The UNMISS Joint Operation Centre (JOC) on Wednesday 18 January paid a visit to the village of Moroyok, a few kilometers southeast of the UN House in Juba. The UNMISS staff brought a variety of useful items donated by their friends and relatives back home, and were met by joyous members of the community.

“We saw that the village was pretty isolated and did not have a number of things they would need just for daily life to sustain themselves, said JOC team leader Patrick Kerr, explaining the reason for the donation drive and subsequent visit to Moroyok.

Teams from JOC and the Chinese military contingent in Juba assessed the area a few weeks ago, and the remarkably poor living conditions observed in the village prompted the UNMISS staff’s charitable action.

During the visit, the team donated a total of 30 bags full of a wide array of goods to 48 households in the area. The items distributed by JOC ranged from clothes, blankets and bedsheets to cutlery, solar-powered radios and toys.

 “The wife of my colleague in the United States shipped over some toys and dolls for the kids,” said Patrick Kerr and added that he is also working on a similar initiative to assist the community of Moroyok:

“Right now my wife is organizing a campaign to collect sandals for the children as we have noticed that most of them have no shoes”.

The sandals will help prevent the children from sustaining injuries caused by moving around barefoot.

The UNMISS donation team was, hardly surprising, met with much rejoicing on the part of the welcoming Moroyok community.

“I am very happy because these people came here to help us,” said Omar John, a representative of the community who welcomed the visitors and received the gifts on behalf of the people in the area.

With basic services virtually non-existent, however, much work remains to improve living conditions in Moroyok.

 “We used to get water from a stream, but during the dry season it dries up,” said Mary Kiden, an resident of the community.

 “Just look at these children. They are all naked because there are no clothes. We cannot afford clothes because our need for food and water is of course more important”, said Wani Modi, another member of the community.

The community of Moroyok, which is composed mainly of people of Mundari ethnicity, has been largely displaced from Juba town since the December 2013 crisis.