Juba, South Sudan, 23 February, 2016 – The Japanese Ambassador to South Sudan, H.E. Kiya Masahiko, and UN Women Director, Programme Division from New York, Ms. Maria Noel Vaeza, in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, have handed over 5 community cereal grinding mills, 4 greenhouse kits and 4 units of one-acre drip irrigation kits as part of the UN Women Humanitarian Assistance Programme that is co-funded by the Government of Japan.
The equipment and machinery will benefit the internally-displaced women and host communities in three payams (Pageri, Mugali and Nimule) within the Pageri Administrative Area. These modern machines and equipment will promote the year-round production of high-valued vegetables, reduce the workload of women and girls, and improve women’s access to resources and assets, including food and incomes, while enhancing their resilience and decision-making roles at the household and community levels.
In partnership with National NGOs, the project has also disbursed USD 350,000 in support of microenterprise development and vocational skills training that augment the resilience of conflict-affected women and girls in the target payams of the Pageri Administrative Area.
The programme will also support the construction of a multi-purpose empowerment complex for women that will serve as safe space for meetings as well as workshops on rights, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), leadership, peace and reconciliation, functional literacy training and livelihood skills.
Additionally, a computer laboratory will be established and operationalized to equip women and girls with the requisite computer literacy skills in order to enhance their chances of gaining decent jobs with government and NGOs.
This support is part of the implementation of a US$ 3.5 million Humanitarian Assistance Programme (HAP) 2015-2017, funded by the Government of Japan, targeting Juba County, Awerial County and Pageri Administrative Area.