Amid a humanitarian crisis, South Sudan's women are taking matters into their own hands. Fleeing war and floods, the women have learned how to survive. They're teaching each other useful skills and joining forces to face the odds posed by life in a refugee camp.
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00:00 It's mid-afternoon in the IDP camp in Bentiu, in the north of South Sudan.
00:08 Angelina Nyataba Manyong and her friend Elizabeth Nyatwak are meeting to sew bedsheets at Angelina's
00:15 house.
00:16 It's a skill they have acquired through training from the International Rescue Committee.
00:22 Women in South Sudan face many challenges, like social and economic empowerment.
00:28 The income from the sales the two women make is therefore vital for them.
00:38 Women in South Sudan are not happy.
00:41 How could we be?
00:42 When the bullets cooled down after the war, the floods came and submerged our villages.
00:47 When the fighting stopped, we thought we could return home, cultivate and have animals.
00:52 For some women it's too much.
00:54 But for us, we have at least gained some skills we are better off.
01:03 Angelina also trains other women so that they can improve on the livelihoods of their families.
01:15 I knit table mats and bedsheets and then sell them on the market.
01:19 From the income, I buy more materials to make more bedsheets.
01:24 From my profit, I repay the loan and pay school fees for my children.
01:31 Angelina's husband supports her endeavour.
01:34 A little different, however, is the story of 32-year-old Elizabeth Nyatwak.
01:40 Her husband eloped with another woman in Khatoum in Sudan and left her in the camp with three
01:46 children.
01:47 Since my husband abandoned me, IRC has supported me with life skills.
01:55 Now I can care for my family, including my mother-in-law, who stays with me.
02:02 On top of making their own business, Angelina and Elizabeth are also members of a savings
02:08 group exclusively for women.
02:12 Each member has to remit 1,000 South Sudanese pounds, the equivalent of one US dollar.
02:18 Small as it may sound, the money has transformed many of their lives, as Angelina explains.
02:31 Since we started saving money, life has improved because it is done collectively.
02:36 When I borrow money from the group, I can make profits from the goods I buy from it
02:39 in Juba and sell around here like clothes or bags.
02:45 Apart from supporting women like Manyoung and Nyatwak, the International Rescue Committee
02:52 also supports communities to recover from shocks and restore their lives from harm to
02:57 home.
02:58 The biggest challenge?
03:00 Recovery and an efficient development approach to deal with the challenges of South Sudanese.
03:06 They need more opportunities to work, opportunities to build a livelihood, but the basics have
03:15 to be there, water, sanitation, schools, hospitals, employment opportunities and a protected environment
03:23 where there is law and order, peace and security so they can settle and farm, find employment,
03:31 start businesses.
03:33 Since South Sudan gained its independence in July 2011, there has been fighting among
03:38 different warring factions that have left women on the peripherals of society.
03:43 However, there is hope that women in South Sudan are turning a bad history into a story
03:49 of prosperity.
03:50 [MUSIC]