As the world marks International Humanitarian day, aid workers from CARE International based in South Sudan have shared their experiences.
Patrick Vuonze, a gender and protection manager says his passion to stand up for the girl child since childhood has enabled him to fight for girls and women in the country.
He cited that despite so many efforts, gender equality in South Sudan has not been achieved. This is due to their culture which 'sits on women' and it proves a challenge to convince a conservative community that the girl child is equal to the boy child.
"Until today, women are not included in critical issues even though they are affecting them more than anyone else in the country. Peacemaking and conflict resolution in South Sudan are still pretty much a man’s world," said Vuonze.
He further noted that young girls are traded to old rich men for dowry in a bid to fight the fierce pangs of poverty.
The gender and protection manager also admitted that humanitarian job has had its share of excitements and challenges considering the context of South Sudan.
"Millions of people are in need and have been suffering more than our years of civil conflict, more than 5 million people required food assistance at the beginning of this year, an increase of 40 per cent from the same time last year. Communities are displaced, livelihood activities disrupted and humanitarian access to vulnerable populations difficult," lamented Vounze.
Richard James Koma, another aid worker said that insecurity is still a challenge facing aid workers in countries like South Sudan.
Koma observed that they are hindered from working to effectively deliver humanitarian assistance.
He said that aid workers are sometimes targeted in situations of armed conflicts where some are caught in crossfires.
"We always strive for impartiality but we are sometimes also targeted in situations of armed conflict. I have friends in the sector who have been caught in a crossfire and some have lost their lives. This is the reality I have to live with every day as an aid worker in South Sudan. Every day I wake up ready to help my people, but in the back of my mind I also have this niggling fear of being attacked whilst doing my work," noted Koma.
But despite the shortcoming and the challenges, the aid workers still dream that their efforts and those of others will bear fruits and gender equality will be achieved.