By Yang Ater Yang
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), in partnership with local civil society group TOCH Organisation, handed over a newly constructed women’s centre in Mayath Payam of Cueibet County, Lakes State, aimed at supporting women’s economic empowerment and psychosocial well-being.
The facility, constructed by ODhia Construction under the Peace in Practice project, was funded by SDC and the Peacebuilding Opportunities Fund (POF) and implemented by TOCH Organisation in partnership with Peace Canal. The two women’s centers being built under the project, including another in Maper Payam, cost a combined $50,000, project officials said.
Marko Madut, executive director of the TOCH Organisation, said that they have come to Mayath Payam, where they have constructed a women- and girls-friendly space under the project called “Peace in Practice.”
He said the project is in a consortium with Peace Canal and funded by Swiss Development Cooperation SDC and POF, which is a co-donor that has funded this place.
“The purpose of the women and girls’ friendly space is a space that brings women together to access services that they are lacking. Most of it is psychosocial support where women go under PSS sessions on a weekly basis, and these sessions are designed in a way that they bring out their issues of coping mechanisms on things that they face along GBV, things like domestic violence and other GBV-related issues and protection issues,” he said. “The space becomes helpful for the women to be able to come together and share their own issues that are affecting them.”
He said it is instructed in a way where you have 30 women that go per session every week, and these women will go under this PSS session for a period of 3 months, and other groups will come in.
He said they always do livelihood activities where they do bead-making; beads are being designed, and other livelihood activities generate income for them.
He said the facility was constructed by the national company called ODhia, which has won the bid, and it is doing two spaces. One is here in Mayath Payam, and the other one is in Maper Payam. We expect to open them in the next two weeks, but we came to open them to witness the work that’s ongoing. We are very grateful to the Swiss Development Agency for funding this project together with POF.
He said that for partnership with Peace Canal, we already have other activities we are doing, like VSLA activities, and we are also supporting peace committees, peace funds, and other livelihood activities within the six counties.
“Four counties in Lakes State, Rumbek Central, Rumbek East, Rumbek North, and Cueibet counties; and two counties of Warrap, Tonj South and Tonj East counties, where we have similar activities that we conducted. So, we have come on a field visit to help witness what the team is doing, and we are very grateful for what our team is doing, and we hope to continue talking to our donors to bring more support,” he said. “Like this center, it needs to be fenced because it is not part of the plan, but we have realised it is also a need. We also need a water point to be put in for them to be able to have water, as it has been discussed.”
He said all these we cannot do alone, but we also request other agencies to come in and support the women that are here in Mayath Payam because the government has allocated this land to them, which is going to be permanent land for the women of Mayath, and they will be doing all their activities within the center.
He said yes, the two centers cost $50,000 USD to be able to construct both facilities, and we also have others like chairs, which have been brought; each center is receiving 30 chairs for them to be able to sit, and we have also supplied livelihood materials that also have their own cost.
Rebecca Cholhok Mayom, a chairlady of Joth Mayar in Mayath Payam of Cueibet County, expresses happiness to the TOCH organisation for supporting women in Cueibet County.
She said TOCH gets support from the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) to help women in the rural community, and they have built for us a very big office space.
“The office is now built in Mayath Payam headquarters, and this Payam is one of the biggest Payams, which hosts 5 sections of Wat, Pagok, Pathiang, and Kong-ngor, and they live together with the Joth section in Mayath Payam,” she said.
She urged the TOCH organisation and Peace Canal to provide them with water in the Payam to help us during irrigation of crops in the gardens.
“We use these vegetable gardens to produce greens for sale in the market to buy clothes and school fees for our children in the community, and I appreciate you so much for the support to women in Cueibet County,” she said. “They make traditional beads, sew bedsheets, and tailor clothes for our people in the community.”
Sultan Chol Machiek Ayol, head chief in Mayath Payam of Cueibet County, said that he would like to express his happiness to NGOs for the support to our women in the community with an office to do some of their small activities in the community.
“This women’s center will help women across Cueibet County in doing their small activities, and if there is anything that’s lacking. It needs NGOs to help them,” he said. “It is we as chiefs who offered this land to women, and the land belongs to us as the community, and it is now given as a women’s center”.
He urged the government to intervene to help these women in the community whenever they need support from the government in the state.
John Puoric Agar, Mayath Payam administrator, said that today is an important day in which we welcomed several NGOs that visited Mayath Payam of Cueibet County.
“There was a construction for a women’s center and I had to inform the community chiefs and administrators to locate the place for them, and it is now complete, and the work has finished.”
He said the reason this women’s center has changed women’s lives in the community.
“Now, it has changed women’s attitudes on how they used to conduct meetings and their thinking, and they make decisions for themselves without interference,” he said.
He said he wants the center to be expanded and surrounded by a fence so that they can conduct their meetings without any problem and their assets remain protected, and their fence remains closed.
“We want women to be trained on how to operate machines for Lulu oil and soap,” he said. “The issue of soaps has affected women seriously, and we want this Lulu machine to be given to them.”
He said if this Lulu machine for soap is available in Mayath, Payam, then women will not travel to any other places to look for soap.