Their stories of violence make even the hardest of hearts break. Their stories of triumph are a reminder the world can truly be a better place.

At first hearing, these life stories punctuated by horror sound extreme, but one soon realizes it’s sadly commonplace in South Sudan. Born out of brutality and still embroiled in a vicious tussle for control, South Sudan is notorious for the appalling way it treats its women. Gender violence is widespread. But all is not lost.

Along with food and nutrition assistance, the World Food Programme (WFP) is integrating gender and protection in its work and, in the process, helping forge a gender-balanced future for the country, one woman at a time.

Here are the stories of some of the women and girls WFP is supporting in South Sudan:

Ester Oliver, 34

Born in Katiba village, in Western Equatoria, Ester struggles with the concept of home. For her, home is where one can be safe. Until recently, hers has been a life on the move.

“We had to move from village to village, sometimes living in the middle of the forest,” she says. “We could not be close to the main road. Always in hiding.”

Tears well up in her eyes as she narrates her childhood. She has lived life as an ongoing challenge. Despite her young age, she has already seen the flow of life and death in her country.

Unable to live anywhere for long, let alone attend school, Ester married for the first time at just 13 years old. She felt that this was her only choice.

“My father died when I was 9, trying to flee fighting,” she says. “After he passed away life became even harder.”

Like many girls in her situation, marriage offered the only escape route at that time.

“I decided to get married because of the challenges and difficulties I was facing,” she says. “I thought all my problems would disappear.”

Now in her second marriage and a mother of six, Ester is raising her children with help from WFP. She receives nutrition support for herself and her set of triplets from the Gurei health centre in the capital city, Juba. She also receives support from a peer health group on family planning and health. Now empowered with new knowledge, she plans to join income generating projects in her suburb.

“Now I am happy. I have a second chance,” she says.

Viola James

In the searing heat of a steamy Juba afternoon, Viola sits inside the one-roomed house she shares with her four small children. Beads of sweat form on her forehead.

She lives in what she calls a ‘protected’ house. It has no windows.

“I built my house this way to protect my children,” she says explaining her fear. “I am a woman living alone with children. This is not a safe place.”

She suffered abuse growing up and with no way of making the country feel safe, she is determined to make at least their house a safe one for her children.

“I tell my children this is our fortress. They are safe here,” she says. “I will always protect them. I will do anything for my family.”

She receives WFP nutrition assistance for all her children.

“I used to eat nothing at all,” Viola says. “The food assistance has helped me through the most difficult moments.”

Maria Lok Galuak, 70

At 70 years old, Maria Lok Galuak, is a woman in a hurry. Peace is not coming soon enough for her. Prayer has carried her through to this day. But her prayers are not being answered soon enough.

With her eyes firmly fixed on the skies, and a purple and white Rosary around her neck, teary-eyed, she repeats yet another prayer for peace.

“I pray to God that peace will come and that I will still be alive to see it,” she says as soon as she ends her petition to the deities.

It’s as if she knows she may not have time. Although life expectancy in South Sudan has improved recently to 58 years, the country still ranks a lowly 173 on world life expectancy and her living conditions make it even worse.

“When I was a child, life was hard but beautiful. Now life is hard and ugly.”

She has lived inside a United Nations camp for displaced people for five years. The camp, a collection of wooden poles, mud, used sacks and plastic sheeting on the outskirts of Juba, is overcrowded and a far cry from what she is used to.

“When I was a child, life was hard but beautiful. Now life is hard and ugly,” she reminisces. “I used to help my family, we worked with cattle and we had a farm. I had a good childhood, different from what my grandchildren are having here.”

Inside the two-roomed shack she shares with her dozen grandchildren, she looks back to what seemed a glorious past with nostalgia written all over her face.

“It’s very hard to be an elderly woman living inside the camp,” she says. “I am very tired of all of this!”

WFP provides those living in the camp with food items such as cereals, pulses, vegetable oil and salt enough to last them a month.

“This is the only food we have. Without this, we would not be able to survive,” she says.

Chol Kang

It is especially challenging to be expecting during a time of conflict. For many women like Chol, who were caught up in recent fighting, pregnancy seemed like a death sentence.

However, a partnership between WFP, NGOs and the Government is making it possible for women to go through pregnancy with relative ease. The initiative provides special products for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition among children, and pregnant or nursing women. For Chol, it has made the difference.

“My husband passed away during this crisis and now I have to look after our children. I am the one trying to feed them,” she says. “Life is hard in this country and especially here in the camp. At least with our food needs taken care of, we can survive to see another day.”

Viola Nancy

Viola derives her strength from her 10-month old baby, christened Faith.

She lost her mother during the conflict, at a time when she needed her the most. Her father re-married and migrated to Khartoum, Sudan, leaving her in the care of a distant aunt. With no money to pay for her school fees, she soon dropped out and got married.

Death and war have conspired against her, but she has not lost faith.

An innovative programme by WFP and World Vision, supported by Canada, European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States might help her realize her dreams. Known as the Juba Urban Project, the initiative aims to meet immediate food needs whilst addressing the underlying causes of food insecurity.

Community members, such as Viola, are empowered with knowledge and vocational skills in areas such as nutrition, hygiene, food handling and preservation, as well as life skills. In return, participants receive the equivalent of US$ 45 in local currency.

“Just as I want to see my family united, the country needs to be united. People need peace, not war.”

“I have learnt how to administer money and how to use it better,” she says. “Now I am using what I have learnt in my day-to-day life and in my bakery business.”

Her dream is to get her family together again. And, she has a few words of advice for the country’s leaders.

“We need to be united,” she says. “The country has to be united.“Just as I want to see my family united, the country needs to be united,” she says. “People need peace, not war.”

Whilst that might not seem distant reality with the peace deal signed in September 2018, she has already started to take the necessary steps to equip her for a new South Sudan.

“Once my child grows, I will enroll into school again,” she says.

Christine, Marta, Vivian and Viola

Orphaned at an early age, Christine, Marta, Viola and Vivian were left with nothing but the clothes they wore. Well, that’s until they met each other.

“We are happy to have each other!” says Vivian, the group’s self-ordained spokesperson as the rest of the crew nods in agreement.

With little or no knowledge about their family histories, parents or past, their heads are full of math formulas, songs and definitions they have learnt at school.

“Social Studies is our favorite subject because we learn about the world,” says Vivian.

“We did not choose to be here. We did not choose to be alone.”

Brought to the Straight Links Orphanage Centre in Juba by good Samaritans, the school doubles as their home and the school meal WFP provides is often the only regular and nutritious meal they receive.

“We do not have much to eat,” Vivian says.

Quick-witted and endowed with the gift of the gab, she is a natural for her group’s spokesperson role.

So what’s next for Vivian and company?

They all hope to complete their studies and go on to lead successful lives. Neither the conflict nor the country’s borders seem to stand in their paths.

“We want to see how life is like outside our country,” Vivian says. “We want a better life and to explore this big world!”

And as if in an act of defiance, the group refuses to be defined by their past.

“We did not choose to be here. We did not choose to be alone,” she says.

And, there is even more defiance. With the maturity of a village elder, she refuses to focus on the ugly side of life.

“But we are happy that life gave us so many sisters and brothers,” she says. “They are our family now and we will choose the future we want.”

WFP response

In 2018, WFP provided assistance to some 5.3 million vulnerable people in the country. In 2019, South Sudan’s food security situation is dire. With sufficient support from donors and financial institutions such as Australia, the African Development Bank, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States, WFP plans to expand support to reach 5.1 million people by the end of the year. Of these, more than half are women and girls.

WFP’s assistance will include emergency food distributions to the most vulnerable, along with food in return for work to construct or rehabilitate community assets, food for school meals and special products for the prevention and treatment of malnutrition among children, and pregnant or nursing women.

Find out more about WFP in South Sudan