Women and Girls continue to be disadvantaged and marginalized in many aspects. It is well known that violent conflict unreasonably affects women and girls and increases pre-existing gender inequalities and discrimination. The role of women as agents of peace in armed conflict is never recognized, yet they play a major role as agents of peace and change, yet their role as key players and change agents has been largely unrecognized.

Twenty-two (22) years since the adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, it remains very difficult to explain why women and girls across the continent continue to be faced with numerous challenges such as rape, forced marriages and dropping out of school, this indeed undermines their position in society. Women are still struggling to be given a voice on the negotiating tables and effectively participate in the affairs of the society.

These challenges, form the foundation of PROCMURA’s Women and Girl Child Empowerment programme, a programme that has given specific attention to issues facing women under PROCMURA’s programmatic focus. The programme seeks to strategically build the capacity of women and by extension the girl child particularly those in conflict stricken affected areas as well as those living in vulnerable communities. PROCMURA believes that empowering one woman is an empowering a whole society or generation, thus empowering women and the girl child is vital for a society to progress.

In response to the continued violence, insecurity and challenges facing women amid the political landscape and the situation of women living in the United Nations Mission (UNMISS) Protection of Civilian Camps (POC) in Malakal South Sudan, PROCMURA braved the challenges and the difficulties in South Sudan by reaching out to the women and girls in the POC camp with a mission to transform their lives.

Working with its partners from Mission 21 in Basel Switzerland, the Presbyterian Church in Malakal South Sudan and the Area committee, PROCMURA set camp in the POC Camp for one week from 16th to e 21st October 2022 to empower the women and girls in the camp. It conducted workshops and seminars for the women, imparted women with knowledge and skills for their sustainability, became a listening partner and raised awareness on the challenges faced by the girls in the camps. Key among the challenges are; Gender violence and inequalities in the communities, teenage pregnancies, poor sanitation and lack of sustainable livelihood, trauma and stigma from the war experiences among others. In addition to these, the girls in the community also received training from professional consultants and counsellors on reproductive health.

The women who were from different communities including Nuer, Shilluk, Dinka, and Bare among others, different religions (Christians and Muslims) as well as different states and regions in South Sudan, all came together under the unity of a woman; Mothers and Daughters together, Friends and Foes together to share their plight and experiences in the camp. They stated that for the first time after living in the camps for several years they felt a sense of belonging and forgot their differences. They all wanted to protect their children and families crying that peace be South Sudan. They shared their experiences and challenges as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Malakal and called on PROCMURA and other stakeholders to help them address some of the challenges. They vowed and committed to work together as women and most importantly mentor their children and youth to live in peace and be tolerant with each other This will enhance cohesion and promote peace and coexistence in the camp.

Apart from engaging the women and girls in this IDP camp, PROCMURA in partnership with the churches established a space in the Church compound which will serve as a center for the women empowerment programmes and donated twenty (20) sewing machines from mission 21 as a seed to the economic empowerment of the women and girls.

The women will use the sewing machines to produce a variety of products for their use such as reusable sanitary towels which was key as it would help address the menstrual challenges faced by girls given that they do not have resources to purchase conventional sanitary towel it would also enable them address and improve their hygiene standards which are fairly poor as they are associated to lack of economic resources as well .Other items such as production of school uniform, beddings and other basic accessories will also be produced locally at the centers once the women have gained basic tailoring skills such items can be sold for income generation. It was agreed that other skills such as hairdressing, beauty, catering and design will be gradually introduced once resources are available.

Ms. Tinah Abdallah, one of the Muslim women leaders who had tailoring and dressmaking skills, welcomed PROCMURA’s practical approach to empowering women in the region and committed to assisting in ensuring that the women that were trained would ensure that the initiative is a success and benefits even more displaced women and girls in the camp.

Rev. Winnie Metto the PROCMURA youth coordinator on her part engaged with the women and joined them in song and dance. Charming the Youth with her demeanor as she quickly adopted, fitted and blended with the South Sudanese woman and shared her joy and gratitude for the impact of the programmes on her as an ordained pastor and the opportunity to meet new friends. She confessed that it was her first time to experience the culture and diversity of South Sudan but recognized the common virtues of being an African woman in a different country. She was intrigued by how the women were resilient despite the multitude of challenges they faced.

The Team Leader of PROCMURA, Ms. Joy Wandabwa who had led the PROCMURA delegation from Nairobi and assisted in the trainings and programmes worked with the women from dawn to dusk during the entire week. In her closing remarks, she thanked the women and appreciated all the partners and the churches who had supported the programme. She encouraged the women to stand together in solidarity and let their voices and messages of peace be heard and their presence and contributions be seen practically. Stating clearly that PROCMURA will keep creating spaces and platforms to empower women in the society.

All in all, over fifty (50) Women and three hundred (300) Girls participated and benefitted from the programmes and each received the PROCMURA Kike Health Kit which contains a sanitary bag, reusable sanitary towels, underwear (panties), soaps and face masks.