Juba- Addressing a personal concern about the plight of South Sudanese women shared by U.S. Ambassador Molly Phee and former U.S. Ambassador Susan Page, the U.S. Embassy awarded local NGO Nile Hope to support the organization’s fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in South Sudan. In 2015, Ambassador Page won the U.S. Department of State’s Sue. M. Cobb award in the amount of $5,000USD. She asked Ambassador Phee to select a local organization devoted to assisting South Sudanese women to receive the award money.
Nile Hope’s “Prevention and provision of GBV services to survivors in Mangaten” project aims to address the issue of GBV through building capacity of Mangaten community leaders in by:
- Service Mapping- providing accurate and updated information regarding where and which types of support services are available for community members.
- Training community leaders on identifying, addressing, and preventing GBV.
- Organizing multiple GBV awareness campaigns in the community via door to door engagement, posters, and handouts that discuss the issue and share resources for victims.
Nile Hope is a South Sudanese humanitarian organization that seeks to strengthen communities for sustainable development via projects in the areas of health, education, protection, and peace building. Its Protection Department was founded in 2009 to address and prevent the issue of GBV. According to Ambassador Phee, “During my assignment to South Sudan, countless women and girls have suffered from sexual assault. I have great admiration for the work of Nile Hope in assisting communities in need and I am confident they will use these resources to help the fight against gender-based violence by increasing awareness and providing support to victims. Like me, Ambassador Page has great admiration for the women and girls of this country and we share a desire to see improvements in their safety and security.”
In 2016, the United States provided over $2million USD to support the fight against GBV through South Sudan’s education and health sectors.
