Acquiring vocational skills are always a premium for youth in conflict-affected regions across the world as such training equips young people, especially women, to become economically empowered and self-reliant.

Take the case of Nyanyei Nyei Manjok, one of three young women from a group of 15 youth who benefited from a unique vocational training opportunity initiated by the Relief, Reintegration and Protection (RRP) Section and Bangladeshi marine engineers from UNMISS in collaboration with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the Humanitarian Development Consortium (HDC).

“I am very happy to have been given the chance to develop my skills, particularly in such an unusual area. Building jetties constitutes an improvement in infrastructure, something that women in South Sudan are generally not involved in,” says Nyanei. “This jetty means a lot to the communities that live here as now it will help everyone get access to Malakal town and get to the other side of the Sobat river bank within Adong itself. This enables our families to move around even during the rainy season and acquire necessary supplies and items,” she adds.

This remarkably practical training involved teaching participants carpentry using treated wood and empty plastic barrels. Furthermore, it required them to learn how to float and anchor the square jetty, once construction was completed, in an appropriate location so that it could serve as a dock by the river bank where goods could be loaded and off-loaded on motor boats and ferries.

Speaking at the training, Generose Nzeyimana, RRP Officer, UNMISS, urged participants to take their newly acquired skills to support their communities and by doing so, bring about positive social change and promote peaceful coexistence among local populations.

For his part, Machar Akouch, local administrator in Adong, said that he was confident this jetty would build bridges and create greater social interaction among different communities in the area while making day-to-day living much easier as well.  

Many community members in Adong and Baliet were affected by intercommunal conflicts in earlier years and were supported by UNMISS RRP and UNHCR to return to their original settlements in 2019. This jetty could, therefore, be a symbolic step towards eventual durable peace in the region.