South Sudan
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Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Provide vulnerable populations with emergency relief and long-term solutions that improve food security and livelihoods, social services and mitigate conflict.
The context
The euphoria that followed independence celebrations on July 9, 2011 was short lived. A myriad of complex political, economic and humanitarian issues have resurfaced since the uniting aim of nationhood has been achieved. South Sudan and Sudan have been unable to resolve issues over borders, boundaries, oil revenues, wealth-sharing and citizenship, leading to sporadic attacks and refugees trapped in desperate circumstances on both sides. The country is still recovering from a legacy of war and neglect, and a high percentage of the population is food insecure.
Our work
- Emergency response: Providing urgent assistance including water and sanitation services and cash-for-work opportunities to conflict-affected populations
- Children & Youth: Building temporary classrooms and providing school supplies to children in border towns destroyed by fighting
- Agriculture & Food Helping families re-establish farms and livelihoods as they return home from years as refugees
- Conflict & Governance: Engaging a network of community-based organizations to prioritize needs and foster peaceful co-existence between residents and returnees
- Economic opportunity: Increasing families' self-reliance by supporting local markets and businesses
All stories about South Sudan
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South Sudan: A classroom for Asholl December 4, 2012
Asholl loves school so much that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. The second grader would stay in class all day if she could: "I like learning to read and write. I am bored when I have to stay home and it is raining. There is nothing to do."
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South Sudan: Helping Kids Heal: A school for Marsa October 4, 2012
Marsa and her family have resettled in South Sudan after years as refugees, but the basics of learning are still missing.
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South Sudan: Fighting for an education August 16, 2012
Ten-year-old Zenaib is excited to begin attending class in one of the temporary learning spaces that Mercy Corps is currently constructing.
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South Sudan: Creating safe spaces for learning August 7, 2012
After decades of war, residents of Unity state dreamed of brighter futures last July when they became citizens of the new nation of South Sudan.
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South Sudan: A new nation's first birthday July 10, 2012
Currently working with the Mercy Corps team in South Sudan, I had the honor of being present yesterday as residents celebrated the first year anniversary of their nation's independence.
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South Sudan: Building on hope one year after independence July 9, 2012
South Sudan Country Director Mathieu Rouquette met these two little girls in the market in Bentiu, Unity State, when they peeked their heads into a camera shop that recently received a Mercy Corps business grant.
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South Sudan: From the field: Local market perseveres after attacks June 21, 2012
Mercy Corps staff visit the local market in Bentiu that was damaged in recent aerial attacks, part of the ongoing conflict with Sudan to the north.
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South Sudan: Back to work after bombings June 15, 2012
We hope we never have to use it, but we have a Contingency Plan for a reason. Mercy Corps has been working in Bentiu, Unity State, since 2005, and for the past year specifically helping people make a living in the local market with small business and farming support.
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South Sudan: Fighting prompts staff to evacuate border town April 27, 2012
All but two Mercy Corps staff members have been evacuated from Bentiu, the beleaguered border town that has been in the news recently as the target of Sudanese air strikes.
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South Sudan: An amazing thing to witness July 13, 2011
South Sudan is now the world’s 193rd country, and the newest country in Africa. It is the first time since colonialism that Africans have drawn their own borders.