Widows, elderly people, and those displaced by conflict who received land tittle| By Deng Dimo

170 vulnerable individuals including widows, the elderly and internally displaced person in Western Bahr el Ghazal State have received fully processed land documents free of charge on Wednesday.

The initiative is part of Alliance for Land Rights South Sudan,’s annual program aimed at supporting elderly and vulnerable people who are unable to obtain land titles from the Ministry of Housing, Land, and Public Utilities.

During the handover ceremony, several beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the organization for its unwavering support, noting that they would not have afforded the processing fees on their own.

Rosewilliam Adam, a widow who received her land documents, thanked the organization for the assistance.

Rosewilliam Adam: “My name is Rosewilliam Adam, residing in Masna. I thank the Alliance for Land Rights South Sudan because it has done a good thing. We are widows and elderly people; we don’t have husbands. They have really helped us, and I wish the organization continues with such a spirit of work,” she said.

“Since I gave birth to all my children, I was always renting. But after we fled to Masna in 2017, I was given land through the chief. When the organization approached us, they asked for our land information so they could help us,” she added.

Another beneficiary, Victor Tong Tong, said he had been without land since the 2017 conflict displaced him from his home.

Victor Tong Tong: “The conflict affected us a lot. Since 2017, I was staying without land. I did not expect that I would ever get land again. Now I thank the government for sending us the Alliance for Land Rights South Sudan, which has provided us with our land documents,” Tong expressed.

Moses Ucu, Assistant Program Officer at the Alliance for Land Rights South Sudan, urged beneficiaries to take good care of their documents and begin construction on their plots.

Moses Ucu: “I encourage the beneficiaries to properly keep their documents to avoid damage. Secondly, since they have acquired their land documents, they should start putting up symbols or structures on their land to show ownership,” said Ucu.

He also appealed to the donor, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), to continue supporting the organization so they can keep assisting vulnerable members of the community.

On his part, the Director General of the State Ministry of Housing, Land, and Public Utilities, Philip Baptisa, emphasized the importance of land ownership.

Philip Baptisa: “Land is very important to everyone in South Sudan. Everyone has the right to own land because when someone dies, the land will be inherited by their children,” Baptisa noted.

“Take care of these papers. Don’t let them be eaten by rats or damaged by rain. This is a big responsibility—do not betray the future of your children,” he warned.

Baptisa also stressed that land is an economic asset that can improve livelihoods through business ventures. He further cautioned women who benefited from the project not to misuse the opportunity to destabilize their homes.