UNMISS police officers bring gifts and joy to children and women at Juba hospitals

unmiss juba women network unpol police male female patients children gifts protection of civilians

Representatives of the UN Police Women Network visiting and handing over gifts to a children's hospital in Juba.

17 Sep 2018

UNMISS police officers bring gifts and joy to children and women at Juba hospitals

Filip Andersson

For anyone being confined to a hospital bed, few things are as pleasant as surprise visitors bringing a little something. The UN Police and its Women Network spent a few weekend hours being such benign hospital visitors in Juba, presenting children and female patients alike with gifts ranging from soap to mosquito nets.

“We know that women and children suffer the most in crisis situations, so we thought of making our own little contribution to assist them in the hospitals, so that they will know that we have them in our minds as well,” says Konieta Lauretta Foday-Kalone, a UN Police Public Information Officer serving the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

Approximately 100 children and the same number of female patients at Al-Sabah Children’s hospital and the maternity ward of the Juba Teaching Hospital respectively benefitted from the handing over of blankets, sleeping mats, water carriers and biscuits to representatives of the two health care facilities.

The twenty UN Police representatives from the Women Network involved in the amicable goodwill operation included UNMISS Police Commissioner Unaisi Bolatolu-Vuniwaqa and three assisting male police officers.

UN Police have previously assisted their counterparts in the South Sudanese security sector, but according to Ms. Foday-Kalone the Women Network wants its social support activities to become more inclusive.

“Our Police Commissioner is very much compassionate about women’s issues and the need to address them. We look forward to continue working with the women of South Sudan and render our support in the best way possible.”