Sudan: Handling the future

Not only the children of southern Sudan need schooling. So do the adults and the societal structures. Managing the future takes training, knowledge, and democratisation - also of the emerging authorities

By Frede Hansen

First is to ensure that the peace will last. Second is to boost development in all areas where southern Sudan lags behind.

“People must revert the situation, but it will take long to bring people out of the situation they are used to be in. Static forces are stronger than dynamic forces,” says Virginio Lomena, the Equatoria Regional co-ordinator for education in the Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, SRRC, the humanitarian arm of SPLM.

He points at the non-existent infrastructure as the biggest challenge.

“Only six kilometres away from Yei there are no schools and where there are schools as here in Yei town, they follow the Ugandan curriculum,” says Virginio Lomena.

He is, however, optimistic and hopes that development of a national curriculum will be a priority as soon as government structures are in place.

A curriculum is of course a necessity for education. So is trained teachers. In the case of southern Sudan, many of the professional educationalists are currently in exile and it’s doubtful whether they will come back because the present situation is likely not to bring them job satisfaction.

“If we could guarantee full job satisfaction and we put up an advertisement for teachers, they would come streaming back,” says Virgino Lomena.

He also stresses the need for peace education in schools.

“Children produced and brought up in war times may behave violently. They need a conducive environment and qualified teachers to learn well,” he says.

In a situation with young government structures and no revenue collection, people volunteer their services. But it is an uphill task in a town like Yei.

“We have people of all tribes here in Yei, and many of them plan to return to their home area as soon as the situation has stabilised. It is difficult to mobilise them to do voluntary community work,” says Virginio Lomena.

Civil society wants law and order

On a serene evening, the only sound being a small drizzle, Jackson Abugo and Ahmed Abbas outlined their priority areas in the current situation. They are director and civil society co-ordinator respectively of Institute for Promotion of Civil Society, IPCS.

“Peace, good governance, law and order,” Jackson Abugo stated promptly.

“It is also crucial to integrate and harmonise different sectors of society. There are people who have stayed around all along while others went to exile. Many got education while in exile, while those who stayed behind remained uneducated. The skills of those in exile are needed for reconstruction, but it is a challenge to convince them to come home until basic services are in place,” says Jackson Abugo.

His colleague, Ahmed Abbas, elaborates on the situation in Yei county where about 250,000 people live:

“It is a catch 22 situation. Those in exile are needed to reconstruct and put services in place, but they may not be willing to return until services are in place. For instance, there are only two doctors at the hospital, water points are scarce. But we should not just roll out the red carpet for those in exile and forget those who stayed. It is also necessary to put in place vocational training in marketable skills for those who stayed, just as upgrading of formal education is highly needed.”

Co-ordination of aid

Jackson Abogo expressed fear that the resources which have been mobilised, may not necessarily address the actual needs. There is need for a forum of various groups to address the most burning issues, as anything done now is preparatory.

According to Jackson Abogo it is time that the Sudanese organisations based outside the country relocate to southern Sudan.

“We in the civil society must come together and create a forum with a common agenda. So far networking has mainly taken place in Nairobi, it is questionable to have organisations headquartered elsewhere and yet claiming to give services to the people,” he says.

Most Sudanese cite the need for co-ordination of activities once aid begins to flow in. It must be ensured that aid is not going to one particular geographical area but should be well distributed in urban and rural areas. It is also important that the beneficiaries are involved and participate in the planning and implementation of the aided projects.

Rebuilding southern Sudan is a huge task. There are already a good number of organisations on the ground in Yei, and with the resources pledged at the meeting in Oslo in April, this number is certainly going to increase.

“Let us hope that they can agree on some kind of common approach so that the peoples of southern Sudan become the real beneficiaries.” Jackson Abogo says.