Today, they are the lucky ones. Theirs was a quick trip to the agreed training venue, because they live here in Kapoeta in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria region.

Colleagues from further afield, from neighbouring counties, were not as fortunate. They joined their police peers drenched in sweat after trekking for miles. A rough start? No, a rather small price to pay for the joys of professional growth, according to Corporal Regina.

“I am glad to have made it here today. I hope to pass on knowledge I gain here to my colleagues who could not come,” she says.

She is one of 40 women and men, part of the South Sudan National Police Service, participating in a two-day workshop delivered by United Nations police officers serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in the country.

“We provide these periodic trainings to the national police to help put their skills on a par with international policing standards,” explains Bayram Özgan, a representative of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

Topics addressed during the sessions included respecting the human rights of suspects during an arrest and detention, interviewing children, and how to handle incidents of domestic violence.

“It was difficult to practice what I learnt after the first workshop. However, I now understand the principles and hope to teach others,” says Paul Okeny Baptista, who is enjoying what for him is a refresher course.

While at this point contributing to building the capacity of the current corps of South Sudanese police, Kapoeta Police Commissioner Ben Bilal Mamoor is hoping for more.

“We look forward to a time when the United Nations Police will also train our new recruits.”