IDPs from Jor and Kogi, and the host Buko, communities in Terekeka during food distribution by IsraAID South Sudan. Photo credit: Wol Mapal/Eye Radio

More than 5,000 people displaced by conflict between the Jor and Kogi communities in Terekeka County have received a month’s supply of food from IsraAID South Sudan. For thousands of displaced families sheltering in parts of Terekeka County, the arrival of food assistance has brought a brief sense of relief after months of uncertainty, hunger and loss.

IsraAID South Sudan distributed wheat flour, beans, cooking oil, salt and other food items to more than 5,000 internally displaced people from the Jor and Kogi communities on Friday, September 4.

The assistance, funded by MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, covers more than 1,000 households in Buko, Jor, Kogi and surrounding areas.

The beneficiaries were displaced earlier this year after a deadly land dispute between the Jor and Kogi communities escalated into violence, killing dozens of people and forcing thousands from their homes.

The displaced families say they have struggled to survive since fleeing their communities, with many losing their homes, food stocks and crops.

Six months after the displacement, the food assistance has provided much-needed relief to families who say they have little left to depend on.

Photo: Wol Mapal/Eye Radio 

Nineteen-year-old Elizabeth Kiden Peter is among those now living in Buko. She says the conflict destroyed the little they had, while drought has made it difficult for them to restart farming.

“I am thankful to this organization, IsraAid. I thank them very much. They have helped us with food, and we now feel relieved. All our food has been burned down and the crops we cultivated have also dried up due to the drought. Everything is miserable here.”

For Elizabeth and other displaced families, however, the assistance comes as they remain uncertain about when they will safely return home.

Another beneficiary, Angelo Laku James, who is being hosted by the Buko community, says the food will help families cope but may not last long given the number of people depending on humanitarian assistance.

“The food assistance that has been brought to us today is helpful, though it is not enough for the population here in Buko. We are thankful from our hearts. I hope next time they will redouble the effort so that it covers all of us.”

Laku is also urging the Central Equatoria State government to resolve the dispute that forced the communities from their homes.

He says humanitarian assistance can only provide temporary relief while the underlying conflict remains unresolved.

“I know people fight among themselves. Even brothers do. But it is fair if the state government had intervened. I expect them to resolve this matter amicably so that the insecurity is addressed once and for all.”

Food is only part of the response

IsraAid says its intervention in the affected communities goes beyond food distribution.

The organization is also implementing protection, water, sanitation and hygiene programs aimed at addressing some of the risks facing displaced women, children and other vulnerable people.

IsraAID Country Director Thomas Okollah says the organization identified food as one of the most urgent needs during an assessment of the displaced population.

“Our work here is twofold, mainly protection, water, sanitation and hygiene. What we are doing currently is providing food rations to the displaced populations of Jor and Kogi communities who moved away from their homes as a result of the conflict.”

Okollah says many people fled with little or nothing, leaving them dependent on humanitarian support.

“Some of them left without anything in their hands, and therefore, they have tried to survive. In our rapid assessment that we conducted some time ago; we realized that one of the issues they were talking about is food.”

He says poor harvests have further worsened the situation.

“It has not been very successful harvests, and therefore, looking at the environment, they said food is a priority.”

IsraAID staff during the food distribution. Photo: Wol Mapal/Eye Radio

Protecting women and girls

Alongside the food assistance, IsraAID, in partnership with UNICEF South Sudan, is developing protection programs for women and girls living in displacement.

The program includes the establishment of Women and Girl-Friendly Spaces where women can socialize, receive psychosocial support and engage in income-generating activities.

The initiative also provides referrals for medical care and other support to survivors of gender-based violence.

IsraAID says it is also working with men and community members through positive masculinity programs intended to promote community advocacy and help address violence against women and girls.

Two Women and Girl-Friendly Spaces are currently under development.

Clean water and disease prevention

The humanitarian response also includes water, sanitation and hygiene activities.

IsraAID says some displaced families continue to rely on potentially contaminated river water, increasing their exposure to waterborne diseases, including schistosomiasis.

The organization is distributing Aqua tabs, buckets and jerrycans to help families safely collect, treat and store water.

It is also working to rehabilitate existing boreholes while conducting hygiene awareness campaigns on safe water handling and storage.

The organization says the Jor community, particularly those living near the lake, remains a priority in efforts to reduce the risk of schistosomiasis and other water-related illnesses.

Looking beyond emergency relief

IsraAID says it plans to provide agricultural tools to displaced families to support their return to farming and help them rebuild their livelihoods.

The organization also intends to expand the number of Women and Girl-Friendly Spaces, continue medical referrals and psychosocial support for GBV survivors, and rehabilitate boreholes to improve access to clean water.

For families like Elizabeth’s and Laku’s, however, food remains an immediate concern.

Their needs are a reminder that displacement does not end when people reach a place of safety.

For those forced from their homes by conflict, rebuilding a life means finding food, clean water, protection and a way to earn a living, while waiting for the conditions that will allow them to return home.

For now, the one-month food ration offers thousands of displaced families something they have been desperately short of for months: relief, dignity and the chance to face another day.