CENTRAL EQUATORIA – These days, the thorny bushes of Rego payam in Terekeka County shelter something other than insecurity.
At the end of a history-laden path winding through palm trees and scattered ruins, remnants of once-vibrant villages destroyed by cattle raids, lies a rare sight in this dry part of the country: a sparkling, fresh water source.
The artificial lake is one of the latest outcomes of a Quick Impact Project (QIP) initiated by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
The project responds not only to the chronic lack of water in the area, but also to a key driver of conflict: competition between farmers and cattle keepers over scarce water and grazing resources.
At the ceremony handing over the reservoir to the community, UNMISS Civil Affairs Officer Lawson Assagaya highlighted the project’s wider significance.
“This project is particularly close to our hearts as it directly addresses both humanitarian challenges and conflict triggers. And the impact is already visible.”
The intention was clear from the outset: provide farmers with a reliable water source for their crops while reducing the need for cattle keepers to venture onto farmland in search of water for their livestock – a perennial source of tension and violence.
The location was carefully chosen: far enough from farms to reduce competition, yet close enough for farming communities to benefit. The hope is that the reservoir will create new opportunities for herders and farmers to coexist peacefully.
And signs of change are already emerging. New cattle camps have appeared around the reservoir, encouraging communities that were displaced by conflict, including members of the Wonduruba Mundari community, to begin returning home.
“I don’t know if I would say that we were brothers, but we are certainly one community. It gives us pride that this county is now re-emerging as a place people can call home,” says cattle keeper John Kenyi.
The father of three, who is expecting his fourth child, has long hoped to see changes that would give his children a brighter future.
Education was not readily available to his generation, and persistent conflict pushed him towards a political career rather than the traditional path of cattle keeping. Today, he works as an officer with the Terekeka County Commission, while spending his weekends advocating for positive changes to traditional cattle-keeping practices and customs.
For Kenyi, cattle are not simply a status symbol. They are an investment that can help pay for his children’s education, an approach he says he learned from neighbouring farming communities.
“It’s devastating to see how our peaceful people end up fighting over scarce resources and lack of coordinated migration patterns rather than working together. Every day I hope for unity to return,” he says.
That sense of unity was already evident during construction of the reservoir. When workers from Point Investment Company, the local implementing partner, arrived at the site, they found there was no road suitable for the heavy machinery needed to begin work.
But news of the project had already spread. Farmers and herders from the surrounding communities quickly arrived with tools to help clear and build a pathway to the site.
“What was particularly special about constructing this project was the excitement of the Rego payam community. You could really see how energized everyone was about this new water source,” recalls Point Investment Company Project Manager Juman Emmanuel.
Nature provided an unexpected boost to the project.
The original plan was to build a cement lining after excavating the reservoir, preventing rainwater from seeping into the ground. But when workers reached a depth of seven metres, they struck an underground water source that began naturally filling the roughly 3,200-square-metre reservoir.
The discovery meant the cement lining was no longer an option, as it could have contaminated the clean groundwater emerging from below.
Instead, the project was completed in just one month, leaving the community with a sustainable water source that can continue replenishing the reservoir even when rainfall becomes scarce during the dry season.
“When we saw the water coming out from underground, we were all relieved. This meant that the Rego communities will have an even more sustainable opportunity to be safe now,” says the experienced construction workers.
Whether the reservoir will ultimately help reduce cattle-related violence remains to be seen. But its impact is already extending beyond water.
In a community long divided by competition over scarce resources, the project has brought farmers and herders together around a shared resource and renewed hope that Rego can once again become a place people call home.
By Jaella Brockmann
