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.

In the past two years, frequent incidents of child abductions have become a security threat in Torit, Kapoeta and other parts of the Eastern Equatoria region. Civil society organizations have therefore called for an inter-state dialogue to put an end to the inhumane practice.

“We are tired. We are losing our husbands, we are losing our children. How long are we going to talk about peace?” cries Alice Senna Philip, as she sits alongside other weeping women in a dark, humid tukul (hut) in the heart of Yei town.