Southern Sudan

Democracy Bus went beyond expectations

In five weeks, the Democracy Bus supported by MS reached more than 7500 Sudanese with information about democracy and the elections expected to take part in Sudan in April 2010.

By Janne Bruvoll, information officer, MS Sudan

14. March 2010

In February and March, Sudanese and Danish youths brought democracy and debate to the Southern Sudanese people. The so-called Democracy Bus with civic educators, musicians, puppeteers, actors and Danish students drove from village to village in Central Equatoria State in Southern Sudan. The goal was to encourage especially women and youths to take part in the elections in Sudan scheduled for 11-13 April 2010. The project has been planned and implemented by two of MS Sudan's partners, Yei Community Resource Centre and CEFORD. This is the biggest project they have organised and they are proud of the results.

“It has really ended up well. Several times during the planning, I ad to ask myself if this would ever happen. We were running around trying to get funds and so on but now we are finding ourselves finishing the project successfully. We were even able to expand and reach more people than anticipated. It is really unbelievable,” says Eric J. Moses, manager of Yei Community Resource Centre.

The elections in April will be the first multiparty elections in Sudan in 24 year and the need for information is therefore huge. The goal of the Democracy Bus was to reach 5000 Sudanese but when the bus ended its tour 10 March, it had reached 7590 persons, of which 3272 were women, in 27 different locations.

“It makes the Democracy Bus unique that it has reached so many people. You see many projects only reaching a few. In addition, we have not been speaking English but tried to fit with the local languages,” Eric J. Moses says.

Many questions
Samson Mawa George is the programme officer for CEFORD and together with Eric J. Moses, he has planned the project. He agrees that the project is very special.

“The Democracy Bus has been different from other projects because we have had different kinds of people on the bus from different organisations and then we also have had international participants. And then we are using many different methods at the same time targeting the same issue. Normally, we would go with only one approach like for instance forum theatre,” he says.

Also two Danish volunteers have been travelling on the bus and they are impressed by the project.

“I was very positively surprised when I saw how well-planned the project was already when we arrived. The project really has some good leaders,” Andrea Holst-Mjöbäck says. She continues:

“Many of the places we have gone, there have not been anybody else giving out information about the elections. It is so important that people get this information because for most of the people, this will be the first time for them to vote.”

Aja Lykke Heinze has especially been happy to see the methods used like forum theatre, music, board games and debates.

“The way we have given people the information has been very creative and it has engaged people. In this way we have reached people that never would have sat down and read about the elections themselves. I believe that the informal way the the information has been given has made it easier for people to ask questions. People have really asked a lot,” she says.

High demand for information
The bus has been received very positively everywhere it has reached and people highly appreciate that the civic educators and volunteers have travelled far to visit them.

“I am very happy that the bus has come to us today. Before, I did not know how to vote but now I will be able to do it right. Everything I have been told today has been new to me,” Marselina Kwaje said when the bus visited her village Ombasi 3 March. The chief agrees.

“I am very excited about the Democracy Bus coming here. We do not have any radio station reaching out to here so we do not get much information,” said chief Gabriel Lomaya Soromuke.

Samson Mawa George from CEFORD has been on the bus every day and he has felt the enormous need for information.

“The demand is really high everywhere. People always asked why we were not going to more places,” he says.

10 March, the bus made its last trip but the UN’s Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has shown an interest in supporting the project so that the bus can go on for ten more days and reach some of the places it could not reach in the first place.