When 11-year old MakerMalueth discovered his family could no longer pay school fees or provide food for him, he sought refuge in the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

That was back in 2005. Now, seven years later, Mr. Malueth is among dozens of child soldiers who are benefiting after having been demobilized from the army under the renewed terms of an agreement reached by the South Sudanese government and the United Nations in March to release all child soldiers from the SPLA's ranks.

Now a secondary school student in the Warrap State capital of Kuajok, Mr. Maleuth received a number of benefits at the time of his reintegration into civilian life, among them five goats.

"If I use this chance to get a good education, nothing bad can affect me now," he said.

His was one of eight success-and-challenge stories collected in Warrap State recently by the public information unit of the UNMISS Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) section.

The stories are to be used collectively by the UNMISS Child Protection Unit, UNICEF and the South Sudan DDR Commission (SSDDRC), to demonstrate the progress being made in efforts to release all children from military service in South Sudan.

The three bodies are working together to support implementation of the March 2012 agreement by providing training for the SPLA and monitoring the release of child soldiers throughout the country. UNICEF and the commission oversee the minors' reintegration into their communities.

All eight former Children Associated with Armed Forces who were interviewed had received assistance in the form of non-food items, goats, paid education, vocational training and moral support.

Their stories will be used to highlight the child soldier DDR programme on Universal Children's Day on 20 November, according to UNMISS DDR public information officers.

The section's public information unit recently organized a one-day media training workshop in Wau for child protection officers from the commission who have been assigned to Western Bahr El-Ghazal and Warrap states.

"There is always some fear about how to appropriately report on children," said UNMISS DDR public information officer Noreen O'Gallagher. "The training was intended to show that it is possible to raise awareness about children's issues while maintaining their dignity and recognizing their rights."

Participants described as useful the course topics, which included UNICEF guidelines on how to report on children and how to produce high quality reports.

"We shall increase our efforts so that we can be more professional in writing these stories," said the SSDDRC staff member Francis Nyibang John.