I was born in South Sudan, but due to the long ongoing conflict in the country my family had to move to Malawi. We came back to South Sudan in 2007. I was extremely happy to be back home and reunite with families and friends. But all that happiness vanished when new conflict caused more bloodshed, ethnic cleansings, hatred, massive populations of Internally Displaced Peoples, and fragmented communities. The conflict drained our development and set back our efforts at building peace.
South Sudan had been in conflict for 21 years that had ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2011. After two years of independence South Sudan experienced an escalation of conflict in 2013 between the government and opposition forces SPLM/A, led by the former vice president Riak Machar.
Most of my work experience has been working with civil society organizations. I have worked for CEPO (Community Empowerment for Progress Organization) since 2010 both as a Gender Officer and a Program Officer. My main engagements are report writing, supervising projects, coordinating with partners and donors, and general management. In 2008 I worked with Rule of Law Promoters Association (RLPA). In RLPA I worked on monitoring and observing customary courts. My roles were to report on the status of local justice systems and human rights implementation. I was a student at University of Juba doing my bachelors degree while also volunteering.
I am also an actress for a local peace drama called Sawa Shabab (“Youth Together”) hosted by Free Voice. Since 2010 I have also participated in the South Sudan National choir that sings national songs aimed at building patriotism. I also work for Institute for Development of Civil Society as a Program Manager.
As a women activist it takes a lot of effort to seek for what is right and just in a post conflict community. Especially taking into account how culture and tradition, such as patriarchal systems, play a big role in our way of living. South Sudan has a lot of human rights violations such as extrajudicial killings, torture, rape, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, and prolonged pretrial detention. Our security and safety as woman human rights defenders is particularly in question. Despite all the violations, it is my passion to work towards promoting women’s rights.
LEARN MORE
Check out Sawa Shabab’s Facebook page to learn more about how the group promotes peace with youth.
Follow the Sister-to-Sister Mentorship Program blog to learn more about Alice’s work in South Sudan