The job is not too technically challenging, but things are constantly changing: for example, the numbers of beneficiaries, where the government want you to work, and which other partners are working there with you. Also, you are working in extreme conditions: it’s dusty, swelteringly hot and the climate is physically draining. I find it really hard seeing so many kids who have been separated from their families in the chaos of fleeing the fighting yet they still manage a smile. However, until there is peace in South Sudan, there is no fast solution - and no easy way back for the refugees.
Someone described the work out here like a community development programme on speed. We are giving relief assistance whilst trying to give the refugees opportunities to become self-reliant. For example, our communal latrine programme is followed closely with encouraging household to dig their own latrines by lending digging kits and supporting slab construction. The long-term vision is that refugees become settled into local structures and can grow their own food and develop livelihoods.
Cheryl has previously undertaken humanitarian work in Burkina Faso, DRC, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe where she was working in WASH and project management. She previously worked in RedR’s Learning and Development Team and has been a RedR Member since 2003.