|
Working Together With Grassroots Communities November, 2001 |
|
|
Working Together With Grassroots Communities November, 2001 |
|
by Julia Aker Duany
When I first met the women who call themselves the South Sudanese Women Association (SSWA), I thought of the little song, "It Only Takes a Spark to Get a Fire Going."...
Years ago, I wrote those words to describe my introduction to the women of SSWA. We met in 1993, in Nairobi, Kenya, when I was trying to form peacemaking coalitions among the south Sudanese women groups. I was discouraged, because I found the groups to be elitist, having little or no connection with the lives, circumstances, and suffering of the grassroots people in the South. Except for the SSWA.
The SSWA formed in 1991, soon after the SPLA split set off fighting among the rival factions. This warfare introduced a brutality into the Sudan conflict that had not previously characterized inter-ethnic disputes. Society itself became a military target. Families were destroyed as the soldiers killed the elderly, raped women, and abducted women and children. In Upper Nile, women organized as South Sudan Women Association (SSWA), attempting to halt these abuses and restore a peaceful way of life through a network of village women.
The early network of SSWA women demonstrated its effectiveness during the fighting between the Jikany and Lou Nuer in 1994. It was the women who had initiated the peace and reconciliation movement that had resolved the Jikany/Lou conflict, and evolved into the People-to-People Peace Process.
At that time, it became clear to me that women, as a group, offered primary potential as an agency for assimilating new ideas and proactive behaviors into the family and the broader grassroots community. It was also clear that the insecurity in the South would make it very difficult for anyone to connect these women with resources, support, and expertise. I began developing ideas for a focused, action-oriented process of involving women in the peacebuilding and community education process.
In August 2000, in Nairobi, I met with Mary Nyaciin Chol, Chairperson of SSWA. Mary's involvement in SSWA began in 1997, when, after living in exile as refugees, she and her husband returned to the liberation movement controlled area of Upper Nile. Mary, a nurse, joined Akobo's women group.
"For the most part," remembered Mary, "Akobo was a growing, vital area, in better shape than most towns in Upper Nile. The women were trying to build on that growth. Akobo was the only place you could get healthcare, education for children, and services for livestock."
But evidence of deterioration was appearing. Here and there, attacks or raids dispersed the population. Communities recovered from the attacks, but it was a downward cycle. The SSWA women focused on enhancing family well being, but the inter-community conflict that flared up in late 1999 and early 2000 interrupted the work.
During our August 2000 meeting, Mary and I discussed SSFI's proposed program for strengthening the role of women in grassroots peacebuilding. At that time, SSFI's program was just an idea without a name, but Mary was eager to partner with us. After our meeting, Mary and I jointly announced the revival of SSWA peace activities.
 |
|
Under the trees - village women meet with Julia |
When I returned to Nairobi in September 2001, both SSFI and SSWA were ready to take the new program, Women Working Together (WWT), to the next level. The basic unit of the program is a workshop, attended by teams of women from local villages. The workshop provides training in practical and interpersonal skills, encourages individual responsibility, builds supportive networks, and challenges women to teach each other what they learn. Women Working Together is designed to strengthen and expand existing networks of women, and to build upon the traditional role of women as bridge-builders between communities.
SSWA's partnership with SSFI in launching Women Working Together (WWT) demonstrates Mary's commitment to reaching out and involving women on the grassroots level. "People are really getting excited when they see how unique this program is," she said. "It's women working together for the welfare of their communities. This approach to grassroots peacebuilding is a model for the whole south Sudan to follow."
Nyabiel, Mary's assistant, was especially happy about the prospect of extending the program into Dinka areas. She said, "You can just not believe how excited the Dinka women were to see that reconciliation processes, such as Wunlit, have stopped the inter-community conflict."
Forerunner of People to People Peace Process
SSWA's effort to organize village women back in 1992 was one step ahead of today's New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) peace initiative. The women had only an idea, but that idea caught on and led to the Akobo Peace and Reconciliation Conference in 1994. "Women in Akobo were very successful in behind the scenes peace promotion under their leader Mary Nyakang Chol," Mary said. "No one ever dreamed they would have the success they did in villages round Akobo. It was Mary Nyakang Chol who encouraged the women to break down the ethnic barriers. As a result, the Akobo women, Nuer, Dinka and Anuak, have set in motion the most important peace initiative in recent years."
This initiative has resulted in a number of peace agreements among the communities, such as the Akobo Jikany-Lou Reconciliation 1994, the Wunlit Dinka-Nuer Reconcilation 1999, and the Lillir Peace and Reconciliation Conference 2000.
Mary and the SSWA women in Akobo have been promoting WWT in Upper Nile during the past year. More and more families are settling in and around Akobo because their children can attend schools and receive healthcare. "My work as a nurse is certainly helping to get WWT off the ground," said Mary. "When I go out to visit women groups in the villages, I not only talk about family health, but also about making peace. What we do now is so much easier than when we were starting from scratch."
Beginnings of WWT in Upper Nile
I went to Akobo with Mary in September 2001 to lay ground for the first Women Working Together workshop. Our arrival coincided with rumors of an attack. People fled in panic. Fortunately, attack did not come. Once things calmed down, I met with the leaders of the women's groups from Akobo and nearby villages, and from the towns of Waat and Yuai. I gave the women some relief supplies to distribute in their villages. The items included school supplies, medicine, vitamins, fishing hooks, vegetable seed, and many other necessities donated by churches, schools, and organizations in the United States.
The acceptance of the WWT program in Upper Nile during this past year is due in large part to the working relationships of the women groups. "It's because we're building upon what's already in the communities," Mary Nyaciin Chol explained. "Things people do in their daily lives-planting crops, attending cattle, providing security and safety, raising families, nurturing relationships-all of the things that make life. We are building upon these. That's why there is excitement in villages. That's why I hear women say, I am going to Akobo and join the Women Working Together program."
But to me, the most significant event of the trip occurred after the relief supplies had been distributed. Some of the men who had been observing began picking through the supplies and pocketing whatever they wanted. This made the women angry, because the supplies had been entrusted to them to distribute as part of the Women Working Together program. The women rallied, scolding the men and making the point that everyone had to start working together for the good of the community. They argued so well that the men accepted the situation and returned the items!
I can't tell you how proud I was of those women. They challenged community expectations. They made a difference. That's the result I want to see from Women Working Together.
Overcoming the Power of the AK-47
In building peace, we face tremendous challenges. We will have to change the attitudes of people who think violence is a way of life. The majority of men carry their guns and some terrorize the communities. Stopping inter-ethnic violence in Sudan calls for a combination of solutions. But clearly, one answer is strengthening the role of women in grassroots peace-building. And while WWT targets women, their families and the community-at-large are the ultimate beneficiaries.
The WWT model stimulates awareness of the benefits of coexistence, tolerance and reconciliation. The training builds upon a willingness to prepare and train more people. In time, an extensive peace network will develop, incorporating a broadly diverse mix of people around one important mission: peace and community welfare.
The success of the grassroots peace and reconciliation movement has depended upon the cooperation of local authorities and upon local churches and communities working closely in partnership. In stopping the violence between liberation movement factions, the grassroots people of south Sudan have won a victory. But while, on the one hand, the future of the movement looks bright, on the other hand, there is a growing concern that the grassroots communities are losing their grip on the People-to-People Peace Process.
"People who run the New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) program have lost touch with reality in the villages," Mary explained. "So we are looking at new ways of improving the People-to-People peace initiative, to give it back to the people."
My conversations with others indicate that Mary is right. Several church leaders told me that they have visited NSCC a number of times and were not able to see the leaders, Haruun Ruun or Telar Deng. "How many times have you gone to the NSCC office only to have an official tell you that Haruun and Telar are not there," said one church leader, who did not want to be identified. "Peacemaking has become a big industry. It brings in thousands and thousands of dollars, which do not reach the people. People-to-People Peacemaking is losing track, because we lost friends like Bill Lowrey. We lost the people who started it and who knew what to do and what it takes to work with grassroots people."
It was the Rev. Bill Lowrey, ordained Presbyterian minister, who brought the focus of the NSCC to bear upon grassroots peacemaking in the early 1990s. Lowrey's gift for facilitating and for helping people find common ground was a deciding factor in the reconciliation process. But sadly, the success of the People to People Process brought out jealousies among the NSCC leadership, and, as the NSCC shifted its role from facilitator to controller of the Process, Lowrey moved on.
"I do not look at the peacebuilding work as a charity," said Mary. "Do-gooders and charity projects go just so far. They remain outsiders to the community. When they lose interest in the project, then the money stops and the charity pulls out. Compare that with what we have now, a peace process that is not driven by personal interest or funding from the external partners.
"So much of what the charity mindset offers never changes the daily reality we live with," Mary continued. "I have to be convinced that something will benefit the women. I want results. I want to see evidence that a program is improving life in the villages."
Working Together: A Model for Peacebuilding
WWT provides the training and structure that has been lacking in the women's networking efforts. Local women will serve as trainers, or "community advocates," teaching other women how to use the influence they already have in their families and in their communities to build peace and stability in harmonious, positive ways. Each year, more women will be trained, and those who have received training will be offered follow-up seminars. Aside from the training workshops, the women will do most of the activities themselves. Above all, SSFI wants to keep the focus of the initiative on empowering grassroots people.
"Once people see the changes WWT is going to create, it will be the start of a more peacemaking activities owned by the people, rather than initiated from Nairobi," said Mary. "If this is as successful as we think it is going to be, there will be other women leaders who will be interested in WWT. I can see this extending the peace to other areas of Upper Nile and across south Sudan. I think there's even a great possibility of reconciliation among the south Sudanese, especially the faction leaders."
I agree with Mary. Peacebuilding must be an organic process, taking shape at all levels of society. Peace cannot be built in the exclusive enclaves of the leaders of conflicting parties. Long-term, strategic grassroots relationships must be built, reaching across the divisions of society. Women Working Together is one way that we can do it.
Your prayers, donations, and financial support are making a difference in the lives of the grassroots people of south Sudan. Our special thanks to:
 |
 |
| First Presbyterian Church, New Castle, IN packs supplies for Sudan |
Julia with part of the shipment - ready to go |
What are the issues in Sudan's conflict?
The war in Sudan has deep historical roots. It is more than a religious conflict.
The North is after the resources in the South, especially the oil.
The Southern struggle is for self-determination, either as a part of Sudan or as a separate nation.
|
