5 November 2014 - Internally displaced people (IDPs) seeking shelter at the UNMISS base in the Jonglei State capital Bor today received various non-food items from the mission’s outgoing South Korean military unit.

The donation, made as part of activities to mark the departure of the Mechanical Engineering Company from South Sudan, included basketballs, soccer balls, stationery, blackboards, first aid kits, gum boots, radios, mosquito nets, spades, mats, hand sanitizers, hair clippers, plastic sheets and gloves.

Receiving the items on behalf of almost 3000 IDPs living in the protection site, the community’s leader, Reverend Williams Tut, thanked the contingent and all UNMISS staff in the state.

“I am very grateful to the South Koreans personally and on behalf of the entire POC (Protection of Civilians site) community for this donation today and for all their efforts to make our living conditions better,” he said.

The South Korean Engineering Company was involved in improving the old site at the base, as well as building the new site to which the IDPs moved when the old site became flooded.

UNMISS State Coordinator Hazel de Wet also commended the outgoing unit for their activities at the protection sites since they were deployed six months ago. She hoped that the incoming unit would continue with the same spirit.

In addition to work done at the protection sites, the unit had reinforced the River Nile embankment in Bor town to prevent floods displacing people there and was also involved in ongoing works to rehabilitate the Bor-Juba road, she added.

“We also hope that the new contingent will assist in working on the Bor airstrip so that we are able to have bigger aircrafts landing and taking off,” she said.

She noted that with the dry season coming, bigger aircrafts would be vital for delivering food assistance to prevent severe food shortages.