

Early or forced marriage; and 5. Sexual and Child exploitation. Based on our Mid Term

Assessment, the Child Right and Protection issues that are most common and affecting the

communities were discussed and explored through the focus group discussions. The

participants were requested to list all child right and protection issues and then from these

select the most common and priority child rights and protection issues. All these most common

child right and protection issues are presented in the table below; with the top five issues

being:

1. Child marriage,

2. Child labour,

3.Corporal punishment,

4. Alcohol/drinking abuse,

5. Parents not paying school fees.

Both Children & Young People and Adults were asked if they were aware of Child Rights and

both groups reported that the majority were aware of Child Rights; with 89% for Children &

Young People and 87% for Adults. The percentage increase suggest that our intervention have

positive impact on the communities.


positive impact on the communities.

Reporting of Child Abuses

A key component if this project is the strengthening of the community monitoring, reporting,

response and referral mechanisms for Child Rights and Protection issues. Questions on the

survey and focus group discussions focused on where to report child rights abuse cases and the

structures that currently exist at the community level for these. When asked, Children & Young

49 | Page

People reported that 90% of them are aware of where to report child right abuse cases. The

percentage of Adults was similarly high at 91%. 27% of Children & Young Report state that they

will report such child abuse cases to the Police, 25% state the community

elders/leaders/headman and 15% the Chief. 33% of the Adults state community leaders as the

people to go to for reporting child abuse cases, 18% the police, 8% the community (at large),

7% the school and 7% the local authorities.

It is important to know that beyond just knowing which people/persons to go to for the

reporting of child rights abuse cases; whether Children & Young People and Adults are actually reporting of child rights abuse cases; whether Children & Young People and Adults are actually

reporting these cases that they encounter. A question was posed to the Children & Young

People regarding if they report the child abuse that they see/hear in their community. 75% of

the Children & Young People report that they report the child abuses within their community.

On the other hand, Adults were asked to assess how Children report the Child Right abuses that

they see/hear in the community and only 58% of adults believe that Children & Young People

are reporting these child issues. This is demonstrated in the graph below (Extracted from mid

Term report)

Key Point: The data collected and presented on Child Rights and Protection highlights the many issues

that are prevalent within the target communities and some are the top issues as listed above but some

are not; and overall child protection is still an area for more concentrated focus within the target areas.

It is important to note that that both Children & Young People have almost 87% and 89% know about


their child rights and 90% and 91% know where to go if child rights are abused; but only 75% of Children

and Young People report the child abuse cases that they see and hear. Furthermore only 58% of Adults

believe that Children report the Child Abuse cases. Therefore it could be interpreted that knowledge is

not fully being practiced that there are barriers faced in reporting Child abuse cases

50 | Page


51 | Page

Financial Report (Volume of Fund and Projected Funds for 2015

The graph below demonstrate the increase in the Volume of fund to address political Social and

Economic Challenges


52 | Page

CEFoRD Annual Income and Expenditure Report 2013/2014

Year Particulars

Income Received in USD

Income Received in Euros

Amount Expended

in USD

Amount Expended in Euro

Balance in USD Balance in Euros

Summary of Annual income 2013/2014

Participatory governance and accountability - funded by OSIEA

55,500.00

2013/2014

Partnership for Peace- Funded by European Union through War Child Holland

30,189.60

2,014.00

Youth for Youth project-Foundation Open Society Initiative (FOSI)

75,000.00

2013/2014

Funded by UNESCO through War Child Holland

4,700.00

2013/2014

Income received from hiring of CEFoRD drama group and facilitators

4,800.00

General annual income 140,000.00

30,189.60

Annual expenditure

Participatory governance and accountability - funded by OSIEA

-

1.10 Personnel

14,400.00

14,400.00

-

1.20 Democracy Bus project

17,500.00

17,500.00

-

1.30 12 Public debates/dialogue meetings

8,232.00

8,232.00

-


1.40 Public Lecture

4,108.13

4,108.13

-

1.50 Inter seconady school debates

6,179.40

6,179.40

-

1.60 3 Interfere meetings

1,380.00

1,380.00

-

53 | Page

1.70 Project running cost

3,700.47

3,700.47

-

Sub - total 55,500.00

-

55,500.00

-

-

-

Youth for Youth project- Foundation Open Society Initiative (FOSI)

2.10

Personal 22,500.00

8,750.00

13,750.00

2.20

Equipments,computer acessories and public adress systems

2,000.00

2,000.00

-

2.30

Youth theatre festival 2,200.00

-

2,200.00

2.40

Youth conferences 11,400.00

7,600.00

3,800.00

2.50

Recorded radio dramas 600.00

-

600.00

2.60

Public lectures for youth on governance 4,050.00

2,700.00

1,350.00 2.60

Public lectures for youth on governance 4,050.00 2,700.00 1,350.00

2.70

Issue based youth round table talk shows 3,510.00

1,365.00

2,145.00

2.80

Interface meeting between youth and MPs

2,580.00

860.00

1,720.00

2.90

Youth training on advocacy 4,140.00

2,760.00

1,380.00

2.10

Conducted forum theatre performance 12,240.00

2,380.00

9,860.00

2.11

Project running cost 9,780.00

3,803.00

5,977.00


Sub - total 75,000.00

-

32,218.00

-

42,782.00

-

Community partnership ...Funded by UNESCO through War Child Holland

3.1 Incentives for 2 voluteers 750 750.00

-

54 | Page

3.2 Training of youths on community peace initiatives and Participatory Video 2450

2,450.00

-

3.3 Field monitoring visits 600 600.00

-

3.4 Community video screenings 900 900.00

-

Sub - total 4700 -

4,700.00

-

-

-

Income received from hiring of CEFoRD drama group and facilitators

4.1 Income received from hiring of volunteers & CEFoRD consultants 4800

-

4,800.00

Sub - total 4800 -

-

-

4,800.00

-

Partnership for Peace- Funded by European Union

5.10 Personnel

8,450.00

6,689.59 1,760.41

5.20

Training adults on child right responsibility

1,247.40

1,247.40

-

5.30 Training children on child rights

2,755.80

2,755.80

-

5.40

Development of community monitoring mechanism

901.50

901.50

-

5.50

Awareness raising on child rights and responsibilities

5,878.07

3,918.71

1,959.36

5.60

Series of workships with community leaders and children

3,050.99

1,525.50

1,525.49


5.60 leaders and children 3,050.99 1,525.50 1,525.49 5.70 Suporting child led events.

2,752.11

2,752.11

-

5.80 Caoching children on presentation skills

1,151.80

575.90

575.90

Dialoque meetings 1,221.26

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5.90 2,442.52 1,221.26 5.10 Project running cost

1,559.41

1,234.53 324.88

Sub - total -

30,189.60

-

22,822.30

- 7,367.30

Grand Totals 140,000.00

30,189.60

92,418.00

22,822.30

47,582.00 7,367.30


56 | Page

Conclusion

Child Protection and Participation

In regards to Child Rights, all of the Children & Young People are aware of the Child Rights and

protection issues happening in their communities and the most common five child right and

protection issues are: 1. Child marriage, 2. Child labor, 3.Corporal punishment, 4. protection issues are: 1. Child marriage, 2. Child labor, 3.Corporal punishment, 4.

Alcohol/drinking abuse, 5. Parents not paying school fees. Some of these are also the most

common issues at the Baseline Point. In regards to Child Participation in decision making, the

majority of the Children & Young People and Adults participating in this Mid Term Assessment

understand what Child Participation is and can share examples of how children participate in

decision making. Generally, the adults understanding and support of Child Participation in

decision making is high. Children & Young People and Adults have a high level of knowledge of

how Children can participate in making decisions. 88% of both Children & Young People and

Adults report that they are involved in activities that involve children in decision making.

In summary, CEFoRD has done a very tremendous work in regard to Child protection and

participation. However, CEFoRD need to continue delivering trainings to children, parents,

community leaders and community members on Child Participation and Child Rights, with a

particular focus on training being able to be put into practice and follow up on this. Continue particular focus on training being able to be put into practice and follow up on this. Continue

support to Children and Young People in clubs and groups to increase their participation in

decision making. Creation or strengthening of a forum for Children and Young People to share,

discuss and voice their ideas to the community Include program activities aimed specifically at

parents and their role in supporting Children and Young People to participate in decision

making; including a focus on drug/ alcohol abuse. Advocacy on Child Participation and Rights

and invent more innovative approach to address Child protection.

Governance

In regard to all projects addressing governance issues, CEFoRD experience in implementing the

three projects focusing on governance has seen a growing recognition of the importance of

citizen participation in decision-making, as successful efforts by the local governments to


citizen participation in decision-making, as successful efforts by the local governments to

engage youth and women which will lead to better policy formulation, implementation and

evaluation. Thus, our previous activities has attracted a growing consensus that participation

has not only demonstrated an intrinsic value, but it is a political right as reflected in the Unite

Nation convention on the Rights of the Child which demand for Public recognition of citizen as

key actors in social development processes as well as their participation in decision making

process that affects them. Additionally, looking at our interventions it is increasingly clear that

57 | Page

success will require an approach which redefines the relationship between government and

civil society, there has been a growing need for more inclusive approaches to development

which involves the participation of all stakeholders and Youth in the formulation of public

policies and in the decision making process especially those that impact social service and pro-

poor development In recognition of this increasing necessity and in the context of deepening

citizen participation in South Sudan in attaining good governance.

In brief; looking at Youth as our prime target, CEFoRD need to strengthen organized Youth

structures and build the capacity of focal persons for identifying and responding to Youth structures and build the capacity of focal persons for identifying and responding to Youth

representation in all levels of Government. Include program activities aimed specifically at

Youth leaders to support their Participation in public policy formulation and decisions-making

process. Include program activities aimed specifically at constituency representatives at all

levels of Government and their role in supporting Young People to participate in decision

making; including a focus on social economic initiative that will lead to poverty reduction

among Youth.

Socia-Economic Empower for Vulnerable Group.

The Socia-Economic empowerment remains the lugging thematic area in all our efforts to

empowering the communities in our area of operations. However, it is not because of lack of empowering the communities in our area of operations. However, it is not because of lack of

efforts and attention to lobby for funds on social-economic empowerment but lack of potential

funding partners to support this area.

Based on our experience and interaction with beneficiaries and key stakeholders, the capacity

of the citizens, the voice of the citizens and stakeholders to speak out issues affecting them is

largely limited because of the per capita income of the citizens. This has put the oppressed in fix

but to remain loyal to all decisions made earn a living and this has posed untold suffering to the

vulnerable group. Therefore, by empowering them economically, vulnerable groups will have

the confidence to question law makers on issues affecting them since they have nothing to lose

which in turn will lead to inclusive formulation of pro poor policies to achieve social-economic

and political development.


At the management level, we are recommending for increased focus and lobbying for funds on

social-economic empowerment by 2015. We also urge the management to make use of the

South Sudan NGO forum platform for identifying potential partners on Socia-economic

Empowerment I the coming Years.

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ceford annual report 2014-detailed (2)

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