In the early morning, a UN helicopter approaches Nadiangere. Just below it, the lush and fertile landscape is bursting with newly planted crops. They are vital for supplying food and livelihoods, not only to this village, but to communities across the region.
Once on the ground, a team of peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) begin their patrol to assess the humanitarian and security situation. They want to see for themselves, and hear first-hand from the community, about the challenges they are facing. who say they are lucking basic services such as education, health, and security.
In recent times, residents of Nadiangere have shared basic services with a internally displaced persons who have fled their homes in Tambura because of another outburst of intercommunal violence in the troubled area.
Women and children seem to be the ones worst affected by increasingly insufficient resources.
“We ran into the bush, after seven days we reached Nadiangere. There is no food for us at all, and I am very tired. There is nowhere to get medication and no means for me to communicate with my sibling, who remained behind,” said Eunice Philimona, a displaced woman.
For 21-year-old resident Severina Angelo, a mother of two, sustainable peace is key to improve living conditions in her community.
“We need peace, we have suffered a lot. Our children shouldn’t have to go through the same as we have done. We need schools, a hospital and other necessities,” she said.
In response to the many needs of the population, UNMISS has financed the construction of a primary school. It has three classrooms, a teachers’ office, and provides a much-improved learning environment for more than 300 girls and boys.
Alfred Futuyo Karaba, Governor of Western Equatoria State, is grateful for the new addition to the local landscape.
“You have built three classrooms for children in Nadiangere, and that is great. We will move forward by encouraging people to go to school and to farm. We will stand together with them and work hand in hand for further development,” he said.
The UNMISS school project is expected to boost the quality of life for residents and internally persons alike, particularly for girls and women, and contributes to the protection of civilians, a core part of the peacekeeping mission’s mandate in the world’s youngest nation.
Jane Lanyero Kony, Head of the UNMISS Field Office in Western Equatoria, assured residents that she had taken note of their concerns.
“We came here to listen and now that we are going back (to Yambio), we will, to the extent possible, mobilize the UN family to provide you with further support,” she pledged.
Blue Helmets will continue to conduct patrols in the area and work closely with humanitarian partners to assist people in need across Western Equatoria and beyond.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
