00:00 It's mid-afternoon in the IDP camp in Bentiu, in the north of South Sudan.
00:08 Angelina Nyataba Manyong and her friend Elizabeth Nyatwak are meeting to sew bedsheets at Angelina's
00:15 house.
00:16 It's a skill they have acquired through training from the International Rescue Committee.
00:22 Women in South Sudan face many challenges, like social and economic empowerment.
00:28 The income from the sales the two women make is therefore vital for them.
00:38 Women in South Sudan are not happy.
00:41 How could we be?
00:42 When the bullets cooled down after the war, the floods came and submerged our villages.
00:47 When the fighting stopped, we thought we could return home, cultivate and have animals.
00:52 For some women it's too much.
00:54 But for us, we have at least gained some skills we are better off.
01:03 Angelina also trains other women so that they can improve on the livelihoods of their families.
01:15 I knit table mats and bedsheets and then sell them on the market.
01:19 From the income, I buy more materials to make more bedsheets.
01:24 From my profit, I repay the loan and pay school fees for my children.
01:31 Angelina's husband supports her endeavour.
01:34 A little different, however, is the story of 32-year-old Elizabeth Nyatwak.
01:40 Her husband eloped with another woman in Khatoum in Sudan and left her in the camp with three
01:46 children.
01:47 Since my husband abandoned me, IRC has supported me with life skills.
01:55 Now I can care for my family, including my mother-in-law, who stays with me.
02:02 On top of making their own business, Angelina and Elizabeth are also members of a savings
02:08 group exclusively for women.
02:12 Each member has to remit 1,000 South Sudanese pounds, the equivalent of one US dollar.
02:18 Small as it may sound, the money has transformed many of their lives, as Angelina explains.
02:31 Since we started saving money, life has improved because it is done collectively.
02:36 When I borrow money from the group, I can make profits from the goods I buy from it
02:39 in Juba and sell around here like clothes or bags.
02:45 Apart from supporting women like Manyoung and Nyatwak, the International Rescue Committee
02:52 also supports communities to recover from shocks and restore their lives from harm to
02:57 home.
02:58 The biggest challenge?
03:00 Recovery and an efficient development approach to deal with the challenges of South Sudanese.
03:06 They need more opportunities to work, opportunities to build a livelihood, but the basics have
03:15 to be there, water, sanitation, schools, hospitals, employment opportunities and a protected environment
03:23 where there is law and order, peace and security so they can settle and farm, find employment,
03:31 start businesses.
03:33 Since South Sudan gained its independence in July 2011, there has been fighting among
03:38 different warring factions that have left women on the peripherals of society.
03:43 However, there is hope that women in South Sudan are turning a bad history into a story
03:49 of prosperity.
03:50 [MUSIC]
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