More than 100 young people who have been displaced by intercommunal conflict in Gogrial will receive training to develop new skills so they can support themselves as part of an initiative funded by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. 

The three-month vocational and skills development training programme is part of a so-called Programmatic Fund Facility scheme operated by UNMISS through local implementing partners – in this case the Organization for Children Harmony. There will be 50 female and 50 male participants in the project under the theme “get access to short-cut professionalism and achieve skills towards resilience and self-sustenance”.

The young people will receive practical training in masonry, tailoring and baking.

“The youth of Mayen Gomel are in desperate need of training opportunities so they can gain skills that will divert their minds from creating conflict to developing their minds for the progress of the country,” said Gogrial youth representative, Joseph Nyok.

Women’s representative, Mary Awan Akok, said that, in the past, communities had relied on skilled contractors from other areas to provide goods and services. But thanks to the intensive training, their own youth would now gain the knowledge and skills in basic industries to meet the needs of their communities.

“We will utilize the skills acquired by our youth from these training programmes to help build our communities,” she said.

Speaking at the project launch in Kuajok, UNMISS Head of Field Office, Anastasie Mukangarambe, said it was vital that vocational training programmes target young people because they are the most vulnerable citizens and often suffer most from intercommunal conflict.

The project would, not only empower youth, but also contribute more broadly to the economy as their incomes would feed back into local communities, she said.

The project, which will cost just under USD$50,000, will cover training materials, salaries for instructional staff members, start-up kits and support for graduates to start their own businesses upon completing the training programme.