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SSHADA

Southern Sudan Humanitarian Action Development Agency Inc. 

Kajokeji County

Education

Primary Education

Secondary Education

Health units in schools

Health Education

Health Care

Poverty Reduction and Economic Empowerment

Summary  

Our area of operation is Southern Sudan with most projects concentrated in Kajokeji county.

Our projects target specific communities with specific needs, for example education or health care.  We are not organized to provide emergency relief.  However, due to the great volatility in the area, with movements of displaced persons to and from refugee camps, it may become necessary to help provide emergency relief in special situations.

All humanitarian activity in the region is coordinated by the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA).  The SSRA describes itself as an autonomous humanitarian agency of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). It was established in 1985 and mandated to coordinate and facilitate humanitarian assistance programs in SPLM areas.

An agreement has been reached between SSHADA, SRRA and local communities in Kajokeji county.  The agreement grants SSHADA authority to undertake rehabilitation work in Southern Sudan.

SSHADA is aware of and is supportive of the work of other aid agencies working in Kajokeji county.  It is the work of SRRA to direct and coordinate humanitarian activities in the area.  SSHADA projects will be directed by SRRA to areas that are not already serviced by another aid agencies.  Where appropriate SSHADA may undertake joint projects with other aid agencies, or may undertake projects that support work that has been started by other aid agencies as authorized by SRRA.

Kajokeji County

Kajokeji County is located at the extreme southern end of Southern Sudan.  It is bordered by Uganda in the south, Yei county in the west, Juba county in the north and the River Nile in the east.

The estimated population of Kajo-Keji is about 150,000 people but an increase in population is expected due to the influx of returnees from exile, mainly form  Uganda. Kajokeji falls in the equatorial rainforest zone and has moderate soil fertility. Historically Kajokeji was an area where western missionaries establishment churches and primary schools.

 Kajokeji is a Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) controlled area.  Administratively Kajo-Keji County is composed of five administrative districts called payams that are further subdivided into bomas.  Each payam and boma have an administrator.  The county headquarters is located in Kajokeji town.

These are some of the reasons why SSHADA has chosen Kajokeji as its main area of operation:

• The social and economic infrastructure has been destroyed by the civil war.
• Aid organizations currently working in the area are not able to meet the needs of the population
• The population of Kajokeji is expanding for the following reasons:

People are returning from refugee camps in Uganda, as the peace initiative progresses

Lords Resistance Army (LRA) activities have forced people to leave refugee camps in Uganda

The Ugandan government has limited resources to support the people in refugee camps

• Because of its contacts in the area SSHADA is able to keep abreast of current developments and exercise control over its activities.
• Because of its proximity to the Ugandan and Kenyan borders material can be more easily be supplied to areas of need.
• Security in the county has been stable for the last two years, allowing access by road from Koboko (Uganda)[1]

Education

SSHADA projects are directed at rebuilding educational infrastructure.  Due to the civil war, several generations lost the opportunity to go to school resulting in large numbers of illiterate children, teenagers and adults.  Access to primary and secondary education will provide the children and adolescents in the area with the opportunity to learn and acquire the capacity for self-sufficiency.

Primary Education

The gross enrollment ratio for Kajokeji is 8.4% so we have far to go.  The ratio of boys to girls attending primary school is about 2:1 so we promote gender equality in education.  In Kajokeji county, the Ugandan school curriculum is used.  SSHADA supports the concept of free primary education where appropriate.

SSHADA’s projects support primary education in the following ways:

• By reconstruction primary schools in local communities
• Providing teaching, learning aid and support materials for students, such as exercise books, pencils and textbooks
• Providing salaries and transportation for teachers and staff
• Promoting early childhood education programs, such as pre-school and kindergarten

Secondary Education

There are few secondary schools established in Kajokeji county.  If a student wishes to further his education past the 7 primary grades he or she may have to walk 15 miles to a school.  SSHADA projects support the construction of secondary schools .

Health units in schools

SSHADA believes that a school should have a small health unit to meet the need of school children and teachers for first aid and treatment of minor ailments.  The health unit may also provide first aid education materials.

Health Education

In most communities, the day-to-day hygienic practices of the population are detrimental to healthy living and may in fact increase susceptibility to disease.  SSHADA’s goal is to educate local communities in practices for healthy living.  SSHADA’s projects will support the following activities:

• Recruiting community health educators to empower their communities by raising awareness of the causes of disease and its prevention. 
• Organization of regular health workshops in the communities
• Training of sub-committees in the communities, to carry out basic health education and HIV/Aids awareness.
• Mobilization of the communities to voluntarily support sanitation measures and access to safe drinking water.

 Health Care

 SSHADA supports the current model for health care in Southern Sudan which describes a three tier health care system[2].

• Primary Health Care Unit (PHCU) The PHCU is run by trained community health workers often as outposts of PHCCs.  They are either mobile or stationary and supported by an non-governmental organization (NGO).
• Primary Health Care Center (PHCC).  Staffed by a medical assistant, a nurse, a midwife, community health care workers and traditional birth attendants.  These are essentially referral centers for PHCUs.  Some offer laboratory services as well as overnight beds for patients.  The do not perform operations.
• Referral Hospitals.  There are 2 hospitals in Kajokeji County run by Medicins Sans Frontieres Switzerland (MSF-CH) one of which is a inpatient hospital in Kajokeji town and one focusing primarily on sleeping sickness in Keri town. 

In practice, however the three-tier classification is non-functional due to logistical and staffing constraints.  The distance between the facilities is enormous as there is no vehicle transport or radio communication between the facilities.  People consequently attend the health care facility that is closest to them².

SSHADA projects will support the implementation of primary health care centers (PHCC).  Because most of the population do not have access to transportation, it is difficult or impossible to travel to a hospital for medical attention.  The modest requirements of a PHCC allow more of them to be set up covering a larger geographical area.

A primary health care center will be comprised of a number of units.

Clinical unit - This is the outpatient clinic where patients are received. It is where the main activities of history tracking, physical exams and treatment will take place. The prevailing diseases especially in Kajokeji are malaria, diarrhea and vomiting, intestinal worm infestation, anemia, scabies and other skin diseases, pneumonia and upper respiratory diseases, infective hepatitis and a new kind of disease called acute flu paralysis (AFP). A competent nurse practitioner, well versed in the management of these diseases, will be recruited.

Laboratory unit – The purpose of this unit is to reinforce the diagnostic capacity of the nurse practitioner. Accurate scientific diagnosis will lead to better treatment.

Pharmacy unit - The majority of people in Kajokeji county cannot afford to pay for medication.  Whenever possible the pharmacy unit will dispense medication at no cost.

Maternity unit - Most women deliver at home assisted by untrained village women  sometimes with disastrous consequences.  A midwife with excellent interpersonal skills has to be recruited. This service is to be combined with the well-baby care and immunization programs as well as home visits by the midwife and public health nurse.

Ward unit - Seriously ill patients will need to be kept in the health center for further observation and treatment or, pending transfer to a hospital. 

Nutrition unit – This unit will provide direct food aid to people in need, especially children.  The unit will also provide educational material regarding nutrition.

SSHADA projects may support local referral hospitals through the provision of equipment to provide the following services:

Patient transportation - There are no ambulances in this area. Seriously ill people are carried to hospital using their beds as means of transport.  An ambulance will help save lives delivering emergency cases to hospitals in larger centers or across the border to Uganda

 X-ray - Currently there is no X-ray capability in the region.

Poverty Reduction and Economic Empowerment

This program will address issues such as food production, income  generation, home business development and introduction of new methods  of agriculture, thus enhancing the economic self-sufficiency of the people of Southern Sudan.

SSHADA will endeavor to provide the following tools to realize these goals:

• Agricultural, crop and land protection training
• Provision of tools and farming equipment
• Provision of basic home business skills training for both women and men
• Provision of business start up loans and materials
• Training of community leaders and volunteers with regards  to human rights, gender equality and childcare

Summary

In summary, SSHADA supports:

• Access of every child to primary and secondary education
• Access of the community at large to basic health care services and health care education
• Community involvement in acquiring basic skills, knowledge and materials for economic empowerment
• Improved knowledge of gender equality and human rights

Southern Sudan Humanitarian Action Development Agency Inc. (SSHADA) is a non-profit corporation, based in Saskatchewan Canada.
Canadain Charitable Organization No. 88799 5702 RR0001

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