November 28, 2022 – A group of local youths from the payams of the Central Equatoria State, South Sudan, graduated this September after successfully completing a 4-part training course with WPDI in Business, Entrepreneurship, Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution. Back in 2020, WPDI, in collaboration with the local government authorities in the region, embarked on a recruitment drive in the Juba, Yei River, Lainya and Terekeka counties of Central Equatoria State with an aim of empowering young men and women to become leaders of peace and development in their respective communities.
Out of the 700+ youths who applied for the program, a total of 320 (135 females and 185 males) were selected following a rigorous selection process that benefitted from inputs and recommendations of the Boma and Payam chiefs. The selected youths subsequently attended the four training sessions over a COVID-marked 2-year period before sitting for their final exams. Participants provided some highly positive feedback from the program, which was run by WPDI-trained Youth Peacemakers. Participants will now be expected to use the knowledge and skills that they have acquired in their communities by convening Community Dialogues, mediation, venturing into business and organizing awareness campaigns to enlighten young people in their communities about peacebuilding and business
“I have benefited a lot from the peacebuilding and conflict resolution education training”, said Pitia Luponi, a 28-year old from Muni Payam of Terekeka County. “I am going to use this knowledge and skills to mediate conflicts among the cattle camp youth who often have conflict among themselves. We are now equipped with tools and knowledge of peace to create impact in our communities and contribute to decision making processes at all levels. With this I encourage my fellow peace ambassadors to take what we have learned here to our families, communities, churches, workplaces and the whole country so that we can transform our people to reflect the fruits of this crucial training . Thanks to WPDI for the great opportunity.”
The mayor of Juba City Council, Michael Lado Allah-Jabu, congratulated the youths for committing to completing the training program and encouraged them to disseminate the skills acquired in their respective communities: “I am extremely pleased to see you graduating from such very important courses. Many of our youth indulge in criminal activities because of ignorance or lack of opportunities. This training is going to contribute to changing the mindset of the youth in Juba City Council to create peace and economic prosperity. I appreciate the work WPDI is doing in empowering our young men and women.”
Speaking on behalf of WPDI during the graduation ceremony held in Juba on September 10th, Richard Hoffman, the country Manager for WPDI, expressed his gratitude to the Payam youth who demonstrated patience, commitment and zeal to learn and develop their skills despite the hurdles generated by the pandemic. He urged them to put in practice the knowledge and skills they have acquired during the training to create a positive change in their respective communities.
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